Miley Cyrus opens up about pansexuality, coming out

MANILA, Philippines – Miley Cyrus is one of the women featured in Variety‘s “Power of Women” issue, and in her interview, she opened up about her pansexuality, among other topics.

Miley has spoken about her sexuality before, but shared with Variety how she first became involved with the LGBTQ community and what it was like to come out to her parents and her family.

“I always hated the word ‘bisexual,’ because that’s even putting me in a box. I don’t ever think about someone being a boy or someone being a girl. Also, my nipple pasties and sh-t never felt sexualized to me,” said Miley, whose outrageous outfits have made headlines in the past.

She continued: “My eyes started opening in the fifth or sixth grade. My first relationship in my life was with a chick. I grew up in a very religious Southern family. The universe has always given me the power to know I’ll be okay. Even at that time, when my parents didn’t understand, I just felt that one day they are going to understand.”

Miley didn’t identify as pansexual right away. When asked when she began to do so, she said it was when she learned about it on a visit to an LGBTQ center in LA.

“I saw one human in particular who didn’t identify as male or female. Looking at them, they were both: beautiful and sexy and tough but vulnerable and feminine but masculine. And I related to that person more than I related to anyone in my life. Even though I may seem very different, people may not see me as neutral as I feel. But I feel very neutral. I think that was the first gender-neutral person I’d ever met. Once I understood my gender more, which was unassigned, then I understood my sexuality more. I was like, ‘Oh – that’s why I don’t feel straight and I don’t feel gay. It’s because I’m not.'”

The pop star has come a long way from her Hannah Montana days on the Disney Channel – she’s since founded the Happy Hippie Foundation, which fights for homeless youth and LGBTQ youth, and is a coach on the current season of The Voice.

When asked what her parents think of her work now, Miley shared: “On The Voice, this young girl started crying when she left, because I’m the reason she came out. My mom started crying. She was like, ‘I’m so sorry about the way I was when you were that age and coming out.’ She never understood me until she saw that girl who couldn’t be herself. It was very cool.”

Miley is currently dating her former fiancé Liam Hemsworth, though neither of them have confirmed nor denied it. Publications like People and Us Weekly have cited their own sources confirming that the two are together and even engaged again.

On acting and politics

Miley has also been keeping herself busy with Crisis in Six Scenes, a TV series by Woody Allen. Woody was accused in 1993 of sexually assaulting 7-year-old Dylan Farrow, the adoptive daughter of his then-girlfriend Mia Farrow.

Dylan herself renewed the allegations in 2014, years after the investigation was closed, but Woody once again denied her accusations.

Miley said that she went into Crisis in Six Scenes without prejudice: “I live a similar life to Woody — I live a public life. Until I know someone and I know their story, I never really judge anyone. That’s kind of how I went into it. From the way I saw him with his family, I never saw him be anything but an incredible person and a really great dad. People might slam me for saying that. I’m sure it was a hard time for that family. My family has been through hard things, and I think everyone’s suffering is different.”

Miley, who was a staunch supporter of former US presidential contender Bernie Sanders, also voiced out her support for Hillary Clinton, as opposed to the Republican Party’s Donald Trump.

When asked what she would say to former supporters of Sanders who are now considering voting for Trump, Miley said, “That’s f-cking crazy and you’re out of your mind. It’s literally p-ssing me off more than anything. If you could ever consider Donald Trump, you never understood Bernie [Sanders] in the first place.”

Trump has earned the ire of many with his harsh statements on minority groups, media groups, and Gold Star families, among others.

Most recently, an old video interview with Access Hollywood host Billy Bush was leaked, and Trump could be heard talking about groping women and having sex with a married woman.

Despite his apology, Trump lost dozens of Republican supporters from the Senate, the House of Representatives, and governors. – Rappler.com