Why Accusing Demi Lovato Of ‘Queer Tourism’ For Changing Her Pronouns Is Harmful
She's now using she/hers/they/them
Instagram Demi Lovato’s decision to change their pronouns has sparked a debate among fans everywhere.
In a recent interview with Spout Podcast, Lovato spoke up about their preferred pronouns, revealing that she uses she/hers pronouns along with they/them pronouns.
She explained why she had started using they/them pronouns back in 2021 and what changed now.
“I just felt like a human. And that's what they/them is about. For me, it's just about feeling, like, human at your core,” Lovato said.
"Recently I've been feeling more feminine, and so I've adopted she/her again. But I think what's important is, like, nobody's perfect.”
However, fans are accusing Demi Lovato of 'Queer Tourism.'
Lovato’s decision to start using she/hers pronouns again has opened up some discussion among fans. People who have accustomed to referring to Lovato as they/them had trouble seeing her decision in a positive light.
Many people who have been supporting Lovato after she opened up about being non-binary thought that they were erasing their identity.
People even accused Lovato of “queer tourism” which typically describes a straight, cisgender person trying to adopt the queer culture. Additionally, some other fans thought that Lovato is genuinely confused about their identity.
One Twitter user wrote, “To recap, Demi Lovato has spent the last several years taking all of her wonderful feminine qualities & eliminating them, all while forcing you to acknowledge her false 'truth'. Now she realized she was just confused & is going back to being a woman.”
Much of the criticism directed at Lovato has misunderstood her gender identity — she is not "going back" to anything, she is simply figuring out what identity works best for them.
While gender expression has come a long way, there is still much debate around the topic.
In Lovato’s case, fans have placed an unfair expectation on them to have it all figured out. But the star, like many LGBTQ people, has been trying to define her identity on her own terms and that process may involve trying out different forms of identification and expression.
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Lovato has emphasized that she is a fluid person. Like Lovato, there are many other people who identify themselves as gender fluid.
Gender fluidity is defined by transcience. It is ever-changing and it will never fit into the rigid boxes often used to contain other genders.
Lovato feels that her previous gender expression no longer defines her and she felt the need to change it.
There are numerous queer people who still struggle to identify themselves or who are still figuring it out and Lovato has been a role model for them. Lovato has set an example for those people and normalized gender fluidity by announcing her decision.
Lovato just shows us that it's normal for people to go through changes in their gender identity and expression.
Sanika Nalgirkar is a News & Entertainment Writer based in India. She has a master's degree in Creative Writing. See more of her writing on her website.