This morning the incredibly talented multi-hyphenate actor, singer bisexual icon and advocate Sara Ramirez announced a new profile picture on their Twitter and Instagram.

With the Instagram photo — a selfie of the star with their signature haircut, a purple shirt, and classic small triangle earring — came the following caption:

“In me is the capacity to be
Girlish boy
Boyish girl
Boyish boy
Girlish girl
All
Neither
#nonbinary
♥️💜♥️”

View this post on Instagram

New profile pic. In me is the capacity to be Girlish boy Boyish girl Boyish boy Girlish girl All Neither #nonbinary ♥️💜♥️

A post shared by Sara Ramirez (@therealsararamirez) on Aug 27, 2020 at 8:04am PDT

Ramirez quietly updated their pronouns to she/they on Twitter and Instagram a while back (though we don’t have calendar days in front of us, as Autostraddle’s resident Sara Ramirez “celebrity expert” my guestimation is pretty close to a year now). They’ve also updated their bio to include “non-binary human” right at the top! But this is the first major post since then — that we can remember — to address their gender directly.

Of course, at this point, in our community, the legend of Sara Ramirez enters the door before they do. First there’s the Tony Award for playing Lady of the Lake in 2005’s Spamalot. Then there’s Callie Torres who stole our heart on Grey’s Anatomy, clocking in more than 240 episodes and becoming the longest running queer character in television history. After leaving Grey’s in 2016, Ramirez came out as bisexual in a speech that I’ve personally memorized, saying that they were committed to embracing all of their intersections as an multiracial, immigrant, queer person of color. And of course there’s the butch dreamboat Kat Sandoval on who basically stopped time itself with a quirk of an eyebrow on Madam Secretary.

Since publicly coming out as bisexual, Sara has been nothing short of a show-stopper — working closely with Latinx, immigrant, people of color, queer and trans communities, activists, and artists. At every turn, using their platform to uplift those most marginalized and the voices that we need to hear from most.

And now, with Sara Ramirez coming out as non-binary, we get to add another chapter to our history books.

I’ve told this story before, but when Callie Torres first entered my life, I was still telling myself that I was straight. The last fifteen years have been a journey; for myself, for the character, and for the actor who played her.

I could have never guessed in 2006, sitting cross legged on my dorm room, stuffing my face with popcorn, that one day I would be an out queer woman, let alone the Deputy Editor of this publication (ha!). Never could have known that the character on screen who already captured my attention would soon become the mirror through I gained the courage to come out. I could have never imagined that the actor who played her would also come out and then show out, giving back to our community so generously and willingly.

In every moment and in every way, Sara Ramirez has proven to be loving to their community, never afraid of speaking up, never afraid to a beacon. Being courageous and grappling publicly with the hard questions of social justice and privilege and how to best create change. And today, we’re stopping for a moment to say, Thank You.

When Sara Ramirez first came out as bisexual, they made me feel a little less alone in this world. It helped light a path that brought me to this website. And today, less than five days away from their 45th birthday, I know that by proudly being non-binary — damn, they are lighting that path for so many more.

And for real, this isn’t easy! It shouldn’t be taken lightly. There are so few out non-binary actors in Hollywood right now, fewer still with the widespread name recognition of Sara Ramirez. Working in an industry that praises cis-hetero normalcy, and instead continuing to bust through those confining, bland, beige walls so that you can be yourself? That’s superhero business. And they’re doing it for us. For all the little Sara’s who are coming up behind us.

So on behalf of everyone at Autostraddle:

Dear Sara,
We’re so happy you’re living more authentically every year! (and also hotter every year, too!) We love you today, tomorrow and always.

— Team AS

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