He broke all stereotypes and dominated the music scene, but his victory became an occasion to talk mainly about his sexuality and, of course, about the third gender, whose advocate the 24-year-old Swiss is. He immediately demanded that people in his homeland be given the right to define themselves as male, female or non-binary.

But will the curly-haired, short-skirted, huge-eyed singer be able to melt the hearts of his compatriots, as icy as alpine glaciers, for people like him?

First of all - what does it mean to be non-binary? Biologically, human gender can be male or female according to the individual's chromosomes and physical properties. However, if you feel neither male nor female, then it is most logical to classify yourself as the third gender.

Many countries now allow their citizens to indicate the neutral gender option on their personal documents. According to statistics, Gen Zers take advantage of this right to the greatest extent. In Europe, these are Austria, Denmark, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Malta and the Netherlands. And globally, you can be recognized as non-binary in Canada, the United States, Mexico, Colombia, Argentina, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Australia and New Zealand.

But not Nemo's homeland. And he just wants to be called by the English pronouns they/them. A 2023 survey of 30 countries found that Switzerland has the highest percentage of residents who identify as transgender or non-binary at 6%, ahead of Thailand (5%) and neighboring Italy and Germany (both by 4%) ).

As the first non-binary person to win the Eurovision Song Contest, Nemo highlights the community of people who identify themselves as neither male nor female. It seems his words were heard because he was invited to a talk by the Swiss Minister of Justice and Police, Beat Jans, on the subject of the rights of the queer community.

What is the issue with the third gender in Switzerland?

A year and a half ago, the Swiss government rejected proposals submitted to the parliament to introduce the third gender. The reasons - this would not only require changes to the Constitution and a number of other laws, but it was also pointed out that there are still no social prerequisites for such a radical change.

A survey by one of the country's major media companies confirmed the following - the majority of Swiss citizens (62%) say they do not support adding a third gender or a "no gender" option to official documents.