“Does this give off gay vibes to you?” reads a text message I received about a week ago regarding a TikTok of Jojo Siwa doing the “wipe it down” challenge. My first thought was that the young star’s contract might have expired, and this was her debuting her true self. She was finally unbound by the strict code of conduct she had spent most of her childhood abiding. And wow, it did give off “gay vibes.” I texted my friend Dan to confirm that it did seem pretty gay, and we both laughed it off. Imagine, child star Jojo Siwa, a card-carrying member of the LGBTQ+ community? We continued to send each other memes back and forth about it, until a day or two later when the rumors were confirmed. But let’s backtrack a little.
The Dance Moms star was very much underneath my radar, as someone who grew up with only younger brothers and surrounded myself with predominantly male friends for the larger part of my childhood. I actually didn’t know anything about her until high school, when my girlfriend at the time– an avid Dance Moms fan– explained to me that Jojo was an icon and a mogul, somewhat sarcastically, but genuine as well. This dancer, clad in her signature sparkly bow, had an unfathomable net worth and fan base despite her being two years younger than myself. While I was struggling through Geometry, she had created a brand for herself, and whatever it was, it was working.
It seems as though every young girl is OBSESSED with Jojo Siwa. Something about her exuberant personality and evident confidence really speaks to these kids, and makes them feel good about themselves. I will admit, her happiness is contagious. While writing this article, I felt it necessary to do some research and watch some of her videos. If you happened to see me, studiously poured over a Jojo Siwa vlog titled “BABYSITTING SIENNA!!”, no you didn’t. I watched a bunch of these (strictly for journalistic purposes, of course *ahem*) and found myself entranced my her personality. While my heart may have jumped out of my chest a bit whenever she screamed “HEY GUYS IT’S JOJO WELCOME BACK” to her 12.1 million subscribers, I simply turned down the volume on my headphones and tried my best to understand the corner of the internet she has claimed as her queendom.
From what I saw, I learned that her message is actually quite endearing, once you’re able to look past the fact that she drives a custom Tesla with her face emblazoned on the hood (which honestly, more power to ya, girlfriend). Jojo Siwa is a role model, giving young girls permission to be happy and feel powerful. As she jumps around her bejeweled mansion in Southern California, Jojo is the picture of fun. Highlighted by the surprisingly high production value of her Youtube videos, Jojo tells her viewers that it feels good to be kind. In a sea of influencers that unconsciously tear down the self-esteem of kids growing up in the digital age, Jojo Siwa is a light (figuratively, but also literally, as she is seldom seen without a sequined accessory).
I am writing this about a week after she posted a picture of herself sporting a t-shirt that reads: “best gay cousin ever.” This solidified any ideas Dan and I had about the “gay vibes” in her previous TikTok, which sent me into a very pensive head space. First of all, it put my own biases in check. Despite being gay myself, I tend to disassociate femininity with my own queerness, something I am slowly unlearning and unpacking as a result of my own internalized misogyny. Why was it more shocking that she fell on the queer spectrum? Was it because of her hyper-feminine aesthetic? I guess so, but that shouldn’t be true. And it left me deliberating over what she was coming out as, as if in order to be part of the community you have to pick a label. Another incorrect instinct I have. By coming out without a label, she is making the statement that labels aren’t what defines being queer.
I reflect on myself growing up. It would’ve saved me a lot of anguish had I found a Jojo Siwa-like figure in pop culture when I was in elementary and middle school. All the lesbians I knew through the internet were very masculine. Many of my friends seemed to see value in the fact that I wasn’t “girly,” considering I was the only girl they hung out with at school. There was a correlation in my mind between leaving my femininity in my childhood and embracing my sexuality. Jojo Siwa is helping the next generation understand that these two things are not mutually exclusive.
Jojo Siwa coming out while simultaneously embracing her sparkly style has an enormous amount of weight to it. She is showing girls that there is no one way to be. You can grow up and wear whatever you want. Jojo Siwa dresses the way I imagine a unicorn jockey might, with glittery bomber jackets and hot pink leggings and chrome sneakers. And she openly identifies as queer. Not only is she showing that there is strength in individuality, she is showing that there is value in authenticity. She is a living example that kids can be who they want to be.
There is also something to be said about her coming out to a collectively young audience. Through doing this, she is normalizing coming out. She is normalizing a lack of labels. She is empowering young people to question their own biases. She is showing that there is nothing wrong with being who you are publicly, that authenticity is important. What I think is most impactful about her decision to share this part of herself with her following is that she is including young people in a conversation that has historically been deemed too mature for kids. In doing so, she is helping people of all ages understand that there isn’t anything “inappropriate” about being out around kids. Jojo Siwa will help a generation of kids understand that they can be true to themselves, and she will teach a generation of parents to accept their children’s authentic selves.