Sam Smith has asked to be referred to as 'they' or 'them' instead of 'him'.
The singer came out as non-binary six months ago but only this weekend confirmed how they want to be addressed.
The Stay With Me star announced the change of pronouns to their 8.1m Twitter followers on Saturday after what they describe as 'being at war' with gender.
"Today is a good day so here goes. I’ve decided I am changing my pronouns to THEY/THEM after a lifetime of being at war with my gender I’ve decided to embrace myself for who I am, inside and out..."
Sam then continued with a thread about his position of privilege to be surrounded by people who support them, before admitting that they feel 'scared sh******' but 'super free'.
"I’m so excited and privileged to be surrounded by people that support me in this decision but I’ve been very nervous about announcing this because I care too much about what people think but f**k it!
"I understand there will be many mistakes and mis gendering but all I ask is you please please try. I hope you can see me like I see myself now. Thank you.
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"P.s. I am at no stage just yet to eloquently speak at length about what it means to be non binary but I can’t wait for the day that I am. So for now I just want to be VISIBLE and open. If you have questions and are wondering what this all means I’ll try my best to explain..."
The 27-year-old then posted the Twitter @ handles of activists and leaders from the community that have helped them and given understanding before their final message.
"Love you all. I’m scared sh******, but feeling super free right now. Be kind x".
What is a pronoun?
A word that can function as a noun phrase and used to describe an individual or group of people, rather than using their name(s).
E.g. I, You, She, He, It, They.
What does non-binary mean?
If an individual refers to themselves as non-binary, it means that they don't associate with a categorised gender - being either male or female.
Sam Smith said that they "flow somewhere in between" being a male and female.
Charity Stonewall UK, which campaigns for the equality of lesbian, gay, bi and trans people, is just one of the charities the singer thanked in their announcement.
They define non-binary as: "An umbrella term for people whose gender identity doesn’t sit comfortably with 'man' or 'woman'.
"Non-binary identities are varied and can include people who identify with some aspects of binary identities, while others reject them entirely," their website adds.
"Non-binary people can feel that their gender identity and gender experience involves being both a man and a woman, or that it is fluid, in-between, or completely outside of that binary."
Non-binary people are part of the LGBTQ+ community. LGBTQ+ stands for lesbian, gay, bi, trans and queer. The + is an inclusive symbol to mean 'and others' to include people of all identities.
Why the term?
The National Centre for Transgender Equality explains: "Some societies – like ours – tend to recognise just two genders, male and female."
The concept suggests there are only two genders, with 'binary' meaning two parts.
Therefore "non-binary" is a term people can use to "describe genders that don’t fall into one of these two categories, male or female".
For more information or advice about being non-binary or any issues affecting LGBTQ+ people and their families, you can visit www.stonewall.org.uk or call the charity's information service on 08000 50 20 20.
