JANELLE MONÁE

Janelle Monáe is a pansexual singer-songwriter, rapper, actress, and record producer. “Being a queer black woman in America,” she says, “someone who has been in relationships with both men and women – I consider myself to be a free-ass motherfucker.” She initially identified as bisexual, she clarifies, “but then later I read about pansexuality and was like, ‘Oh, these are things that I identify with too.’ I’m open to learning more about who I am.”

In January 2020, Janelle tweeted the hashtag #IAmNonBinary. “When I retweeted I’m nonbinary, it was ‘I’m not binary day,’ and so I did a hashtag to show support to the community,” she explained, adding that a meme from Steven Universe helped inspire the comment. “I’m not a woman, I’m not a man, I’m an experience,” the meme said, to which Monáe responded: “Fuck yes! That’s me.”

As for her pronouns, Monáe addressed how her Wikipedia page had been changed to suggest she uses both she/her and they/them pronouns: “That was not me,” the 34-year-old performer clarified. “People can call me whatever it is they want to call me. I know who I am. I know my journey. And I don’t have to declare anything.”

Themes of this sexual fluidity run through Janelle’s music .“I want young girls, young boys, non-binary, gay, straight, queer people who are having a hard time dealing with their sexuality, dealing with feeling ostracized or bullied for just being their unique selves, to know that I see you,”

Janelle Monáe is a Certified Proud Icon because she continues to be an inspiration for queer people everywhere by simply being herself and by breaking queer stereotypes through her career.