Demi Lovato is an American pop star who is a known ally to the LGBT community. Lovato has headlined at NYC's Pride Week, and was named the LA Pride Parade Grand Marshall in May of 2014. She is also an advocate for the Human Rights Campaign's "America for Marriage Equality."
In early June of this summer, Lovato released a single from her fifth studio album, "Cool for the Summer." Her single has already landed a spot on Billboard's Hot 100 list at no. 36, and shows no sign of stopping. With a catchy beat and an easy melody, Lovato's new single is expected to stick around for the rest of the summer.
The topic of her song revolves around a same-sex summer fling. It seems too perfect to be purely coincidental that her new single is released just weeks after the Supreme Court ruled in favor of same-sex marriage in all 50 states. While similar to Katy Perry's 2008 breakout hit, "I Kissed A Girl," Lovato's song seems to be unapologetically curious of female intimacy. She reassures her lover as she courts her, coyly whispering, "Don't be scared."
While her lyrics explicitly suggest a same sex hook-up, it focuses on the curiosity factor. She acknowledges the taboo behind their affair. Lovato attempts to mainstream experimenting sexually, which aligns with her stances on marriage equality and her advocacy at Pride events.
What is disappointing, however, is that Lovato's song seems to play into the belief that lesbianism is "just a phase." It is socially more acceptable for two young women to hook up and have it labeled as "just experimenting," whereas if two men hooked up, they would automatically be labeled as gay.
In a recent interview with Vogue for their July cover story, actress and model Cara Delevingne opened up about her personal life. She spoke openly of her relationship with girlfriend Annie Clark (stage name: St. Vincent). Reporter Rob Haskell later editorialized that Delevinge's relationship with Clark is "just a phase," insinuating that it is only temporary.
This assumption that lesbianism is just a phase needs to stop. People are who they are and there is no need for an explanation defending who their relationships are with. Circling back to "Cool for the Summer," Demi Lovato openly popularizes the risks of same-sex experimenting, but she also suggests that it is "just a phase." So what happens when summer turns into fall, and everyone heads back to school? Will Lovato and her lover still just be "cool," or was it only, "for the summer?"
