Janelle Monáe Asks for Open-Mindedness About Gender

Janelle Monáe is a Grammy-nominated performer, an acclaimed singer and rapper, an author, and a proud celebrant of femininity, queerness, and sexuality in pop culture and social media news. In a recent interview with SiriusXM, Monáe encourages people to investigate their own gender identities. She asks people to keep an open mind and to turn a listening ear to the gender-nonconforming folks in their communities in order to learn more.

“I’m not this arrogant person that thinks I have all the answers, so I think for me, it’s about making sure I’m also saying to people, ‘Further investigate who you are,’ you know? Allow yourself to discover something new about yourself.”

Monáe (she/they) came out as nonbinary in 2022 during an interview with Jada Smith’s Red Table Talk. This came after years of speculation about Monáe’s sexuality, another of many frivolous attempts to box Janelle Monáe under a single label and explain her gender or sexual identity with a simple term.

“I’m nonbinary, so I just don’t see myself as a woman, solely.” Monáe explains. “I feel like God is so much bigger than the ‘he’ or the ‘she.’ And if I am God, I am everything. I am everything.”

The Glass Onion star stresses the importance in cultural acceptance as humanity continues to shape and grow. She urges everyone to embrace not having all the answers and not to let social pressures dictate the way we express ourselves and who we are.

“But I just see everything that I am beyond the binary. When I see people, I see your energy first—I don’t see how you identify—and I feel like that opens you up to fall in love with any beautiful spirit.” Beautifully spoken, Monáe. We can’t wait to see what you do next.

Photo curtesy of @JanelleMonae on Twitter.