Nickelodeon superstar JoJo Siwa's coming out is a huge deal for LGBTQ+ kids and their parents
- Teen idol JoJo Siwa came out as a member of the LGBTQ+ community in mid-January.
- Her coming out marks significant progress in LGBTQ+ representation, particularly in the world of kids' entertainment.
- Queer therapists and media experts said that Siwa's coming out could have a positive impact on kids and parents.
In mid-January, JoJo Siwa - one of the world's biggest pop stars, with a sparkling, rainbow empire to prove it - came out as a member of the LGBTQ+ community, posting several videos previewing the moment before making a definitive announcement.
The outpouring of support online was immediate and intense, with people online excitedly posting supportive comments, tweets, and moving personal statements.
Siwa, who is 17, felt the same: "Personally I have never, ever, ever been this happy before and it feels really awesome. I've been happy for a little bit now," she said during a Saturday Instagram livestream in which she discussed her sexuality and coming out process.
While acceptance of LGBTQ+ Americans has generally increased over the years (with some setbacks during the later years of the Trump Administration), it still feels remarkable, and incredibly moving for many LGBTQ+ people, to see Siwa come out publicly online. Perhaps most remarkable is the swift positive response, both from her young fanbase and Nickelodeon, to which Siwa is signed.
The composition of Siwa's fanbase, mostly kids and their parents, means the moment is a giant leap for LGBTQ+ representation in family-oriented media, and according to queer therapists, may even help families be more accepting towards their queer children.
"For anyone walking a similar path and who shares similar struggles, she will shine a bright media spotlight and be a beacon of empowerment for the LGBT community," Adarsh Vijay Mudgil, author of "Let's Get it! Hustle and Grind Your Way to Personal Empowerment," told Insider.
Siwa's coming out represents broader industry progress
Siwa isn't the first young celebrity to come out while in the spotlight: fellow celebrities and online personalities like Lil Nas X, Josie Totah, and Amandla Stenberg have all come out as part of the LGBTQ+ community as teens or young adults. Siwa is one of the latest to publicly join the community.
Her coming out is part of a larger trend in young, LGBTQ+ people and celebrities choosing to do so earlier in life, GLAAD's head of talent, Anthony Ramos, told Insider. He said that it marks a transition in the entertainment world itself in regards to celebrities coming out.
"Years ago, people were so afraid to come out, and if they did it was so much later when they got to be adults," he said. "With celebrities specifically, we've all heard the stories of that apprehension to come out in fear of not getting work. I really think that when someone like JoJo does come out publicly, it sends a message that that whole era is ending and people really want to live their most authentic life."
Nickelodeon's explicit support for Siwa on social media is a powerful signifier in its own right. The network, and all-ages programming writ large, has made leaps and bounds in LGBTQ+ representation, and support of Siwa's coming out can help erase "apprehension that it's potentially divisive or a risk" to have LGBTQ+ talent leading a program, Ramos said.
Siwa's coming out resulted in an outpouring of support and stands to positively impact queer youth
What makes Siwa's coming out feel so impactful is that, as Insider reporter Kat Tenbarge wrote on Twitter, she's "the Hannah Montana of her generation" - a celebrity regarded as a positive influence with a huge, young fanbase. In addition to being Nickelodeon's biggest star ever, she's also one of the biggest teen idols, period: with over 12 million YouTube subscribers and 31.8 million followers on TikTok, she's a top influencer in her own right.
As Insider's Amanda Krause reported, discourse around her has major potential to impact her fans. The praise for her choice to publicly come out online - a daunting feat, even when there aren't millions hanging on your every word - stands to have a positive impact that's already visible on social media.
According to The Trevor Project's 2020 National Survey on LGBTQ Youth Mental Health, over 80% of LGBTQ+ youth say out celebrities make them feel better about being queer.
"When young LGBTQ people can see themselves and their stories represented positively and genuinely, it can offer them perspective on how to cope with similar struggles they're facing in their lives, while also helping to improve their perceptions of the LGBTQ community - and themselves," Tia Dole, Chief Clinical Operations Officer for The Trevor Project, told Insider.
Furthermore, JoJo's brand is and always has been based on living authentically, a theme that emerges frequently in her music and that Kim Kardashian West remarked upon in Siwa's 2020 Time 100 blurb. Her coming out, without a specific label but with an overwhelming feeling of happiness, could also serve as an inspiration to youth.
"I think what we saw with JoJo is that there's really no rules for coming out," Ramos told Insider. "I think youth just need to always do so when they feel supported and safe, which could be at very different points for different people. But for JoJo specifically, I really think the potential for young kids to see her living authentically will ultimately inspire so many of her young fans to do that and accept that part of themselves."
According to queer therapists, Siwa's coming out could help make parents more accepting of their queer children
It's a well-known fact that LGBTQ+ youth suffer from disproportionate rates of mental health issues like depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideations. This is in great part to do unsupportive families who react poorly when their children come out or are outed.
Sometimes families react by throwing their queer and trans children out of the house, as LGBTQ+ youth make up 40% percent of the US youth homeless population.
Other times, families send their children to conversion therapy, a violent tactic that consists of mental, emotional, and physical abuse with the goal of forcibly turning a child straight or cisgender through pseudoscience.
According to Dr. Lea Lis, psychiatrist and author of "No Shame: Real Talk With Your Kids About Sex, Self-Confidence and Healthy Relationships," Siwa's coming out could help parents be more willing to accept their queer children when they come out because of her wide reach and kid-friendly message.
"She is a figure for young people and they are going to share her news with their parents," Lis told Insider, highlighting that Siwa's coming out could change multiple viewpoints per family.
Born in Omaha, Nebraska, Siwa first grew her fame on "Dance Moms," a Lifetime reality show that showcased the tension-laden world of competitive dance. According to Ramos, those origins may also widen her impact.
"There's a lot of people I would say in middle America that probably know who she is and have since followed her, and so I really think that with JoJo coming out, there's a really strong possibility and opportunity for people have their hearts and minds change on what being LGBTQ really means," he told Insider, calling Siwa's coming out a "tremendous opportunity" for parents as well as kids.
Siwa coming out and receiving an outpouring of support from fans could offer hope to queer youth who may feel especially alone during the pandemic, Jor-El Caraballo, a therapist and founder of Viva Wellness NYC, told Insider.
Siwa has said that she's still keeping parts of her personal life private, but that what matters is that others know that "no matter who you love, that it's OK."