Demi Lovato said they felt “held back” before making the decision to come out as non-binary.
In a conversation with Jane Fonda on the May 28 episode of the Monster-in-Law actress’ series Fire Drill Fridays, Demi spoke about the ways in which they felt the patriarchy forced them to identify as female.
The “Tell Me You Love Me” singer shared that they spent “years” living their life for other people and trying to make themselves “smaller for the patriarchy” before deciding enough was enough.
“The patriarchy, they run the industry, they are at the center of everything,” Demi, who first came out as non-binary on May 19 as part of their podcast series 4D, explained. “When I realized that, I thought, ‘What are the ways that the patriarchy has been holding me back?’ And for me, it was putting me in a box telling me, ‘You are a female, this is what you’re supposed to like, this is what you’re supposed to do, don’t dream bigger and don’t speak louder.'”