Kate Tempest - new name, new pronouns and a haircut

[MarSeeAh]

I was listening to Jo Wiley’s show earlier and she announced that Kate Tempest, singer/poet, has announced that she is non-binary, now to be known as Kate, changed her pronouns to they ....

To be honest, I didn’t even know what Kate Tempest looked like, and the only song of hers which I know is “Peoples’ Faces” which Jo had just played - otherwise I wouldn’t have had a clue who she was talking about.

www.theguardian.com/music/2020/aug/06/kate-tempest-announces-they-are-non-binary-changes-name-to-kae

Going by images of Kate/Kae online, she had long hair until recently.

I grew up in the ‘70s and 80s when hair length was no indication at all of sex - because it isn’t!

Now, every time I see a girl or young woman get her long hair cut short, I’m waiting for the new name and pronouns to be announced.

Why this fixation on the superficial?

It does make me wonder how much spare time people have in their hands these days to contemplate their essence of being etc. Most of us are just cracking on with life and trying to make sure the family are fed (an increasingly demanding task with teenagers and fitness dad).

Everyone else just says they got their hair cut because the hairdressers are open again.

I'm a bit disappointed that they hasn't died their hair blue. I thought it was de rigueur

What I don't get is why it is of interest to anyone other than the individual themselves. Non-binary, gender non conforming, agender... I don't understand how sticking those labels on yourself makes any difference to your day to day life. If you want short hair and to not wear mini skirts, fine. Does anyone care? I don't understand why everyone needs to know.
It feels like such a step backwards for a female artist who doesn't conform to the sterotype to have to 'other' themselves. Did punk and Patti Smith, Sinead O'Connor, Kate Bush all the grunge and riot girl movement I grew up with, and all the other take no shit artists like Nina Simone, KD Lang and Prince... did they never happen?

I actually saw this on twitter as a Guardian article. The article was so nonsensical talking about they and them. It actually affects the comprehensibilty of language significantly.

What was lovely long hair is now a more masculine cut to go along with the new identity because not looking like a woman means looking like a man I suppose I'm not surprised but I would have hoped KT was clever enough to have the sense to reject the whole idea of gender instead of this nonsense.

@Diverseduvet

I have no idea who Kate Tempest is, or the point of your point really.

It’s just yet one more instance of the many layers and stages of the normalising and acceptance of the impossible and self-indulgent which is damaging to women and girls.

I would like to say bravo or brava to them, but sadly am not sufficiently proficient in Italian or wokeness to know what the gender neutral equivalent would be.

That got me thinking - how are non-binary people referred to in Italy, or France or Spain or anywhere else that doesn't have gender neutral pronouns?

OldCrone I know that there are new non binary versions of pronouns in French though I can't be bothered to check what they are. I assume it's the same in other languages.

Okay.... Back in my day you just shaved your head, your mum cried and you popped some DMs on and all was cool.

Now it's all a brave new tortured identity and all the rest.

I really like her. First thought - I'm really, really, really disappointed. Second thought - if I were doing a job like that.... Perhaps non binary is a way of trying to be left alone. By both the common or garden misogynists and the rainbow misogynists. Not every one is able to do what JKR is doing. Or perhaps they truly thought the only options were cis, trans or NB. If I truly thought that I'd be NB too.

(Obviously I am NB because almost everyone is NB)

I'm a fan of KT and was really saddened by this announcement, same path that many other young lesbians I know; mind you instead of 'journey' KT said 'process'. Same old, same old.

My only hope is that it will be like the Tiresias myth in one of the poems KT wrote and we have the chance to regain a wonderful and exceptional young woman rather than a follow the crowd NB.

On fans FBK everyone is applauding and you can see the buckets of glitter and sparkle. Hopefully, KT can keep working on her words and reflections and see the tree for the wood in a not to faraway future.

Ahhhh! the people that say they have to sculpture themselves into an opposite sex version to be themselves!! At least KT is a young adult.

This has really make me think about whether there is more to trans that I can see, but still feel in my guts this is bullshit and a concession to patriarchy.

Well if hair length is linked to how you express yourself, there’s a hell of a lot of men, never mind women, that have went none binary during lockdown. I still haven’t been to the hairdresser, so I’m obviously womening with the best if them. I am planning on getting my hair cut short, so I’ll let you all know how to address me in a couple of weeks. You’ll know when it happens, as I’ll just change my name to ‘Bland’, which would actually be very appropriate.

Can't stand her or her music, not hugely surprised at this move.

@MindTheMinotaur I shaved my head in early 2002 ish, in my early 20s when I could still be arsed faffing about with my appearance..... I suspect if I was that age now I wouldn't bother because of all the gender and identy politics. Likewise blue hair and DMs in the 90s.... ah, those were the days.

KT has a new book coming out in a few months, and all publicity is good publicity...

The hair looks great. And I like the name Kae.

I'm afraid I find her politics embarrassingly sentimental, simplistic and self righteous. Not my cup of tea (or tempest therein.)

She is really young, though, and has had to do a lot of growing up in public.

Second thought - if I were doing a job like that.... Perhaps non binary is a way of trying to be left alone

Good point.

Although I it’s sad and regressive to feel so restricted by sex.

@SquishySquirmy

I mean I love Prince, but he changed his name into an unpronouncable symbol and had some very strange ideas (didn't believe in time?) Can't get more pretentious than that!

This was because he was in a legal battle with Warner Bros over rights, not for pretentious reasons. He stopped using the symbol in 2000 when the contract expired.

Don’t get Prince wrong now, or there may some conflict on here not seen since the bananas and Weetabix scandal of 2019.

I’m still fuming from Twitter suggestions that he would be trans/non binary.

@ScrimpshawTheSecond

The hair looks great. And I like the name Kae.

I'm afraid I find her politics embarrassingly sentimental, simplistic and self righteous. Not my cup of tea (or tempest therein.)

She is really young, though, and has had to do a lot of growing up in public.

I had the idea that she was young, but she’s 34.

Goose, I'm sorry if that was unclear. I don't think human beings have an "essential being", as in some sort of noun possessed by an individual, like a soul or a spirit, but I am referring to the experience of being, a kind of 'am'-ness, as ourselves, moment to moment, which is experienced irrespective of our sexed bodies, free of any notion of gender (and any other signifier), as awareness.

@WarmthAndDepth

Goose, I'm sorry if that was unclear. I don't think human beings have an "essential being", as in some sort of noun possessed by an individual, like a soul or a spirit, but I am referring to the experience of being, a kind of 'am'-ness, as ourselves, moment to moment, which is experienced irrespective of our sexed bodies, free of any notion of gender (and any other signifier), as awareness.

Yes - I suppose what I am wondering is whether that really is uninfluenced by our sexed body. From a materialist standpoint, I'd say, no. I' not myself a strict materialist, but I'd still say that as material beings our awareness of ourselves is always mediated by our embodiment, and without that, we aren't, in fact, ourselves.

Of course if they is into some sort of dualist or platonist philosophy, or into eastern religions etc they may disagree.

Why does calling yourself "Kae" and cutting your hair make you nonbinary? What is nonbinary about fake names and fashion?

So disappointed in her them. What a let down to kt's female fans who love that kt doesn't conform to stereotypes and was just herself... Now she is just themselves?!
The pronoun thing makes so hard to write anything... We're asked to suspend our senses that she's a woman and not multiple people...? Argh.

@Diverseduvet

I have no idea who Kate Tempest is, or the point of your point really.

The point of the point is that it's pointy.