Academy Award-winning musician/producer Mark Ronson raised some eyebrows last week when he announced on Good Morning Britain that he was coming out as ‘sapiosexual.’
According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, ‘sapiosexual‘ is a term that means “sexually attracted to highly intelligent people.”
It does not refer in any way to the gender of those you may be attracted to.
Apparently, the Oscar-winning music producer was backstage at GMB when an expert spoke on the subject prior to his appearance. After discussing the term, which he’d never heard before, he felt he identified as sapiosexual.
So, when he was asked about the word on-air, he admitted, “Yes, I feel like I am identifying as sapiosexual.”
The show’s host, Ben Shephard, congratulated Ronson on ‘coming out as sapiosexual’ and Ronson declared, “Out and proud on Good Morning Britain.”
But by using the phrase ‘coming out’ it appeared to some that he was saying he was bisexual. Plus, some felt Ronson was diminishing the prejudice experienced by the LGBTQ community.
And folks took to the Twitters:
Proud to announce that I’m coming out as incredibly annoyed. https://t.co/jwrck0Xvyx
— Daniel Summers (@WFKARS) September 19, 2019
I don't want to be a reactionary but I think I draw the line at "comes out as sapiosexual" https://t.co/YnxrmmXzpy
— Jeremy Gordon (@jeremypgordon) September 19, 2019
I mean C'mon. "whilst discussing his new album". How do you COME OUT as liking someone for their intelligence as opposed to their looks? – COME OUT? let the abuse begin….World's gone mad.
— Penny Crayon (@RealPennyCrayon) September 19, 2019
Lemme make this clear. Sapiosexual is not part of the LGBTQ community. Sapiosexual is an ableist faux sexuality that only douchebags think is real. https://t.co/ViWzdUnnWl
— nicole froio (@NicoleFroio) September 19, 2019
Being “sapiosexual” is just having a type. It’s not an equality issue. Nobody ever beat you up in school for fancying women that have read Shakespeare. pic.twitter.com/564aTStOUp
— Benjamin Butterworth (@benjaminbutter) September 20, 2019
On Wednesday night, during an interview with Rolling Stone, the hit songwriter (“Shallow,” “Uptown Funk”) clarified that in the fast-moving environment of the British morning talk show, he spoke off the cuff without being fully informed about the term.
“I do not consider myself part of any marginalized community and I apologize if anybody misunderstood or took offense to it,” he told Rolling Stone’s Patrick Doyle.
He explained that when asked about the idea of being attracted to intelligent people, his first response was “That sounds great. Of course, who wouldn’t be?”
But by the time he got back to his hotel in London, he saw it playing out on social media in a way he’d never imagined.
“It sounds like I went on a TV show to be like, ‘Guys, I have some big news!’ And the fact that I would go on and sort of declare myself — like as a heterosexual white male — part of any marginalized community was terrifying to me, or just embarrassing.”
Ronson explained he thought folks would understand or that his comments would be put in context somehow.
“But, that’s not what happens on Twitter anymore,” he concluded.
