Actress Cynthia Erivo, star of the Oscar-nominated film Wicked, recently gave a speech at the GLAAD Media Awards where she insisted on people using preferred pronouns.
Receiving the Stephen F. Kolzak Award for “making a significant difference in raising visibility and promoting the acceptance of LGBTQ people and issues,” Erivo said that it should it not be difficult to say “they/them” – words that have “been in the human vocabulary since the dawn of time.”
“I have spoken about being your whole self and your true self, I speak about the prizes that come from being you against the odds, but rarely do I acknowledge how hard that can be. So I thought that I would make some room for those of us who are trying to find the courage to exist as we want. Because I think this is the space to do that,” she began.
“It isn’t easy. None of it is, waking up and choosing to be yourself, proclaiming a space belongs to you when you don’t feel welcomed,” she continued. “Teaching people on a daily basis how to address you, and dealing with the frustration of re-teaching people a word that has been in the human vocabulary since the dawn of time: they/them. Words used to describe pedantically two or more people; poetically, a person who is simply more.”
Erivo then encouraged those who feel forgotten to be patient until they find the path they seek.
Paul Roland Bois directed the award-winning Christian tech thriller, EXEMPLUM, which has a 100% Rotten Tomatoes critic rating and can be viewed for FREE on YouTube, Tubi, or Fawesome TV. “Better than Killers of the Flower Moon,” wrote Mark Judge. “You haven’t seen a story like this before,” wrote Christian Toto. A high-quality, ad-free rental can also be streamed on Google Play, Vimeo on Demand, or YouTube Movies. Follow him on X @prolandfilms or Instagram @prolandfilms.
