The Last of Us star, Bella Ramsey, recently identified themselves as non-binary. However, they are now a little skeptical of their decision to come out publicly.
Ramsey, who initially rose to fame after starring as Lyanna Mormont in The Game of Thrones, was never the one to shy away from talking about their gender identity.
They came out as non-binary in 2023 during the promotions of their hit HBO show, The Last of Us, an adaptation of the famous video game.
However, as the show gained popularity, so did its cast and a lot of undue attention was specifically garnered towards Ramsey’s gender identity.
This attention was the reason behind their skepticism of publicly disclosing their identity.
While they acknowledged that they were aware this decision [to publicly disclose their identity] would receive attention, they didn’t realize the depth of this attention, claiming that they were not prepared for all the headlines.
“Part of me looks back and I wish that I didn’t, because I didn’t want it to become a headline and a big thing,” they recently told The Guardian.
“And obviously it was going to, and I didn’t really understand that at the time.”
While the response to their announcement has been “a mixed bag”, which has often left Ramsey feeling overwhelmed.
The same response has also uplifted them, as they were able to inspire and be a source of representation for many in the same boat as them.
“People have said to me that it’s been very helpful for them seeing some representation,” they explained.
“So overall, I think it was a good thing just for me living more freely, without feeling like I’m keeping a secret.”
When talking about this experience in a recent interview they revealed that they are comfortable talking about their identity, however it should not be the only focus.
Ramsey wants people to be as “chill” about their identity as they are.
“I’ll talk about it, but I don’t want it to be the focus anymore.”
“I guess I’m just quite chill with it. And I want everyone else to be as chill with it basically,” they said.
For now, they are quite “chill” regarding their pronouns and are comfortable with being referred to as he, she or them.
Ramsey explained in a recent interview with Wired, that they don’t mind being referred to with any of these pronouns.
“[My pronouns] are whatever you fancy, really. A lot of people call me they, some people call me she, and occasionally I get a he.
“I’m sort of whatever. I’m pretty chill about it all for now. Maybe that’ll change, but for now…”
In an interview with New York Times in 2023, Ramsey also shared the excitement they have when someone calls them he.
“I guess my gender has always been very fluid.”
“Someone would call me ‘she’ or ‘her’ and I wouldn’t think about it, but I knew that if someone called me ‘he’ it was a bit exciting.”
While they are “chill” about their pronouns, they are not the biggest fan of being gendered.
“Being gendered isn’t something that I particularly like, but in terms of pronouns, I really couldn’t care less.”
So if they see the non-binary option in a form, they go for that as opposed to male or female.
When talking about their autism diagnosis, Ramsey revealed that while labels like “autistic” help them uncover themselves more, they are less comfortable with rigid gender labels.
Furthermore, regarding their autism, they stated that it enabled them to make more sense of things, which previously they couldn’t fully understand.
“It enables me to walk through the world with more grace towards myself about not being able to do the easy everyday tasks that everyone else seems to be able to do” they shared.
“Labels do not feel comfy for me in any capacity. I feel like I’m putting myself into a box. I feel trapped” they confessed.
Ramsey has also acknowledged that their fame has made it difficult to keep matters private.
“As much as I would try and keep it private, if someone recognizes me on the street… and takes a photo, then that is just talked about,” they commented.
They also highlighted the pressure actors face to provide clear-cut answers: “Part of the job of being an actor is that you’re supposed to have an answer to every question that people ask you. But actually the answer can be, ‘I don’t know and I’m not ready to talk about that.’”
