Kate Tempest, the famous artist and spoken-word poet, has announced that they have changed their name to Kae Tempest and declared themself as gender-neutral.
Kae shared the news on their social media and said that they had been struggling to accept themself for a long time.
In the post, Kae said: “Hello old fans, new fans and passers by – I’m changing my name! And I’m changing my pronouns. From Kate to Kae. From she/her to they/them,” they began their post. “I’ve been struggling to accept myself as I am for a long time. I have tried to be what I thought others wanted me to be so as not to risk rejection. This hiding from myself has led to all kinds of difficulties in my life. And this is a first step towards knowing and respecting myself better. I’ve loved Kate. But I am beginning a process and I hope you’ll come with me.”
They added: “From today – I will be publishing my books and releasing my music as Kae Tempest!”
Explaining the reasoning behind their new name, Kae added: “It’s pronounced like the letter K. It’s an old English word that means jay bird. Jays are associated with communication, curiosity, adaptation to new situations and COURAGE which is the name of the game at the moment. It can also mean jackdaw which is the bird that symbolises death and rebirth. Ovid said the jackdaw brought the rain. Which I love. It has its roots in the Latin word for rejoice, be glad and take pleasure. And I hope to live more that way each day.”
Listen to one of Kae’s most famous poems below:
