On Feb. 10th, Lucy Dacus graced the sapphic indie community by releasing the track and music video for her new single “Best Guess.” The much-anticipated piece features a variety of famous masc individuals who auditioned via social media for a role in response to a direct casting call from Dacus. Directed by the artist herself, the short captures the joy of finding queer romance or community. Despite raising criticism on TikTok following its release, the short still serves as a positive step forward for LGBTQ+ representation.
The tallest member of the iconic queer trio boygenius, Dacus has been releasing music since 2016 before gaining traction as a part of the band alongside Phoebe Bridgers and Julien Baker. Since her first moments in stardom, she has been unapologetic in her queer identity. A lyrical master, Dacus is known for her songwriting skills, using her past relationships, sexuality and experiences with religion to influence her lyrics.
Dacus is again on her own since boygenius decided to, hopefully temporarily, split ways after their three Grammy wins for “The Record” in 2024. She is back to writing beautiful, complex songs. Wasting no time, she announced a new album, “Forever is a Feeling,” set to release on March 28, 2025.
“Best Guess” is the newest sneak peek offered into the tracklist of her upcoming album. A heart-wrenching piece exploring the tenderness of queer love, the song combines soothing vocals and hopeful lyrics. Though two songs on the album have already been released, “Ankles” and “Limerence,” the newest addition has caused the most buzz due to its incredible music video which was cast in such an unconventional manner.
The casting call for Dacus’ music video was sent over TikTok, calling out to the gay community to alert the smooth hot mascs they know to post an audition. Because of Dacus’ popularity, this call was quickly answered with thousands of videos soon posted by attractive masc queer people acting suave per the singer’s request.
In early February, Dacus announced some of the winners on her TikTok, adding “and more” at the end to leave her audience in anticipation of the video’s release. Among the winners was Mattie Westbrouck, a queer TikTok influencer who has amassed over 11 million followers. Additionally, Cara Delevingne, a well-known queer model and actor, and Naomi Mcpherson a member of indie pop band MUNA were highlighted in the music video.
Finally, the short video was released to the praise and awe of fans. Following the tone of the song, the film is light and intimate, as Dacus’ vocals express her inner feelings and aspirations. The cast members can be seen laughing or flirting throughout, their infectious joy surpassing the limits of the screen. Dacus sings about the future she wants with a lover, surrounded by a supportive and caring community. Ultimately, you can tell that this collection of mascs from all corners of the country had a blast filming this truthful and intimate music video.
The reception to the video was positive at first, but some on social media have begun to criticize Dacus’ casting decisions. Many have expressed that her representation of the masc queer experience is incomplete because there should be representation of different body types and Black people. It’s undoubtedly a complex and nuanced issue because there is so much positive diversity in the video which prominently features lesbian, trans and non-binary people of color.
TikTok influencer jilalin, a smaller creator who was in the video, shared their thoughts on the controversy after the debate was sparked in this small community. In an emotional and thought-provoking video, the creator expressed they understood why people might be disappointed their identity wasn’t portrayed in the video. They elaborated saying how important this opportunity felt for them as a masc, East Asian and non-binary person to be shown in the media.
They asked their audience to take this into consideration saying, “Growing up I have never seen someone that looked like me on the big screen… and I’m on it and no one is even looking at me.” Per jilalin’s message, we can be intentional about acknowledging what the video adds to representation without detracting from the call for more.
While Dacus should have been more intentional in increasing the diversity of her cast, it is still important to acknowledge the steps it has taken to increase the visibility of queer and trans people. The casting call and music video are examples of how art helps to build community. The work can be appreciated for its representation of queerness while still recognizing that further steps need to be taken to represent all experiences.