Lorde says she feels like "a man and a woman" in candid Met Gala interview

7 May 2025, 15:21 | Updated: 7 May 2025, 16:06

Lorde says her new album Virgin is inspired by her "gender broadening". Picture: Mike Coppola/MG25/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue, Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue

By Sam Prance

Lorde explains her new album Virgin is inspired by her "gender broadening".

Loading audio...

Lorde has opened up about the inspiration behind her new album Virgin and said she feels like "a man and a woman".

Lorde is officially back! After breaking the internet with her 'Girl so confusing' remix in 2024, the star officially kicked off her new era with 'What Was That' in April and fans cannot get enough of it. On top of that Lorde, has announced that her fourth album will be called Virgin and confirmed that she's co-produced the project with Jim-E-Stack.

Now, Lorde has discussed the record and explained that Virgin is inspired by her journey with her gender identity.

Read more: Charli xcx explains what her 'Girl, so confusing' lyrics are actually about
Read more: Lorde explains personal meaning behind her 'What Was That' lyrics

Lorde attends Met Gala

Shortly after announcing Virgin, Lorde took to Instagram stories to share a definition of the word "virgin". Highlighting a paragraph from an article titled, "The meaning of 'Virgin' morphed – we should reclaim the original intent", Lorde suggested that the word "virgin" means something different to her than the common modern-day meaning.

The passage reads: "The word 'virgin' was derived from a Greek word that meant 'not attached to a man, a woman who was "one-in-herself." Goddesses like Ishtar (Assyrian-Babylonian), Diana (Roman), Astarte (Greek) and Isis (Egyptian) were called "virgins" not because they were inexperienced but because they were strong."

From the same piece, Lorde shared the key extract: "There is also evidence that the word ‘virgin’ derived from the combination of the Latin words ‘vir-‘ (for man, as in ‘virile’) and ‘-gyne’ ( for woman, as in gynecology) – a man-woman or androgynous person."

Describing the album on her website, Lorde added: "I was trying to make a document that reflected my femininity: raw, primal, innocent, elegant, openhearted, spiritual, masc".

Lorde Feels Like Both a Man and a Woman In Her Met Look | Met Gala 2025 With Emma Chamberlain

Speaking to Document Journal about Virgin, 'What Was That' and her gender, Lorde also said: "I had come back from London to New York after this period of great turbulence in my personal life. Becoming single, but also really facing my body stuff head-on, and starting to feel my gender broadening a little bit."

Lorde then discussed her gender in further depth on the Met Gala red carpet. Wearing custom Thom Browne, Lorde told Vogue that the dress was "something of an Easter egg" for her album. She added: "More will be revealed."

She added: "I love the open back. It really represents where I’m at gender-wise. I feel like a man and a woman."

As it stands, Lorde uses she/her pronouns. It's possible that Virgin will explore her gender in more depth.

Virgin comes out worldwide on June 27th.