Pride Month 2020: Jason Mraz celebrates 'two-spirit' sexuality with a poem, says 'I am bi your side, all ways'
As Pride Month 2020 draws to an end, let's take another look at one of the LGBTQIA++ community's most reputable artists. American singer-songwriter Jason Mraz, who only came out officially in 2018, first spoke very vaguely about his sexuality during his debut in 2002. According to Washington Blade, in 2005, Mraz (who is now married to his girlfriend, Christina Carano, since 2015) described himself as “bisexually open-minded”. Mraz also told Pride Source in 2010 that his experimental younger years made him realize that he's "not really into facial hair."
When the 'I'm Yours' singer came out in 2018, he revealed to Billboard, “I’ve had experiences with men, even while I was dating the woman who became my wife. It was like, ‘Wow, does that mean I am gay?" Mraz then said that his wife "laid it out for me." He explained, “She calls it ‘two-spirit,’ which is what the Native Americans call someone who can love both man and woman. I really like that.”
Mraz also submitted a letter to Billboard for their annual Gay Pride Month initiative which reads:
Love Poem to the LGBTQ Community
Dear You,
Thank you.
You have inspired me.
Re-wired me.
You showed me what strength is.
You demonstrated courage over and over again.
You risked so much for love.
You never compromised your expression
Even when
Your rights and freedoms were being compromised.
You stood up for me.
You stood up for the world.
And now the world is better because of you.
We still have a long way to go
But know
I am bi your side.
All ways.
After the letter, Mraz shared why he opened up about his decision to publicly come out as bi at age 40 in an interview with Boston radio station WBUR. “I was making an example of my own sexual preferences, which at times have been on either the female gender or the male gender, so bisexuality if you will," he noted.
Mraz explained that while writing the letter, "I realized I couldn't write it to a community that stood over there. I was with that community, so it felt almost like a lie to say, ‘I'm with you.’ It felt more comforting and more authentic of me to say, ‘Yeah, this is who I am. I've been able to stand on both sides.'"
He also added, “Honestly, most of my life, I assumed that everyone must be 'B' until they land their identity, but for me, I do feel comfortable in my 'B,'" before mentioning an LGBTQIA++-based working title he was planning on giving his album 'Know'. Replacing the letter "B" in LGBT, the album was planned to get the moniker 'L-G-Me-T' to reference his bisexuality.
Jason Mraz has also shared his advocacy for equality on social media earlier this month. "On June 19th, a historic day in the advancement of equality, I am proud to stand in solidarity with and be of service to Black Lives by donating all of my earnings from sales and streams of my new LP recording, 'Look For The Good'," he wrote on Twitter. On June 5, Mraz said on Twitter, "I am encouraging my viewers to instead engage in your right to protest, and to register with @grassroots_law & @ACLU to hold police accountable for the human rights laws they are violating."