There aren’t many openly non-binary celebrities in the public eye, though thankfully, that list is growing.
Singer Sam Smith opened up about his gender identity Jameela Jamil’s new Instagram show “I Weigh Interviews.” In the past, Smith has publicly explored his gender identity, revealing in a 2017 interview with The Sunday Times that he could “feel just as much woman as I am man.”
In this new interview, however, Smith identified explicitly with the label “non-binary” itself. (Smith has not yet openly changed his pronouns, but this post will be updated to reflect them in the event he does.)
“When I saw the word non-binary/genderqueer and I read into it and I heard these people speaking,” Smith told Jamil, “I was like, “Fuck, that is me.”
Smith described a “wall” in terms of thinking about his gender identity in the past. Despite that wall, the singer felt comfortable enough to describe what genderqueer identity meant to him:
“Non-binary/genderqueer is that you do not identify in a gender. You are a mixture of all different things. You are your own special creation. That’s how I take it — I am not male or female. I think I float somewhere in between — it’s all on the spectrum.”
Smith, who has been outspoken about his sexual orientation in the past, said he has been thinking about his gender using the same framework.
“I’ve always been very free in terms of thinking about my sexuality, so I’ve just tried to change that into my thoughts on gender as well.”
In a genuinely powerful (not just saying that) interview, Smith dug in deep about his body image and gender identity throughout the years. At the age of eleven, Smith revealed, the singer developed “breasts” from an excess of estrogen — not an uncommon problem, he added, among young men. A year later, Smith had liposuction to help him control his weight.
The singer also talked about the more feminine aspects of his personality and his body. By the age of sixteen, Smith revealed, he was beginning to wear fur, leggings, and male make-up to school. As he got older, he moved deeper into his feminine self — even as he sought to develop a Fight Club-style, hyper-masculine body.
“When I move, when I have sex with men, it’s very feminine,” Smith said. “I’ve been very feminine in many ways — and I’ve resented that.”
At points in his life, Smith further revealed, he has considered a sex change:
“I’ve sometimes sat there and questioned, do I want a sex change?” he said. “It’s something I still think about, but I don’t think it is (something I want).”
There aren’t many openly non-binary celebrities — director Jill Solloway, model Ezra Miller, actress Ruby Rose, and drag queen Sasha Velour are the most visible — even as more and more teens identify as non-binary or genderqueer than ever before.
Smith’s interview is a big admission, and a welcome one.
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MOUNT PLEASANT, Iowa — Beto O’Rourke said Friday that America’s capitalist economy is “racist,” while he praised a proposal to give infants so-called baby bonds to address systemic inequalities.
Responding to a question at a meet-and-greet in Iowa about whether he is a socialist, O’Rourke reiterated that “I consider myself a capitalist” and said capitalism is necessary to meet myriad “historic challenges” facing the country.
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“It won’t be government intervention or policy alone that makes it possible,” he said.
However, O’Rourke added at a coffee shop here, “Having said that, it is clearly an imperfect, unfair, unjust and racist capitalist economy.”
On Friday, O’Rourke lamented “the disparity in wealth accumulation between white America and black America” and spoke favorably about a proposal to give infants a “baby bond” of hundreds of thousands of dollars at birth — an idea Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) has embraced.
“This idea of a baby bond, where there’s an investment made in every single American depending on their means, will not solve every problem in disparity in wealth and income and opportunity in this country,” O’Rourke said. “But it could go a long way to ensuring that there’s a little bit more fairness in this country.”
O’Rourke, the former Texas congressman who became a Democratic sensation after his near-miss Texas Senate race last year, had opened his second day as a presidential candidate with an impassioned response to the mass shootings at two mosques in New Zealand. While offering prayers and thoughts, he said, “I hope that you will agree with me that it is not enough just to be compassionate, thoughtful and prayerful at this moment.”
He said such “acts of hatred and violence … are on the rise around the Western World.”
“They’re on the rise right here in this country,” O’Rourke said. “They’re part of a larger disease of intolerance that has taken hold in what was thought to be the most tolerant, most open and most welcoming country the world had ever known.”
We’ve all been there – with so much media to consume, it’s impossible to keep up, and sometimes – even when it’s literally your job, ahem – analysis paralysis sets in and it’s impossible to summon the motivation or commitment required for a new binge.
Well, to be clear, I was in a slump. And then I started Amazon’s Four More Shots Please and let myself fall in headfirst. A show about four female friends navigating adulthood isn’t new by any stretch – but it’s never been done in Mumbai with an Indian cast, and I couldn’t tear myself away.
Four More Shots Please is the story of four besties; media boss Damini (Sayani Gupta), working mom Anjana (Kirti Kulhari), fitness instructor Umang (Gurbani), and the baby of the group Siddhi (Maanvi Gagroo). The series is primarily in English, with Hindi, Punjabi, and Marathi peppered in (also everything has captions now, you’ll be fine).
Four More Shots Please, written by Devika Bhagat and Ishita Moitra and directed by Anu Menon, is part of Bollywood’s growing feminist film wave, and the first piece of content in this genre to stream globally and not have to answer to India’s notorious film censorship board. India’s Netflix and Amazon series have found international audiences and critical acclaim, offering a fruitful playground for complex storytelling.
Naturally, 10 episodes does what a feature cannot. The show’s de facto predecessor is the 2018 film Veere Di Wedding, which drew from similar archetypes but didn’t have the luxury of time to dive deeper into subplots and add extra nuance. We spend equal time with Damini’s demanding job and OCD, Siddhi’s socialite helicopter mom, and Anjana struggling to move on from her divorce.
This narrative freedom is most apparent in Umang, who moved to Mumbai from the villages of Punjab to escape marital pressure and live honestly as a bisexual woman. She may be the show’s least loquacious lead, but her identity is honest and consistent – not a trendy accessory worn at the show’s convenience. Four More Shots happened to hit Amazon the week before Bollywood’s first mainstream queer movie, and the thrill of seeing these stories told with South Asian characters cannot be overstated.
It’s such a small act of resistance, but seeing Indian people kiss and curse and drink is novel, because we’ve been doing it out here the whole time.
Growing up with Indian cinema, I always got to see myself on screen in some capacity. Hollywood’s increased diversity and Bollywood’s trailblazing have showcased even more authentic versions of myself. It’s such a small act of resistance, but seeing Indian people kiss and curse and drink is novel, because we’ve been doing it out here the whole time.
I have one chief critique of Four More Shots Please which encompasses most of its issues (two if you count the fact that they really do drink a lot – but as a low-tolerance lightweight, I’ll hold my peace): It’s trying too hard. As with Veere, Four More Shots piles on the cursing and sex to the point where other elements feel suffocated – but that’s also a necessary measure when one considers how repressed most Indian media has been until today. Maybe if we overshoot our target (e.g. protagonists shouting “VAGINA” at a public pier), we’ll eventually land where need to.
Trying too hard also means appealing to Western feminism, which is very much alive in India’s urban hubs but not even a blip in the country’s vast rural population. The leads of Four More Shots are objectively privileged, as are most TV heroes – the difference is that they have Western-level privilege in a developing country. In India, the gap between haves and have nots might as well be light years.
This discrepancy was sharply highlighted when I paused between episodes to watch Period. End of Sentence, the Oscar-winning documentary short about women in India’s villages who don’t have access to regular menstruation products. As a viewer, how does one reconcile these polarized versions of Indian femininity? Why should I watch these characters literally go to Goan Coachella when I can watch the same thing on Insecure?
The ladies of ‘Four More Shots Please’ do not have time for bull shit.
Image: amazon
If I’m seeing Indian characters on TV, I want them to be Indian, and that extends beyond accents and skin color (incidentally, all four leads are extremely light-skinned). I want to hear culturally specific or mixed music, not pop covers that seem tailor-made for The CW. These protagonists seem intent on shedding not only gender constraints, but cultural ones – and the concerning question here is whether or not we can separate the two.
All of this was present in my mind from episode 1 through to the finale, yet I could not stop watching Four More Shots Please. It reminded me how I devoured every episode and season of Girls on HBO, even at its most abrasive. I don’t know that I would be friends with any of these characters, but I could watch them live their lives for hours (reader, I did!).
The beauty of a show like Four More Shots or a movie like Veere Di Wedding is that it’s only the beginning. These texts carry the enormous burden of being bold enough to bet on women, and the payoff of seeing even a few of these stories told is monumental. Another shot, please. I’ll be staying at this bar.
Four More Shots Please is now streaming on Amazon Prime.
Former Texas congressman Beto O’Rourke speaks to local residents during a meet and greet at the Beancounter Coffeehouse & Drinkery, March 14, in Burlington, Iowa. | AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall
Many Democrats see a double standard in the fanfare surrounding O’Rourke’s 2020 campaign launch.
Since announcing her 2020 run, Elizabeth Warren has dispensed three major policy proposals, held 30 campaign events and visited nearly a dozen states.
Since announcing his 2020 run, Beto O’Rourke has made one visit to Iowa, where he vaguely outlined his positions,including from atop a cafe counter.
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Guess who’s getting the star treatment.
The breathless, sweeps-like cable television coverage that greeted the former Texas congressman’s first campaign events stunned and frustrated many Democratic operatives — particularly women — who viewed it as an example of the double standard at work in the historically diverse presidential field.
To them, O’Rourke, a white, male candidate had already been ordained the next sensation, his entry into the race greased by live television shots and O’Rourke-centric panels.
And that was after the national press swarmed him in El Paso during a recent Donald Trump appearance there, after O’Rourke graced the latest Vanity Fair cover, and after Oprah Winfrey, who had her choice of accomplished women candidates to feature on her program, instead zeroed in on the white guy from Texas.
“I feel like the media is always captivated by the person they seem to think is a phenom: Bernie. Trump. Beto. But they always seem to be white men who are phenoms. In a year where we have more choices than ever, more women and more persons of color than ever, none of them seem to be deemed a phenom,” said Mary Anne Marsh, a Democratic political consultant.
“It’s a replay of Donald Trump vs. Hillary Clinton. Instead, it’s Beto O’Rourke in the Bernie Sanders role, to the detriment of every woman running. Not one woman got that kind of coverage. Not one. Not Kamala. Not Kirsten. Not Elizabeth Warren. Not Amy Klobuchar in a blizzard.”
“So what have we learned?” Marsh continued. “Nothing.”
While the 2018 midterm elections set the stage for women making historic gains in Congress — and last month marked another groundbreaking moment when five women officeholders joined the presidential race — no woman on the Democratic side received the kind of wall-to-wallcoverage O’Rourke received.
And unlike O’Rourke, who rocketed to stardom last year as he raised a record-breaking $80 million in his unexpectedly close defeat to Republican Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, all of them had won their last election.
“I fully appreciate that he can espouse progressive values as a Democrat, that’s a benefit for the Democratic field. I don’t welcome being fed the retro candidacy,” said Tracy Sefl, a Democratic strategist and onetime Hillary Clinton adviser. “There’s a romanticizing of him. It’s the artful Vanity Fair cover — but in reality he was in Keokuk, Iowa in a coffee shop. The coffee shop had more reporters in it than Iowans. That’s the product of romanticizing.”
Frustrations over the hyper-coverage of O’Rourke began to build on the eve of his campaign rollout, when Vanity Fair published its April edition online featuring photos taken by the renowned Annie Leibovitz. On the cover stood O’Rourke in blue jeans on a dusty Texas road with a headline declaring: “Beto’s Choice: I want to be in it. Man, I’m just born to be in it.”
His comments, which to some Democrats carried the scent of white male privilege, set fire to a whole different set of frustrations.
“A woman could never say ‘I was born to do this.’ But you know what? I think that some women were and it pains me that a woman couldn’t get away with saying that,” Sefl said.
Other female Democratic operatives questioned whether the women candidates could have gotten away with some of the comments O’Rourke made Thursday about his parenting style, or taken the kind of well-publicized, sans-family road trip he took earlier this year.
“I actually really like Beto, but all you have to do is put his quotes into the mouth of a hypothetical woman candidate: she ‘sometimes’ takes care of her kids, she was ‘born for this’, her speech was just ‘amazing, every word pulled out of me’ to know that women would not be the object of adoration,” said Jess McIntosh, a Democratic strategist and former senior communications staffer on the Hillary Clinton campaign.
Each candidate, of course, has had his or her moment in the sun. All of the topDemocratic contenders have taken turns appearing on late night talk shows or CNN town halls. Harris announced her candidacy on“Good Morning America,” and cable news channels carried live her subsequent Oakland, Calif. rally, which drew some 20,000 people.
But Warren, for example, was initially greeted in Iowaby crowds that stretched for several blocks in Des Moines yet her visit wasn’t carried live as some outlets carried O’Rourke’s on Thursday.
Democratic pollster and strategist Celinda Lake argued that it wasn’t just O’Rourke who was getting special treatment — she says there’s a broader gender imbalance at play. When it comes to substance, she said the women running have fielded more questions on their records and have received the brunt of negative stories to date.
Klobuchar has been hit with tough stories about her treatment of staff while Gillibrand has faced questions about the handling of a sexual harassment complaint in her office. Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard has been sharply scrutinized for her position on Syria and her comments about Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.And Warren has been besieged by stories about her past claims of having Native American heritage.
“I think if you look at the pattern, there is a real distinction between the way men were covered and the way the women were covered. There’s a huge double standard,” Lake said. “With women, many, many more negatives were raised and the men were treated like the second coming. I’m surprised that this is continuing in 2019, after the year of the woman.”
The best-known male candidates haven’t exactly had a free pass. Bernie Sanders, an early frontrunner in polls, in January has to contend with allegations of sexual harassment within his 2016 campaign and sharp criticism from former Hillary Clinton staffers.The hefty speaking fees of prospective candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden have beenclosely examined.
Even so, some Democratic operatives said, women are not only treated differently by the media as a whole, they face an inherent, entrenched sexism from voters.
“They are observed in different ways, they are consumed in different ways,” says Sefl. “We expect them to speak about their roles in different ways.”
That much is true, says McIntosh, whopointed to O’Rourke’s admission in an interview that he struggles to connect, even with his family at times, as the kind of revelation that a woman candidate could not make without being penalized.
“Women can’t take that path and be seen as leaders,” McIntosh said. “My hope is that watching strong men and women candidates run alongside each other in real time is going to help us acknowledge and address some of these double standards.”
Ireland’s Prime Minister Leo Varadkar made some positive waves on Thursday when, on his official visit with Vice President Mike Pence, he was accompanied by his partner, Dr. Matthew Barrett.
Vice President Mike Pence invited me and Matt to his home at the Naval Observatory this morning. It’s great to be back here for a really warm reception. pic.twitter.com/Wkh2Ic8lWP
Varadkar and Barrett joined Pence and Pence’s sister Ann for the Friends of Ireland breakfast at the VP’s Naval Observatory residence. It was part of the prime minister’s state visit, which also included a sit-down with President Trump.
In speaking at the breakfast on Thursday, Varadkar exquisitely addressed such bias without criticizing Pence directly, saying:
I lived in a country where, if I’d tried to be myself at the time, it would have ended up breaking laws. But today, that is all changed. I stand here, leader of my country, flawed and human, but judged by my political actions, and not by my sexual orientation, my skin tone, gender or religious beliefs. And I don’t believe that my country is the only one in the world where this is possible… We are, after all, all God’s children.
Pence, for his part, was warm and welcoming to Varadkar and Barrett on Thursday, calling the prime minister’s speech “inspiring words.” He also addressed Barrett, saying, “But we’re also really honored to be joined by your partner, Dr. Matthew Barrett. He does great work at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago. And, Matt, it’s an honor to have you here with us as well.”
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TGIF, everybody. I’m sure you probably have big plans for the weekend, but if those plans include the couch, a pair of comfy pants, and your remote, here are a few shows and movies you might want to cue up.
Each week, the PCMag features team will take turns highlighting the streaming content they’re excited to watch or think you should binge. Feel free to leave your suggestions in the comments.
Billions (Showtime)
Bobby Axelrod returns this weekend with a new ally and a burning desire to destroy Taylor Mason. Catch up on last season’s twists and turns via the Showtime app before the fourth season of Billions premieres on Sunday, March 17 at 9 p.m. ET/PT.
High Maintenance (HBO)
If the cutthroat world of hedge funds and New York politics has you on edge, chill out with HBO’s High Maintenance. The series, now in its third season, offers charming vignettes of New Yorkers trying to get by with a little help from an affable weed dealer known only as The Guy. In some episodes, he’s the focal point, in others, he floats in and out of the stories unfolding on the screen. Watch the series from the beginning, jump into season three, or just do whatever, man.
Shrill (Hulu)
In the typical Hollywood production, fat characters are depicted as desperately trying to lose weight to get the guy, fit into that dress, or otherwise mold themselves into a wispy vision of perfection deemed acceptable by magazines, fashion designers, and society at large. Shrill is not that story. The Hulu adaptation of writer Lindy West’s best-selling memoir, this series follows Annie (SNL’s Aidy Bryant) as she tries to change her life — but not her body. It premieres on March 15.
PEN15 (Hulu)
Middle school is the worst, no matter when you attended. But for Anna and Maya, the year is 2000, and the inseparable duo are super excited for seventh grade. Unfortunately, Maya’s bowl cut and Anna’s awkwardness don’t do them any favors, but their pain is our cringe-y comedy gold.
The show is intended for adults nostalgic for some 90s goodness; Maya and Anna are actually played by actresses in their 30s—PEN15 creators Maya Erskine and Anna Konkle—while their classmates are played by pre-teen actors. It’s an odd setup, but it works, and allows for some hijinks that would likely be inappropriate for younger actors. Watch the 10-episode first season on Hulu now.
Queer Eye Season 3 (Netflix)
You know who would never shame Maya or Anna? The Fab Five. The Queer Eye boys return for a third season today, bringing love and style to a new group of people who need a little made-for-TV TLC.
Catastrophe Season 4 (Amazon Video)
Four seasons in and Sharon and Rob are still together, going through the usual ups and downs of marriage and kids. Enjoy their banter, as this is the last season of Catastrophe.
The Lives of Others (Netflix)
In 1984, Gerd Wiesler, a member of the East German secret police, is ordered to eavesdrop on a prominent playwright, Georg Dreyman—because, among other things, Wiesler’s boss has a thing for Dreyman’s girlfriend, a popular actress. The unassuming Wiesler sets up shop in Dreyman’s attic and listens to his every word. But how much does he tell his boss? Find out in The Lives of Others, which won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film in 2006, and arrives on Netflix today.
Colette (Amazon Video)
Do you work with someone who takes credit for your work? Then you’ll empathize with Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette, whose husband Willy passes her series of novels off as his own in this late 19th century period drama. She puts up with it for awhile, but ultimately has the last laugh. Celebrate Women’s History Month by watching Colette on Amazon Video.
Killing Eve (Hulu)
If you’re a Grey’s fan who’s missed Sandra Oh on your TV screen, her terrific portrayal of Eve Polastri, an MI5 officer on the hunt for a crafty hitwoman, will certainly hit the spot. Season two doesn’t air on BBC America until April, but you can catch up with season one on Hulu.
Two days after issuing a permanent ban to fan Shane Keisel for his interaction with Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook, the Utah Jazz banned another fan for a previous incident involving Westbrook.
According to Eric Woodyard of the Deseret News on Friday, the latest fan was banned for “degrading and offensive conduct” against Westbrook during a playoff game last season.
Woodyard tweeted video of a fan calling Westbrook “boy” prior to Game 4 of last season’s playoff series between the Jazz and Thunder at Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City on April 23:
Eric Woodyard @E_Woodyard
To Russell Westbrook’s defense, here is even further proof of his previous interactions with Utah Jazz fans. In this video, @russwest44 is called a “boy” by a Jazz fan ahead of Game 4 of OKC’s first-round playoff series against Utah on April 23, 2018 at Vivint Arena. https://t.co/lc6slA7fTo
Per Woodyard, the Jazz conducted an investigation and tracked down the fan in the video. A source told Woodyard, “The Jazz aren’t taking these matters lightly.”
Part of the verbal altercation between Westbrook and Keisel during Monday’s game was caught on camera, and it featured Westbrook threatening the fan and his wife (Warning: Some languageNSFW):
Eric Woodyard @E_Woodyard
Things get heated between Russell Westbrook and Utah Jazz fans again. “I’ll f*ck you up. You and your wife,” he says. Not sure what these fans said to him, but he also had issues with Jazz fans during the postseason. https://t.co/LquwRmLVNy
After the game, Westbrook told reporters that he felt Keisel made racist comments toward him:
Tim MacMahon @espn_macmahon
Russell Westbrook says the comment from the Jazz fan that set him off was: “Get down on your knees like you’re used to.” https://t.co/i0vIlblSwJ
Westbrook was also punished for his role in the incident with a $25,000 fine from the NBA.
Prior to Thursday’s home game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Jazz owner Gail Miller addressed the crowd, perESPN:
“I am extremely disappointed that one of our quote ‘fans’ conducted himself in such a way as to offend not only a guest in our arena, but also me personally, my family, our organization, the community, our players and you, as the best fans in the NBA.
“This should never happen. We are not a racist community. We believe in treating people with courtesy and respect as human beings. From time to time, individual fans exhibit poor behavior and forget their manners and disrespect players on other teams. When that happens, I want you to jump up and shout ‘stop.’ We have a code of conduct in this arena. It will be strictly enforced.”
The Jazz and Thunder are not scheduled to face each other again during the regular season, but Westbrook could still find himself back at Vivint Smart Arena by the time the 2018-19 campaign reaches its conclusion.
OKC is currently the No. 5 seed in the Western Conference and Utah is No. 6, meaning they could potentially position themselves for another first-round playoff series meeting if there is some slight movement in the standings down the stretch.
Daily Trends Hunter 