Demi Lovato cut hair to 'shed gender norms'
Demi Lovato cut their hair short to free themselves of all gender norms.
The Skyscraper singer took to Instagram late last year to show off their brand-new cropped hairstyle, having had long brunette locks for many years.
But following a long journey towards self-acceptance, including announcing their decision to use gender-neutral pronouns after coming out as non-binary in May, Demi realised it was time to switch-up their go-to hairstyle.
"The reasoning behind me cutting my hair off was because I was shedding all of the gender norms that have been placed on me growing up female in this world," they shared during a recent chat with Jane Fonda for the 4D with Demi Lovato podcast. "I just always found that men were at the root of pushing their agendas on me to be a sexy popstar, to (be) whatever would make other people the most money. And I had to break that mould because I had to find the freedom for myself in order to survive, to live."
Demi went on to explain that the decision to rebel against societal norms was influenced by a period of reflection following their opioid overdose in June 2018, as well as attending a friend's poetry reading, in which one of the performers identified as non-binary.
"I came to a really close near-death experience in 2018, and that, for me, was the wake-up call to start living my life. Because there was a voice inside of me that said, 'You're not living. And if you don't start living your life for you, it's going to be your demise.'
"I think it came in two tiers for me. I think the first tier was going to a friend's poetry slam show that I identified so profoundly with, because they were talking about not conforming to genders and identifying not as male or female," the 28-year-old continued. "And when I heard their take on that, I identified with it so much that I thought to myself: 'Oh, there's something here. There's something that I've never known about my entire life but it's clicking now.'"
