JoJo Siwa revealed she’s ‘technically’ pansexual — here’s what that means – Today.com
Three months after she came out as a member of the LGBTQ community, JoJo Siwa opened up in a recent interview with People where she discussed not wanting to put a “label” on her sexuality initially and admits that she is still trying to “figure it out.”
“I still don’t know what I am. It’s like, I want to figure it out. And I have this joke. Her name is Kylie. And so I say that I’m Ky-sexual,” she said, referring to her girlfriend, Kylie Prew. “But like, I don’t know, bisexual, pansexual, queer, lesbian, gay, straight. I always just say gay because it just kind of covers it or queer because I think the keyword is cool.”
The 17-year-old continued, adding, “I like queer. Technically I would say that I am pansexual because that’s how I have always been my whole life is just like, my human is my human.”
What does pansexual mean?
The media organization GLAAD defines pansexual as “a person who has the capacity to form enduring physical, romantic, and/or emotional attractions to those of any or all genders. Pansexual people are typically considered part of the bisexual community.”
The Trevor Project reported in a 2019 National Survey on LGBTQ Youth Mental Health, which surveyed tens of thousands of LGBTQ youth aged 13 to 24 across the United States, that 1 in 5 LGBTQ youth uses a term other than lesbian, gay, or bisexual to describe their sexual orientation. Pansexual and panromantic asexual were among the over 100 sex orientations that LGBTQ youth identified with.
There have been conversations around the differences between being bisexual and pansexual over the years. According to GLAAD, bisexual means being attracted to more than one gender, while pansexual means being attracted to all gender identities or attracted to people no matter their gender identity.
Other celebrities who identify as pansexual
Siwa is not alone in Hollywood when it comes to identifying as pansexual. Over the last five years, many celebrities have gotten candid about their sexuality and have come out as pansexual, including Grammy-nominated singer Janelle Monáe and “Outer Banks” star Madison Bailey.
Most recently, Demi Lovato opened up in an interview for “The Joe Rogan Experience” podcast on March 29, revealing that she describes herself as pansexual. Lovato explained to the host that she is attracted to both men and women and “anything really.”
“I’m so fluid now, and a part of the reason why I am so fluid is because I was, like, super closeted off,” she said.
Cara Delevingne opened up about her sexuality in June 2020, telling Variety, “I always will remain, I think, pansexual. However one defines themselves, whether it’s ‘they’ or ‘he’ or ‘she,’ I fall in love with the person — and that’s that. I’m attracted to the person.”
Brendon Urie, the frontman of Panic! At The Disco confirmed that he identified as pansexual to Paper Magazine in 2018. In the interview, the “High Hopes” singer said that while he is married to a woman whom he is “very much in love with,” he isn’t “opposed to a man because to me, I like a person.”
“Yeah I guess you could qualify me as pansexual because I really don’t care,” he added. “If a person is great, then a person is great. I just like good people, if your heart’s in the right place. I’m definitely attracted to men. It’s just people that I am attracted to.”
Miley Cyrus has been outspoken about her sexuality over the years, officially stating that she identifies as pansexual in 2015.
“‘I’m very open about it – I’m pansexual,” she told Elle UK just a few months after she shared in an interview with Time Magazine that she has had relationships in the past with both men and women.
The “Midnight Sky” singer opened up during an episode of her Instagram show “Bright Minded” last March about how growing up in the church made it difficult to figure out her sexuality.
“I was also brought up in the church in Tennessee at a time in the ‘90s, so it was a less accepting time with all that,” Cyrus told her guest, Hailey Bieber. “I had a hard time with me finding my sexuality, too.”
Although she admits she is still discovering herself and her sexuality, Siwa is happier than ever since coming out as part of the LBGTQ community.
“My thing is, I don’t want people to watch my videos or buy my merchandise if they aren’t going to support not only me, but the LGBTQ community,” she said.
“I’ve never gotten this much support from the world. I think this is the first time that I’ve felt so personally happy. Performing has always made me super happy. But for the first time, personally, I am like, whoa, happiness.
“I am so proud to be me.”
