<\/p>\n
Sam Smith is looking back at their journey with gender identity and explaining why publicly identifying as non-binary in 2019 did not feel like the beginning of that story.<\/p>\n
The 34-year-old singer discussed the subject during a new interview with Apple Music\u2019s Zane Lowe, saying they had understood themselves that way throughout their recording career but did not always have the language to describe it. Just Jared reported<\/a> on the comments after the interview was released August 19.<\/p>\n Smith connected that process of self-discovery with becoming famous at 21, when their career accelerated around the period leading into their 2014 debut album, In the Lonely Hour<\/em>. They recalled trying to understand who they were while simultaneously dealing with industry pressure, a rapidly changing life and expectations from an audience that had first encountered them in their early twenties.<\/p>\n Smith publicly discussed being non-binary in 2019 and announced that September <\/a>that they would use they\/them pronouns. In the new conversation, however, they traced that identity much further back, explaining that what changed around age 27 was not who they were but their ability to put it into words.<\/p>\nSmith Says They Had \u2018Always Been Non-Binary\u2019<\/h2>\n