Piers Morgan's calculated disdain is the daily reality for non-binary people like Sam Smith

The best of Voices delivered to your inbox every week - from controversial columns to expert analysis Sign up for our free weekly Voices newsletter for expert opinion and columns Sign up to our free weekly Voices newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. It is telling, then, that Sam Smith ended their announcement with an appeal to people’s better nature: “I’m scared shitless, but feeling super free right now. In The Spectator, Douglas Murray argued that “it is impossible to tell what the difference is between coming out as ‘non-binary’ and simply shouting ‘Look at me’.” These remarks are echoed elsewhere, and reflect a widespread and pernicious misconception in our society that people identify as non-binary for attention. In The Times, Janice Turner went one further, arguing that non-binary identities are “sexist, homophobic and, above all, damaging to the mental health of fragile young people.” It is patently clear to me that these people fundamentally misunderstand what it means to be non-binary. Given this bleak state of affairs, Sam Smith’s decision to ask people to use “they” and “them” was profoundly courageous.