Non-binary, pansexual deity Janelle Monáe to be honoured for their tireless LGBTQ+ advocacy
Janelle Monáe is to be honoured as a trailblazer at the Outfest Legacy Awards for their consistent support of the LGBTQ+ community, Variety has reported.
The singer, rapper and actress has been out and proud since 2018 after a powerful interview with Rolling Stone where they spoke about their sexuality.
In the interview Janelle said: “Being a queer Black woman in America, someone who has been in relationships with both men and women, I consider myself to be a free-a** motherf**ker.”
Initially identifying as bisexual, they added: “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.”
Monáe also spoke about the queer themes in her music, such as their songs “Mushroom & Roses” and “Q.U.E.E.N” which both talk about their love for a woman named Mary.
*‘I just don’t see myself as a woman, solely’*
More recently, in an interview on Jada and Willow Smith’s Red Table Talk, they came out as non-binary.
“I’m non-binary so I just don’t see myself as a woman, solely, I feel all of my energy. I feel like God is so much bigger than the ‘he’ or the ‘she’,” Janelle Monáe said.
“And if I am from God, I am everything. I am everything. But I will always, always stand with women. I will always stand with Black women. But I just see everything that I am. Beyond the binary.”
In the same chat they opened up about confronting their religious family with their queerness, saying: “I’m just like, ‘Well. what does it mean to go against your whole family on this thing?’ But I was ready,
“I was like, ‘You know what, if they don’t love me, don’t call me asking for no money’ – you will not get my LGBTQIA+ money.”
Around this time they shared their debut story collection The Memory Librarian which, among other things, discusses LGBTQ+ themes.
They spoke about their concerns around book censorship in the USA on the LGBTQ&A podcast. The first sex scene in their book is shared between two women, and includes trans representation.
“I’m always trying to represent the people that I think are just beautiful and need highlighting. This love story is just about love.”
*‘Making art on our own terms’*