As the internet has watched with critical opinions of Jojo Siwa’s rebrand into a “bad girl,” one quote has continued to add fuel to the ever growing fire of Siwa’s career. Jojo stated she “wanted to start a new genre…called ‘gay pop.’” She has since clarified her statement saying “I am not the inventor of gay pop, for sure not. But I do want to be a piece of making it bigger than it already is.” I’m not here to add to the criticism of Jojo. That’s being done by plenty of other people. However, I want to add my perspective on the concept of “gay pop” as a queer musician.
Queer musicians have always existed…
Just in the last decade, out and proud musicians have made huge waves in the music scene. Lady Gaga, Chappell Roan, Renee Rapp, Ethel Cain, Hayley Kiyoko, Kehlani, Janelle Monae, FLETCHER, Lil Nas X, Xana, Tegan and Sara, Troye Sivan, Sam Smith, Halsey-I could go on, but you get the point. All of these people are incredibly talented musicians who are part of the LGBTQIA+ community. Looking back even further during times when queerness was less accepted, musicians from all genres such as Freddie Mercury, David Bowie, Samuel Barber, Leonard Bernstein, Big Freedia, St. Vincent, and Frankie Knuckles have been influential in both the music industry and LGBTQIA+ community. While all of the musicians above have rightfully earned their spots in both the music industry and the queer community, not one of them is upheld as the gay musician. And that’s probably because they’re writing about their own personally experiences as opposed to the “gay experience.”
In order to create a genre like “gay pop” we’d have to ask, what does gay pop look like? Is it solely about pretty girls falling in love with other girls or men having sex with other men? Because any queer person will tell you that being a part of the LGBTQIA+ community is so much more than that. It’s a lived experience that surpasses just the romantic/sexual attraction aspects. Queerness encompasses the complexities of the human experience: the struggles, the joys, the missteps, and the various forms of expression of love for themselves and others.
To be queer is to defy expectations.
What makes music “gay” is the artist. An artist being queer inherently makes their music queer, whether or not they’re singing about queerness. It’s their experience, how they move about in the world, that adds the queer perspective. And while I admittedly love a good song about kissing girls, I think it would only do a disservice to musicians and the industry to create a “gay pop” genre. By trying to fit musicians and their work into the “gay pop” box, we’re liable to fall into stereotypes and miss out on valuable voices.
While we have made great strides towards acceptance, homophobia and transphobia still exist. It’s still not safe for many people to come out, especially within the BIPOC community. Yet, the musicians who have to stay closeted for their safety or comfort still create queer music, and they deserve to have their experiences recognized. Even if a piece of music isn’t obviously queer, it can still convey the experience of a queer person.
Besides, part of the move towards further acceptance of queerness should be a need not to come out. If we’re trying to normalize being a part of the community, queer people should be able to just be queer and exist. There doesn’t need to be a big declaration on stage about who they are. A musician should be able to just slip in a different set of pronouns into a song without it being a big deal. That subtlety is just as valid, and just as queer, as a song like “Born this Way.” It’s a fear of mine that if we were to create a genre called “gay pop,” it would be filled with musicians who have the privilege and desire of being overtly queer, while bypassing those who can’t or don’t want to be. We should understand by now that there isn’t one universal queer experience. While we may share similarities as a community, no one person is going to experience their queerness in the same way. And that’s okay! All of our stories should be told, no matter how we experience the world. We shouldn’t have to fit in a box when we’ve spent so much time trying to break out of them.
If I could offer Jojo one piece of advice, it would be to not feel as though she has to define herself as a “gay pop star.” You can be gay and a pop star. You can create whatever music you want, about whoever or whatever you want. But you don’t have to box yourself in and make your gayness your one defining identity. You are more than who you love, and that doesn’t make your experiences any less valid.
