Cyrus speaks up on gender issues

American singer Miley Cyrus on Tuesday officially launched the Happy Hippie Foundation, whose mission is to "rally young people to fight injustice facing homeless youth, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) youth and other vulnerable populations".

On the same day, she gave interviews to LGBT entertainment magazine Out and the Associated Press, hinting that she may not be strictly heterosexual. She told Out that she spent a lot of time "struggling with traditional gender expectations" and being resentful that she was a girl.

"I didn't want to be a boy. I kind of wanted to be nothing. I don't relate to what people would say defines a girl or a boy and I think that's what I had to understand: Being a girl isn't what I hate, it's the box that I get put into," she said.

In recent months, she has also taken an increasingly vocal stand against homophobia, Out reported.

She famously asked a homeless man named Jesse Helt to accept her Video of the Year award on her behalf at last year's Video Music Awards.

The Happy Hippie Foundation website states that 1.6 million youth are homeless each year and that 40 per cent of homeless youth identify as LGBT, and family rejection is the most common reason LGBT youth experience homelessness.

Cyrus, 22, has also launched a series of Backyard Sessions videos shot at her house, featuring her singing with other singers. The videos will be used to raise funds.

She sings with Joan Jett in the first video posted on Tuesday.

This article was first published on May 9, 2015.
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