Among the platitudes shared every Pride Month, “accept yourself” is one of the most common — but pop stars Kim Petras wants to examine the real meaning behind this phrase.
In a Position on her Instagram Stories on Monday (June 3), the pop singer shared a “pride message for anyone who needs it” and revealed how she's come across the common phrase often in her life. “Accepting yourself was something doctors and psychologists often told me when I went to see them at 8, 10, 12 and 16,” she wrote. “As in 'you can still wear makeup and present yourself as you always have, but why would you have to go that far'… Why can't you just accept yourself?”
The singer continued, saying that these doctors refused to understand that the self they were asking her to accept was not her true self. “They couldn't understand that I had accepted myself for as long as I could remember and accepted everything I knew I had to do to be myself,” she wrote.
Petras then reminded readers that intent is important, especially when it comes to a loaded phrase like this. “Accept yourself can be a beautiful thing to say to someone,” she wrote. “Some nerd on the internet has told me that every day of my life for as long as I can remember… and their dads are probably obsessed with me.” She signed off her note with a final message to her fans: “That being said… accept yourself and happy pride.”
The new post comes after Petras announced she will cancel all her festival appearances in 2024 – including sets at Primavera Sound, Mighty Hoopla and a headlining gig at LadyLand – to focus on her health. “I'm going through some health issues and under medical advice I've had to make the difficult decision not to perform at any festivals this summer,” he wrote in an update. “I love you so much and I will make it up and come back better than ever very soon.”
Read Petra's full Pride Month memo below:
from our partners at https://www.billboard.com/culture/pride/kim-petras-pride-month-message-accept-yourself-1235700135/