Sara Ramirez, who is known for their role as Dr Callie Torres on Grey’s Anatomy, has casually confirmed their gender identity as non-binary.
In an Instagram post, Ramirez shared a selfie writing:
“In me is the capacity to be girlish boy, boyish girl, boyish boy, girlish girl, all, neither.”
They finished the caption with the hashtag non-binary alongside hearts in the colours of the non-binary flag.
Sara Ramirez also updated their Twitter bio, which already stated their pronouns as she/they, adding “non-binary human”.
Ramirez came out as bisexual, in equally casual fashion, in 2016 in a speech at the True Colour’s Fund’s 40 to None Summit.
In their speech, they spoke about coming from families “heavily rooted in Catholicism” on both their Mexican and Irish sides.
“So many of our youth experiencing homelessness are youth whose lives touch on many intersections – whether they be gender identity, gender expression, race, class, sexual orientation, religion, citizenship status,” they said.
“Because of the intersections that exist in my own life: Woman, multi-racial woman, woman of colour, queer, bisexual, Mexican-Irish American immigrant, and raised by families heavily rooted in Catholicism on both my Mexican and Irish sides.
“I am deeply, deeply invested in projects that allow our youth’s voices to be heard, and that support our youth in owning their own complex narratives so that we can show up for them in the ways they need us to.”
Following the speech, Ramirez told People Magazine that they had previously feared the impact coming out might have on their career but was compelled to do so following the Pulse massacre.
“As the years went by, and as the political climate intensified, and as I continued to read and hear about the countless forms of violence perpetrated against us, including the Orlando shooting at Pulse nightclub, an organic, incremental urgency to use my platform to empower those who are part of these communities that I’m a part of came over me in a way that I’ve never felt before,” they said.
“Coming out publicly has given me a sense of relief.”
The character of Dr Callie Torres played by Ramirez on Grey’s Anatomy made history as the longest-running LGBT+ character on television, having appeared in 11 seasons and 241 episodes.
After they left the series in season 12, they went on to star in another queer role on Madam Secretary.
© 2020 GCN (Gay Community News). All rights reserved.
Support GCN
GCN is a free, vital resource for Ireland’s LGBTQ+ community since 1988.
GCN is a trading name of National LGBT Federation CLG, a registered charity - Charity Number: 20034580.
GCN relies on the generous support of the community and allies to sustain the crucial work that we do. Producing GCN is costly, and, in an industry which has been hugely impacted by rising costs, we need your support to help sustain and grow this vital resource.
Supporting GCN for as little as €1.99 per month will help us continue our work as Ireland’s free, independent LGBTQ+ media.
comments. Please sign in to comment.