FEATURE:
Taking Pride
IN THIS PHOTO: Chappell Roan/PHOTO CREDIT: Jade Greene for NYLON
Has Culture and the Music Landscape Changed So L.G.B.T.Q.I.A.+ Artists Can Fully Express Themselves?
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AS someone born in the 1980s…
PHOTO CREDIT: Barcelos_fotos/Pexels
who grew up with the music of the 1990s, a few things were very clear. One of those very visible and obvious aspects was that the music landscape was vastly heterosexual. There were artists who identified as gay or bisexual though, especially when it came to mainstream artists, there was far more secretive exclusion. Songs written from a heterosexual point of view. Maybe not explicit all of the time, the narrative through the decades has been that music is for heterosexual artists. That is what is seen as normal and fashionable. Artists like George Michael writing songs about being in relationships with women. How much stigma was there involved coming out? I realise that there is still some now, yet I feel there has been progress. You did have heterosexual artists toying with the notions of flirting with the opposite sex. Really, there were not that many out and proud artists. I don’t think that the culture and conversations happening at the time made it possible. This continued until relatively recent. Not only was it a case of L.G.B.T.Q.I.A.+ artists not being able to be free and true to themselves. There were fewer in the mainstream than there should have been. Perhaps seeing that the industry was not going to support and accept them. As it is Pride Month – the final day of -, it is important to look at how things have shifted. I will end with a thought that some have asked. That relates to whether we have a modern-day L.G.B.T.Q.I.A.+ icon. If you think of the most popular artists at the moment, we can not see too many examples. Are there still restrictions about artists’ sexuality and the type of songs played. Even if radio stations play gay anthems and tracks from L.G.B.T.Q.I.A.+ artists, most of these acts are not as celebrated as others. I do think that things need to improve in that sense.
Even if there are many negatives about music and how we digest it, the fact we have access to so many tracks with no wait means we can discover so many great artists. There are playlists like this that feature an array of queer artists. There are articles highlighting L.G.B.T.Q.I.A.+ artists to watch out for. It is wonderful that there is this exposure and celebration. Still, at the highest level of music, we do not have a Pride icon and mainstream star that can inspire and give strength to the next generation. Big artists who are near the top who do this already – Billie Eilish is one example -, though I feel even the playing of L.G.B.T.Q.I.A.+ songs is not as widespread as it should be. Even so, there are fewer restrictions. Artists like Reneé Rapp coming through and showing one day she will be an icon held in the same esteem of some of the biggest artists around. Things are changing. As Billboard wrote, this year’s GRAMMYs saw some historic wins for L.G.B.T.Q.I.A.+ artists:
“But one such historic moment went quietly overlooked on Sunday night — three of the winners in the Big Four categories were queer women. Cyrus’s record of the year win with “Flowers,” Billie Eilish’s song of the year win for “What Was I Made For?” and Victoria Monét’s best new artist win mark the first time in recent memory that three different LGBTQ artists took home trophies in the evening’s main categories.
“It’s huge,” says Anthony Allen Ramos, vice president of communications and talent at LGBTQ advocacy organization GLAAD. “Seeing LGBTQ women dominate three of the biggest categories is something to be really excited about and proud of, especially today.”
Wins for queer artists weren’t confined to the evening’s big categories, either — LGBTQ artists earned wins across a multitude of genres. Boygenius, the supergroup made up of queer superstars Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus, took home three trophies for best rock performance, best rock song and best alternative music album; Bridgers, meanwhile, walked away as the most awarded artist of the night with her four wins. Monét nabbed a win for best R&B album with Jaguar II. Americana categories awarded trophies to LGBTQ stars like Allison Russell (best American roots performance for “Eve Was Black”), Brandy Clark and Brandi Carlile (both in best Americana performance for “Dear Insecurity”).
Ramos points out that even in oft-undiscussed categories, LGBTQ artists saw huge wins. “We had Carla Patullo winning for best new age, ambient or chant album,” he tells Billboard. “It felt like we finally had wonderful representation in all genres, and I think that’s really important, because it’s not just about [queer artists] being in pop or dance. I never even thought about having LGBTQ inclusion in the best new age category!”
Representation for LGBTQ talent at the Grammys has steadily risen over the last few years, with the Recording Academy even debuting their new Academy Proud initiative this year to help “support and amplify LGBTQIA+ voices and drive queer representation at the Recording Academy and the music industry at-large.”
These major successes for queer folks at the 2024 Grammys come at a time of upheaval for the LGBTQ+ community at large — nearly 400 bills targeting the community have already been proposed this year in state legislatures around the United States, with more no doubt still to come. While LGBTQ+ artists earning record-high honors at an awards show might seem trivial in the face of direct attacks against queer and trans people around the world, the facts actually show otherwise.
According to data collected by The Trevor Project, 79% of LGBTQ+ youth reported that seeing musicians come out as members of the LGBTQ+ community made them feel better about their own identity. Meanwhile, 71% of respondents said that seeing straight, cisgender celebrities advocate for the LGBTQ+ community improved their own feelings on gender and sexuality”.
Despite there still being a bit of a barrier or hesitation about giving L.G.B.T.Q.I.A.+ artists the same platform and spotlight as others, things have come a long way. We still need to do more work to ensure that the industry is a safe and accepting space. So that artists no longer feel the need to hide who they are through fear of discrimination, abuse and a lack of airplay and contract opportunities. Everyone from The Last Dinner Party and Chappell Roan are helping to open doors. There is a revolution occurring. Real change. Now is an especially prosperous and successful time for queer women:
“Perhaps there’s no better image of lesbian visibility than the cast of “The L Word” introducing pop star Reneé Rapp in front of two giant pairs of scissors last week on the Coachella stage.
Rapp, 24, has been on a steady rise after starring in “Mean Girls: The Musical” and hitting the Billboard charts with her Megan Thee Stallion collaboration, “It’s Not My Fault” (choice lyrics include “Kiss a blonde/kiss a friend/can a gay girl get an amen?”). For her Coachella debut on April 14, Rapp didn’t skimp on the Sapphism: She brought her guitarist girlfriend, Towa Bird, on stage for a duet and a kiss, and she had her self-proclaimed idol, bisexual sensation Kesha, join her for a feminist update of Kesha’s hit song “TikTok.”
In addition to Rapp, the music festival — which brings hundreds of thousands of fans to Southern California every year — featured queer artists Chappell Roan, Brazilian artist Ludmilla, Brittany Howard, Victoria Monét and Billie Eilish, the latter two fresh off Grammy wins.
Like Coachella, the Grammy Awards in February were another blockbuster music event where women — and queer women in particular — reigned supreme: Bisexual musician Phoebe Bridgers of boygenius was the night’s biggest winner; pansexual Miley Cyrus earned both best pop solo performance and record of the year; and, of the performances, none was hailed more than singer-songwriter Tracy Chapman’s return to the stage for the first time in two decades.
Having lesbians and other openly queer women center stage at major music events, however, has certainly not been the historical norm. For more than half a century, the impact LGBTQ women have had on the modern music industry has gone largely unsung. That, however, is starting to change, with artists no longer having to be coy about their personal identities or keep them separate from their public persona to be offered opportunities in the industry.
“I think we’re only now becoming more aware of that, or being able to publicly discuss it,” said music historian and author Evelyn McDonnell. The closet, she said, has been a hindrance to the championing of and acknowledgment that queer women have been long deserving in shaping rock and popular music of all genres, from hip-hop to country”.
As we mark Pride Month, many will look at the music industry now and see how much things have changed through the years. How, until not that long ago, many L.G.B.T.Q.I.A.+ artists were not able to be their true self. As I said earlier, things are not perfect now. I do hope that we see an artist as big as Taylor Swift from the L.G.B.T.Q.I.A.+ community. A modern idol who will give so much strength to fans who might feel they struggle in life because of their sexual identity. There is still a lot of discrimination and ignorance around gender and sexuality today. This does not feed into music that much, though there are still issues and restrictions. An age-old attitude and preference that has not completely disappeared. Even so, the climate and tide is turning. The more L.G.B.T.Q.I.A.+ artists are spotlighted and embraced, the more it will become a normal part of music discourse. A narrative that takes us away from the heteronormative. Pride Month is a perfect opportunity to celebrate L.G.B.T.Q.I.A.+ artists new and established. Loud and proud, there are incredible queer artists slaying. Maybe not as much focus on and visibility of trans artists. With every reason to cheer, we still have to ask how long it will take before there is this stigma and judgment-free environment. Where we will have the full sexual spectrum fully represented and integrated. It can’t be too far away. Big steps have happened and progress is going on. The prejudice and fear L.G.B.T.Q.I.A.+ artists faced when I was young will no longer have to hide or write inauthentically. Let’s hope that this dream becomes a true reality…
IN years to come.