Although the fight for LGBT rights is ongoing, now is not a terrible time to be queer. There’s an influx of openly trans, bisexual, gay, and lesbian actors and artists, many of whom are making meaningful work that tackles assumptions and erasure. Queer presence in pop culture is expanding, which begs the question: is all representation good representation? Not exactly. For example, here are a few queer-centric songs that are popular if problematic.
“Girls/Girls/Boys”- Panic at the Disco
With lyrics like, “But girls love girls and boys, and love is not a choice,” this song is revolutionary for bisexuals, who are discriminated against even within the queer community. At the same time the song plays at some tired tropes. Manipulative bisexuals drifting between genders is a damaging theme that frequents popular culture (looking at you, Piper Chapman) and this song is no better. Furthermore, the music video has a director’s cut in which two women are intimate while Brendan Urie is awkwardly fondled between them. A scene that was supposed to be sultry instead fetishizes relationships between women and reflects gross Tinder messages like these.
“Cool for the Summer”- Demi Lovato
The “I Kissed a Girl” of 2015, Lovato’s summer anthem is about a woman who wants to hook up with another woman, but only for the summer. Heterosexuality, like Pumpkin Spice Lattes, must be a fall trend. Although fun and catchy, “Cool For The Summer” scandalizes lady-on-lady hookups and depicts relationships with women as a sexual fantasy, rather than a legitimate orientation. She coos to the song’s subject, “Tell me if it’s wrong/If it’s right/I don’t care,” as if same sex hookups are morally ambiguous. At least Katy Perry’s disaster was pre-Obergefell.
“Girls Like Girls”- Hayley Kiyoko
The light, happy tune of “Girls Like Girls” sweetens what are otherwise awful lyrics. Boys have feelings too, ladies, and purposefully seducing someone else’s belle isn’t okay. If this song was about the relationship between the women, it might be less problematic. But the subject of the song is a boy, who is being taunted while the singer targets his girlfriend as a love interest. It’s mean, and plays up the paranoia some have that their polysexual girlfriend may leave or cheat on them with the opposite or same sex.
None of these songs are inherently “bad” or queerphobic, but that doesn’t exempt them from criticism. America is witnessing a turning point for LGBT rights, and media holds an incredible influence over public opinion. Complacency in representation will result in the perpetration of damaging stereotypes if allowed to go unchecked. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t turn the volume up, it simply means you should think critically as you sing along.
*all opinions are those of the writer*