There are so many gay anthems out there. By this, I mean songs which represent pride and acceptance in the LGBT community and are often done by members of the LGBT community (so honorable shout-out to Macklemore, but "Same Love" is too easy to list in an article about modern LGBT music). Whether you consider the work of Lady Gaga or ABBA, many musicians and their work supported the LGBT community as both general and personal expressions of being proud and brave.
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Lady Gaga has come out publicly as bisexual. She has been advocate for LGBT rights for a good chunk of her career. Here she is talking to Barbara Walters about her bisexuality (the question goes from 4:42-5:28)
But in recent music history, there have been songs that vocally mentioned and advocated for LGBT rights. Here are a couple that I give a thumbs up and "yaaaas" to. Also, mind the slight NSFW Brandon Urie coming up.
1. "She Keeps Me Warm" - Mary Lambert
Lambert's iconic lyrics and vocals were featured in Macklemore's "Same Love" which is how I first heard her vocalize, "Love is patient/Love is kind." According to a helpful list by Buzzfeed about the artist, "She Keeps Me Warm" is a continuation of the message Lambert sang in "Same Love" having come from a strict Christian household. Having experienced sexual abuse and homophobic backlash as a result of her family's faith, it was evidently difficult to struggle with the two parts of her identity pulling her in two different directions. Accepting her faith and her sexuality are strong themes in the song as Lambert sings, "I'm not crying on Sundays." Serious goals here even if you're not religious.
2. "Girls/Girls/Boys" - Panic! At the Disco
Brandon Urie, the only original member of good ol' P!ATD in the current band, has come out in past years about his own sexuality fluidity and encouraged LGBT identity celebration. The song "Girls/Girls/Boys" off of their album "Too Weird to Live, Too Rare to Die!" embodies the common bisexual struggle of affirming their sexuality. Often enough, the gay/straight binary enforces the idea that people can only be attracted to one gender. In a couple simple lyrics, the band deconstructs this notion: " "But girls love girls and boys/And love is not a choice." P!ATD has also used their platform to speak out against right-wing religious nuts preaching hate about the LGBT community. The Westboro Baptist Church was protesting their concert in Kansas city, so P!ATD pledged $20 in donation to the Human Rights Campaign for every Church member who showed up to protest. Only 13 members showed up, so the band rounded up their donation to $1000.
3. "Girls Chase Boys" - Ingrid Michaelson
Just watch the music video and take in all of the queens Ingrid corralled together for a gender-bending homage to Robert Palmer's "Simply Irresistable". In what the Washington Post called a continuing tradition of gender-bending music videos, Michaelson sings in front of many made up and pink latex-clad dancers (mostly men) about how girls chase boys and girls. In a statement on her Facebook page, Michaelson stated that, "Girls don't exclusively chase boys. We all chase each other and in the end, we are all chasing after the same thing: love." You go, Ingrid.
4. "Follow Your Arrow" - Kacey Musgraves
Coming from a country artist? No way.
Well, yes way. Two-time Grammy Award-winning country artist Kacey Musgraves spends the chorus of her song "Follow Your Arrow" encouraging listeners to "Make lots of noise/Kiss lots of boys/Or kiss lots of girls/If that's something you're into." Twenty fourteen was a year of progress for the LGBT community in country music as Musgraves performed this song at the CMA's and many openly gay artists and producers graced the stage and received awards (including Shane McAnally and Brandy Clark who worked with Musgraves on this song). Let's hope 2016 and beyond can continue this trend.
5. "Welcome to New York" - Taylor Swift
Taylor is a mixed bag of progress. While many accuse her of following the tenants of white feminism, even suggesting that her work is rampant in cultural appropriation, there is some merit to one of the biggest voices in pop music singing about people wanting who they want ("Boys and boys and girls and girls"). I get it. It can be hard to appreciate the word of a severe businesswoman whose main friend group is predominantly white, cisgender, able-bodied, and very very skinny. But I hear the second verse of "Welcome to New York" and hear my own identity represented in the lyrics of a very famous person. So thanks, Taylor Swift, for getting the word out.
6. "Really Don't Care" - Demi Lovato ft. Cher Loyd
While Lovato has had her share of controversies in the public eye, I appreciate hearing this song and the artist's honesty as an LGBT advocate. As filmed for the Human Rights Campaign a year before marriage equality, "Really Don't Care" shows the many faces and passions of LGBT folks at Los Angeles Pride 2014. Lovato has also come out as an advocate for mental illness after having spent some time in rehab for drug addiction, bipolar disorder, and bulimia. I personally find her story as an LGBT ally, a survivor of mental illness, and a Latinx woman to be very inspiring. So go, Demi! I appreciate your support!
7. Sara Bareilles - "Brave"
Reportedly about friends struggling to come out, Bareilles' song off of her album "The Blessed Unrest" represents empowering one's self and each other through hard times. This wasn't the first song I would have thought of when it came to gay anthems. Of course, there's Lady Gaga's "Born This Way" (and everything about her, really) and Katy Perry's "Firework" which I've heard at Pride blaring loud and proud. But Bareilles' song is a subtler form of LGBT advocacy. Often enough, friends of people in the closet who know about their hidden identity can't mention certain parts of their friends' lives because it would jeopardize their status and safety. But by simply singing, "Say what you wanna say/And let the words fall out/Honestly I wanna see you be brave," Bareilles speaks to over 8 million LGBT Americans. Of course, this doesn't include those in the closet or not identifying in the LGBT spectrum but still struggling with their sexual or gender identity, but we get the point.
8. "Let's Have a Kiki" - The Scissor Sisters
Finishing off my gay AF list, I bring you an anthem of my freshman year in college when I was still figuring out my own identity. A "kiki" as defined in the song and reverberated in an article by Gawker is, "'a party, for calming all your nerves' full of tea and not lacking in shade. You know, gay stuff." The song features many references to New York City club culture - having to take the train to the club, groping on the subway, "Miss Rose" at the door, and the police shutting down the party. LGBT communities emphasize safe spaces and expression in the spaces they spend their time in. Gay clubs have been a strong symbol of LGBT pride (re: Stonewall) and have a rich history you can read about here. Kikis, or safe talking spaces, are also a must in the LGBT community as represented in the sassy lyrics and performance by the Scissor Sisters. Just remember to lock the doors tight.
If you can think of more artists with LGBT anthems in recent years, leave them in the comments. I recognize that most of these artists are white; this is in part because of my exposure to certain kinds of music and also because diverse intersectional identities aren't extremely popular in the pop music industry. Feel free to call me out on that to, but I'd love to see more diverse intersections in pop music.