Queer music icon Janelle Monáe is set to be recognised for their longstanding LGBTQ+ advocacy.
On 22 October, the Make Me Feel artist will be honoured with the Trailblazer award at the 2022 Outfest Legacy Awards (per Variety).
The ceremony, which is set to take place at Paramount Studios, will highlight Monáe for their tireless LGBTQ+ activism and queer inclusive music career.
“The Outfest Legacy Awards has become one of entertainment’s most respected and meaningful industry events that spotlight the artists, leadership and organisations that have significantly contributed to queer representation and advocacy across media, arts and entertainment,” Outfest executive director Damien S. Navarro said in a statement.
“We invite the world to join us in lifting up our awardees who have collectively inspired a new generation of creators, storytellers, and audiences — carving a path for tomorrow’s artists.”
Throughout their 15-year career, Monáe has constantly used their platform to shine a light on their queer identity and LGBTQ+ activism.
In a 2018 interview with Rolling Stone, the Moonlight star revealed that they were pansexual.
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“Being a queer black woman in America, someone who has been in relationships with both men and women – I consider myself to be a free-ass motherf***er,” she said.
“I read about pansexuality and was like, ‘Oh, these are things that I identify with too.'”
Four years after their landmark announcement, the Tightrope singer came out as non-binary during an interview on Red Table talk.
“I’m non-binary, so I just don’t see myself as a woman solely. I feel all of my energy. I feel like God is so much bigger than the ‘he’ or the ‘she,'” they said.
“And if I am from God, I am everything. I am everything. But I will always, always stand with women. I will always stand with Black women. But I just see everything that I am. Beyond the binary.”
Monaé has also used their public appearances to spread awareness regarding the injustices that Black women and LGBTQ+ people face.
During the 2022 BET Awards, they condemned the US Supreme Court for overturning Roe v. Wade – which legalised abortion nationwide.
“I want to give a special, special shout out to Black women, to Black queer artists, to Black non-binary artists,” she said.
“These artists are making art on our own terms, owning our truths and expressing ourselves freely and unapologetically in a world that tries to control and police our bodies. My body and our decisions, my decisions.”
Congratulations are in order for our queer and non-binary icon Janelle Monáe.
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