Though there have been many quietly queer, transgender, and bisexual stars over the years, recent years have seen many more of our favorite celebrities open up and speak comfortably about their own gender expression and sexual orientation. With the candor of these high-profile individuals, it’s likely that more and more people outside of the public eye are getting comfortable expressing their own diverse gender expressions and sexualities, too. Here are 15 of those celebs who are boldly inviting the rest of the world to live their truths, and encouraging a climate of acceptance and inclusion.
Miley Cyrus: After coming out as pansexual, Miley Cyrus further cemented that she’s not like everyone else, telling the UK’s Ross King that she feels “genderless and ageless.” She added: “I’m a spirit soul, not even divided by human beings or animals. I treat the planet with as much respect as possible.
There is no us and them — there’s no me and you. I want to be everything and I want to be also nothing. I just want to be able to be myself.” (Photo by Vivien Killilea/Getty Images for My Friend’s Place)
Steven Tyler: Back in Aerosmith’s heydey, singer and American Idol judge Steven Tyler was often lambasted for his feminine on-stage persona. But in his 2011 memoir Does the Noise in My Head Bother You?, the “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing” singer wrote, “I’ve been misquoted as saying that I’m more female than male. Let me set the record straight — it’s more half and half.” (Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images)
Amandla Stenberg: Back in 2016, teen star Amandla Stenberg told Elle that not only does the star prefer to use gender-neutral pronouns (they/them), but they also didn’t want to define their dating preferences in a traditional way. Then in June 2018, Stenberg came out as gay, telling Wonderland magazine, “I was so overcome with this profound sense of relief when I realized that I’m gay — not bi, not pan, but gay — with a romantic love for women. All of the things that felt so internally contrary to my truest self were rectified as I unraveled a long web of denial and self-deprivation.” (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for MTV)
