Amandla Stenberg Comes Out As Bisexual On Snapchat, Calls For More Diverse ‘Representation In Film And Television’

Hunger Games star Amandla Stenberg is known for her fresh, progressive attitude and inclusive feminist perspective, and has been schooling the masses (Kylie Jenner included) on social media about all things related to cultural appropriation, feminism, and why representation matters.

In celebration of the 17-year-old actress's debut Teen Vogue cover, Amandla took over the magazine's Snapchat for the day, where she eventually signed off with a very powerful and personal message to her fans and followers alike: revealing that she is bisexual.

Amandla's meteoric rise and influence comes hand-in-hand with a new crop of young black women like Janelle Monae, Azealia Banks, and Willow Smith who are pushing boundaries, redefining womanhood, and shattering society's norms and perceptions of sexuality and gender, particularly among women of color. Her powerful message in the video is as follows:

"I wanna thank Teen Vogue for giving me this opportunity, I cannot stress enough how important representation is, so the concept that I can provide for other black girls is mind-blowing. It’s a really, really hard thing to be silenced, and it’s deeply bruising to fight against your identity and to mold yourself into shapes that you just shouldn’t be in. As someone who identifies as a black bisexual woman, I’ve been through it, and it hurts and it’s awkward and it’s uncomfortable. But then I realized because of Solange and Ava Duvernay and Willow and all the black girls watching this right now, that there’s absolutely nothing but change. We cannot be suppressed. We are meant to express our joy and our love and our tears, and to be big and bold and definitely not easy to swallow. I definitely believe in the concept of rebellion through selfhood, and rebellion through embracing your true identity, no matter what you’re being told. Here I am, being myself, and it’s hard and vulnerable, and it’s definitely a process, but I’m learning and growing. Thank you for supporting me and doing this, and thank you to Teen Vogue. This is just the beginning, though; we have a lot of work to do for all women of color. I mean, we need more representation in film and television, and we need our voices to be louder in the media. And not just women of color—bisexual women, gay women, transgender women, mentally ill women. I’m sick of all the misogyny and homophobia and transphobia that I see around me, and I know you are too. Thank you for listening and goodnight."

Afterwards the actress, who famously played young, tragic Rue in 2012's film adaptation of Suzanne Collins' Hunger Games book series, took to her Instagram to post this photo from her Teen Vogue shoot—including a cheeky, self-referential caption:

As for our reaction to Amandla's message and coming out? We'll just leave this here: