Lil Uzi Vert’s Pronoun Shift is Positively Disruptive
The message was delivered gently, but the impact is huge.
Have you seen Lil Uzi Vert’s Instagram bio yet? There’s nothing terribly sensational about it…except for a new update to the pronoun section, that now states: they/them.
Why is this so important? While Lil Uzi Vert has not explicitly stated a shift of identity from male to non-binary or gender non-conforming, the pronoun change on an account that 16.1 million people follow is massively important because it chips away at rap’s heteronormativity.
It also signals visible resistance against the stigma of queerness within the Black community. A 2021 UCLA report found that “forty-nine percent of Black LGBTQ+ adults say they have strained relationships with their parents, compared to 33 percent of their straight Black peers,” suggesting that queerness within Black families is still a point of great friction. When it comes to queer people facing discrimination, the Center for American Progress found that “LGBTQ people of color are more…
