By David T. Valentin
It seems last year in lockdown has been a year of exploration and discovery for many people in gender and expression around the world. Just a few days ago on March 13th, pop star Halsey, quietly changed their pronouns to she/they on her twitter and Instagram bio. And although she didn’t make any official announcement, their fans were quick to notice the subtle change.
Prior to the change Halsey shared on Instagram their thoughts on how pregnancy has changed their understanding of gender.
They wrote: “I thought pregnancy would give me very strong, binary feelings about ‘womanhood’ but truly it has leveled my perception of gender entirely. My sensitivity to my body has made me hyper aware of my humanness and that’s all. Doing a remarkable thing. And it’s grand. I hope the feeling lasts.”
Halsey elaborated further in the comments “I thought there would be a lot of expectation or pressure on me to wake up every day feeling like some ‘girly-girly fertility goddess,’ but instead I wake up and eat when I’m hungry, sleep when I’m tired, and focus on growing a human. And that is all I expect myself to do. Liberating!”
Although it’s true that everyday people go through these kinds of discoveries every day, celebrities using their platform to bring up these topics in mainstream media sometimes forces people to engage with ideas of gender they might not have considered before.