FEATURE:
Feel No Shame for Who You Are
PHOTO CREDIT: Anna Shvets
Celebrating Music’s Incredible Queer Artists – and Why the Phrase, ‘Openly Gay’, Needs to Stop
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AN article from…
IN THIS PHOTO: Actor Andrew Scott/PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images
The Guardian raised an interesting point. Actor Andrew Scott said that we need to get rid of the phrase ‘openly gay’. Like it is something that people should be ashamed of. Like the heteronormative narrative is so powerful that anyone who identifies as gay/queer needs to reveal that. It is something that have done and are taking risks. I will apply it to music but, in 2024, why are we still labelling gay people who talk about their sexuality like this?! We do not say people are ‘openly heterosexual’! Andrew Scott makes a very important point:
“I’m going to make a pitch for getting rid of the phrase ‘openly gay,’” said Scott, steering the conversation in a more illuminating direction. “It’s an expression that you only ever hear in the media. You’re never at a party and you say, ‘This is my openly gay friend…’” Why, he wondered, is “openly” always attached to that adjective? “We don’t say you’re ‘openly Irish.’ We don’t say you’re ‘openly left-handed’…There’s something in it that’s a little near ‘shamelessly.’ ‘You’re open about it?’ You know what I’m saying?” He proposed that “it’s time to just sort of park it.”
The phrase has its historical uses – one of the remarkable things about Rustin is precisely that he was out at a time, pre-Stonewall, when it was hazardous to be so. But it would be hard to disagree that the phrase is outdated today. It’s a hangover from that all-too-recent time when there were no queer voices in the media, with the result that any LGBT-related stories were reported from a straight and typically homophobic perspective. “There is no freedom of the press in this country for homosexuals,” wrote Andrew Lumsden, then the editor of Gay News, in 1982. “Apply a simple test: who can you think of who writes for the quality or popular press, whenever it would be relevant, as an out gay? If people cannot be open about their homosexual viewpoint to the same degree that heterosexual writers are about their viewpoint, then a significant section of opinion finds no expression in Britain’s ‘free press’ and that press is not free.”
It’s understandable that when we hear “openly gay” now it drags us back to that era of shame which, as All of Us Strangers eloquently demonstrates, is still so close to the surface for many people. (The film is also useful in reminding audiences that there was pride back then as well as bigotry: The Power of Love by Frankie Goes to Hollywood dominates the soundtrack.) Far better than banning the phrase – as if that were even possible – would be to allow it to die a natural death, wilting under the scrutiny of its irrelevance in much the same way that “ethnic minority” is at last giving way to the factually correct “global majority”. Let those who choose to say “openly gay” go ahead and say it, so the rest of us can point out the error. As Ben Jonson put it: “Language most shows a man, speak that I may see thee.” Yasss, diva!”.
I shall spotlight any of these artists that I have not already included. There are immense and must-hear queer artists like Chappell Roan, daine, Ray Laurél, Véyah, girli, Anthony Lexa and Madi Diaz among them. I know that there is probably not the same sort of stigma on artists than there are actors or those in other areas in terms of coming out. Even so, I have seen music articles and reports where, in the past, artists who come out are seen as ‘openly gay’. We all know the struggle artists had years ago being who they wanted to be. An industry not accepting or homosexuality. Not seen as commercial. A risk that would have seen them lose fans and maybe dropped by a label. We have come a long way, though I do feel there is not the same assimilation and recognition of queer artists as there should be. Articles like this one from 2019 brought together artists who shared their experiences of being queer in the music industry. Even if they were not held back because of their sexuality, other artist have discriminated against them. L.G.B.T.Q.I.A.+ festivals and queer-focused magazines/websites help promote incredible artists. The fact that some artists do feel uneasy about revealing their queerness makes me wonder whether, in some sectors and corners, there is still this pressure to be heterosexual and fit into a mould.
When a recent article from The New York Times felt Taylor Swift was hiding her queerness through songs, The Guardian shot back and said that, why is Taylor Swift’s sexuality such a talking point, when there are more openly queer artists now than ever. It is great that there are many openly queer artists. The fact that the media still label them as such is where the issue comes. I know there is massive discrimination and the L.G.B.T.Q.I.A.+ is not as embraced and accepted as they should be, though does ‘openly gay’ help or hinder? The L.G.B.T.Q.I.A.+ community has had a huge impact on music through the decades. Even so, in certain parts of the world, such as Zimbabwe, artists have to be careful about revealing they are L.G.B.T.Q.I.A.+. This article talked about the realities and rights for and of the L.G.B.T.Q.I.A.+ community. How there are artists fighting for rights, acceptance and visibility:
“It continues to be illegal to be LGBTQ+ in 64 UN member states, according to Forbes.
Despite this erosion of LGBTQ+ rights around the world, there has also been some inching progress to protect and amplify the human rights of LGBTQ+ people; including countries recognizing same-sex marriage, to a growing number of countries allowing transgender people to self ID, to some progress being made on banning so-called "conversion therapy".
Amid many rollbacks, progress that is being made is taking place at a painstakingly slow pace and more needs to be done and fast to achieve true equality.
Music, expression, and creativity have long been a way of fighting for societal change and greater inclusion, and this is also true of the fight for LGBTQ+ rights.
Musicians globally have been catalysts for change in a world that hasn’t always embraced them with open arms. Yet, from Elton John’s advocacy for LGBTQ+ rights to Bob Marley’s tireless promotion of peace, musicians have a long history of taking a stand to further equality.
Music unites people in much the same way that advocacy does, bringing us together to fight for a better world. Here are just six pioneers in the music industry who are not only helping to shape music and influencing countless others to forge their own paths, but are actively contributing to making the world a safer, more equal place for the LGBTQ+ community.
South Africa was the first country in the world to ban discrimination against a person’s sexual orientation in its consitution, and the first African country to allow same-sex marriages. However, there remains a disparity between the country’s strong legal protections and the lived experiences of queer individuals.
PHOTO CREDIT: Alexander Grey/Pexels
According to German media outlet Deutsche Welle: “Many persecuted people seek refuge outside their home country, especially in comparatively more liberal South Africa. Although violence and social discrimination against LGBTQ people is still widespread there.” While the current LGBTQ+ landscape in South Africa is comparatively kinder to the community, there is still a lot of adversity and violence.
In fact, homophobic threats are what led queer musician Nakhane, from the isiXhosa clan, to leave South Africa.
Nakhane vividly expresses their views on fluidity in their music. Eyewitness News highlighted that “Nakhane’s music challenges simplistic definitions of masculinity.” Their body of artistic work shows that there is no one single definition of masculinity and, as Nakhane said in an interview, that "there’s no homogeneous idea of what masculinity is, there never was, and there never will be.”
Their album Brave Confusion, released in 2013,is brave in its expression of queer love. The song “Dark Room,” for example, sees Nakhane describe a man caressing him, offering up a vulnerable vision of what masculinity can look like. Similarly, the song “Clairvoyant” is a tender portrayal of love between two men”.
Going back to the article from The New York Times. How they are sort of baiting queerness out of Taylor Swift. Like she is shamed or feels unease. It distracts from the raft of queer artists out there who are inspiring people are free and comfortable being who they are! I feel that some magazine or sites see them as specialised artist. Separating queer artists not to highlight the community and shine a light on the L.G.B.T.Q.I.A.+ community: instead, here are artists who are not really in the mainstream or seen as commercial or accessible as others. This needs to change. Things have changed in terms of prejudice and the experience queer artists face. Though there is still some way to go. This is what Rebecca Shaw said in her feature for The Guardian – in reaction to The New York Times’ Taylor Swift piece:
“Queerphobia is still definitely an issue in terms of artist’s careers of course, but it does not have the same stranglehold it once did and you can’t swing a stick without hitting some sort of gay person on television or the wireless (old).
But for some reason this hasn’t stopped the obsessive speculating. Even when the public figures either confirm their sexuality one way, or display discomfort at the analysing, it doesn’t stop. We have had relatively easy access to queer public figures for a while now, and for some people that’s been true their entire lives. Maybe when you are spoiled for choice, when representation abounds, all that is left is wanting the singer you really personally relate to and like to be queer like you. It feels like a different kind of obsessive. There is being curious about someone’s sexuality, and there is being so desperate to have proof of an individual’s queerness that it becomes at the very least annoying and sometimes damaging.
IN THIS PHOTO: Harry Styles
Harry Styles, Billie Eilish, and Shawn Mendes have all spoken out about their uneasiness with speculation about their sexualities. A year ago, the 18-year-old Heartstopper star Kit Connor felt forced to come out as bisexual after intense scrutiny about his dating life.
I understand relating to someone’s music, or their art, and desperately wanting them to be like you. I understand being sad if you think someone is closeted because of society (unrelated, but please remember Taylor is the most powerful woman in the world). I understand getting frustrated that someone may want to use a queer aesthetic and speak in vague terms or drop clues and lead you along, especially if they are doing it to get your money.
What I can’t understand is continuing to obsess about the sexuality of people who don’t want to talk about it. They’re either straight, not comfortable being out for whatever reason, or using queerness (and you) to sell albums, without wanting to commit fully. Those are the three options, and in each of those cases, I’m personally good to move on. For me, it all comes down to the fact that all of this is deeply unnecessary. We are living in a time with more openly queer musicians than ever, and we are spoiled with immediately available access to queer artists of any genre.
Why spend your time hunting for subtle clues when you can watch Lil Nas X have hot gay football sex in his music videos? When you have at your fingertips Phoebe Bridgers’ sad bisexual songs, Orville Peck’s mournful country tunes, Chappell Roan’s pop bangers, etc, etc, etc? There are extremely talented queer singers at every level writing every genre of song and often singing about their queer lives and loves and bodies and experiences”.
I shall end by going back to the starting point: how actor Andrew Scott feels the phrase, ‘openly gay’, needs to be phased out. That idea that there is something shameful about being gay. People saying they are gay and doing it openly seen as stepping out of line almost. You still get a lot of homophobia and queerphobia from the media. Maybe music is one of the most accepting and more tolerant corners of society where there is platform and spotlight of queer artists. Despite this, so many worthy and inspiring queer artists are being left out of conversations. Not played as much as they should. Other artists maybe not coming out as queer as they feel they will not be played as much on radio. Especially now, the impact and importance of queer artists is huge. Artists rightly proud of their queerness. Against this, there is still an attitude and sector who feel that queerness – or being part of the L.G.B.T.Q.I.A.+ community – is somehow abnormal or abhorrent. Nations where even artists who identify as queer are banned from playing or face punishment if they do. We need to celebrate all the amazing queer artists out there. Loud and proud! Regarding the stench and stigma of the ‘openly gay’ tag. This is something that needs to be…
LEFT in the past.