Image Source: Getty / Amy Sussman
A few days before Pride Month, Dove Cameron spoke in a touching interview for the summer edition of Gay times. “I have been pointing out my sexuality for years while I was afraid to phrase it for everyone,” said Dove, adding that she refuses to compromise her identity any longer. “I was never confused about who I was. [But] I felt like I wasn’t being accepted and I had this strange story that people wouldn’t believe me. “
After Dove saw that her prominent role models, including Ben Platt, Kristen Stewart, and Cara Delevingne, were her true, authentic selves, she wondered if she could do the same. “It felt like something I could never talk about,” she said. “I feel like the industry has changed a lot as people with platforms have space to be human and not be taken apart. I was very nervous about getting out and one day I dropped it because I behaved like someone who was outside and I realized it wasn’t me. “
“I choose to love myself, to be who I am every day, and not edit myself based on the room I’m in. I don’t apologize for who I am.”
Dove spoke about her sexuality for the first time on an Instagram Live in August 2020. “I went on Instagram Live and said, ‘Guys, I really had to explain something to you. Maybe I didn’t tell you, but I’m super queer. This is something I want to portray through my music because I am”, she remembered. “Since then, I’ve had an amazing relationship with my fans and we have this very safe space that we created.”
Ever since Dove came out as queer, she’s hoped her life as her real self will inspire fans in similar situations to do the same. “I’m not a label person, but I’d say I’m queer and that’s probably my most accurate way of representing myself,” she said. “Coming out was more about who I am as a whole than who I date or who I sleep with. I choose to love myself, to be who I am every day and not depend on myself the edit room I’m in. I don’t apologize for who I am. “
