Tess Holliday reveals she identifies as pansexual as she opens up about sexuality

'A lot of the things that I felt when I was younger make sense'

Sabrina Barr
Wednesday 03 July 2019 11:01 BST
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The Scarlet Letter Reports: plus-side model Tess Holliday tired of constantly speaking about her body

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Tess Holliday has opened up about her sexuality, revealing that she identifies with the term pansexual.

The term "pansexual" is used to describe someone who is attracted to people regardless of their gender or sex.

In a new interview for the July issue of Nylon magazine, the model spoke about a recent encounter she ha in a bar in Mexico when she thought a man had asked her if she's bisexual.

"I said, 'Thank you so much for asking. I've been thinking a lot about my relationship to my own queerness, and I think the word pansexual speaks to me more than bi does'," Holliday responded to the man.

The man then clarified that he had been asking Holliday if she was "buying", not whether she was "bi", the 33-year-old told the magazine with a grin.

Holliday explained that she's recently come to the realisation that she's queer, adding that her newfound understanding of her sexuality has made "a lot of stuff" in her life "make sense".

"A lot of the things that I felt when I was younger make sense. A lot of the relationships that I had make sense," Holliday said.

The model expressed that her realisation has given her a "sense of relief", and allowed her to "connect with people on a more intimate level".

Holliday, who has been married photographer and artist Nick Holliday since 2014, stated that she would be open to a romantic relationship with a woman.

"I might not know, like, what to do. But I feel like I'd figure it out," the model added.

Holliday recently spoke about her sexuality in the caption of an Instagram post, which she shared in celebration of Pride.

The blogger said that she has always been an "ally for the LGBTQ community", and that she is now trying to "navigate" her "own sexual identity".

"I'm still figuring out how I identify and that's ok because everyone's journey is different," Holliday wrote.

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Celebrities including musicians Janelle Monae, Miley Cyrus and Take That's Howard Donald have spoken in the past about identifying with pansexuality.

In the May 2018 issue of Rolling Stone magazine, Monae said that she previously identified as bisexual.

However, after reading about pansexuality, she discovered that she identified with the term. "I'm open to learning more about who I am," Monae said.

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