Real Talk 12th June 2019 by Megan Roantree

Queer Eye’s Jonathan Van Ness Has Revealed He Is Nonbinary

The star also explained he prefers male pronouns.

 

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Queer Eye’s Jonathan Van Ness has revealed that he identifies as nonbinary.

The hairstylist has never been shy of expression and is often the most colourfully and fun dressed member of the Fab Five. However, he admits that he felt he had to identify as a ‘gay man’ because he didn’t know there were other options.

“The older I get, the more I think that I’m nonbinary — I’m gender nonconforming. Like, some days I feel like a man, but then other days I feel like a woman. I don’t really — I think my energies are really all over the place. Any opportunity I have to break down stereotypes of the binary, I am down for it, I’m here for it. I think that a lot of times gender is used to separate and divide,” he told Out.

“It’s this social construct that I don’t really feel like I fit into the way I used to. I always used to think “Oh, I’m like a gay man,” but I think any way I can let little boys and little girls know that they can express themselves…”

The star, who said he prefers traditionally male pronouns (he/him), explained that he was always interested in more feminine looks as a child.

“Growing up, I definitely put on every nail polish, every heel, every scarf, I definitely had my mom’s knock-off Hermès scarves in my hair and around my waist – those were my skirts, and I loved it. But when I was really young, I had really femme-shamey, gender-shamey [comments] when I would dress like that.”

 

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As an adult, Jonathan still adores more feminine styles but added that it didn’t make him put a label on his identity.

“I didn’t really put that together with “gender nonconforming” or “nonbinary” or owning that as an identity until recently because I think I just thought that I loved skirts and heels and like a kind of Whole Foods Face,” he explained, adding that he was never into full-glam makeup.”

The Queer Eye star made an interesting point about fitting into labels, explaining that he identified as a ‘gay man’ for so long because he thought he had to.

“I just am either like gender-bendy or nonconform-y or nonbinary and somedays I feel like a boy and somedays I feel like a girl.

I didn’t think I was allowed to be nonconforming or genderqueer or nonbinary, I was just always like “a gay man” because that’s just the label I thought I had to be.”

For JVN, it was just about finding the right title that better suited his identity.

“I just didn’t know what the name was. I’ve been wearing heels and wearing makeup and wearing skirts and stuff for a minute, honey. I just like didn’t know that that meant – that I had a title.”

 

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