celeb news "They say I do it for the male gaze but the truth is I do it for the MALE GAYSSS"Katy

[FireFade]

she's been fighting so hard for that "gay icon" status this era lmao it doesn't work like that 

[AlbumOfTheYear]

2 hours ago, AvadaKedavra said:

I disagree with some of the opinions here, probably because the people sharing them are too young to remember or they just hate the artist

Back in 2008, the general public was still very homophobic. Katy Perry came from a religious background with overly conservative parents. Yet she went against her family's beliefs and released a song, "I Kissed a Girl." Even if some find it vapid, the song was hugely significant for many closeted lesbians. I know some personally who have said that it helped them feel better about themselves and coming out  She was like chappel roan in that sense. 
 

Katy doubled down on her support and was consistently an ally to the LGBTQ+ community at a time when supporting gay rights wasn't necessarily beneficial for her career. She always spoke positively about the community, and her love for them was evident late in videos like "Unconditionally" and her "Swish Swish" heels performance-Witness livestream inviting so many LGBTI personalities. She released the video for "Firework," featuring gay couples, which was hugely important for the community and the teen gays of that time. 3th single. Risky move and could have been a "Teenage Dream era" destroyer.
 

This is similar to what Taylor Swift did with "Mean," Lady Gaga with her pro-LGBTQ+ activism-albums, Rihanna with "Te Amo," Kesha with "We R Who We R," Shakira with "She Wolf" (shaki decicated this one to the community and Loba is actually a gay anthem in LAT), Beyoncé with "Single Ladies," and Pink with "Raise Your Glass..........ETC
 

These women had ballz and supported the community at a time when the world was still very conservative and our community was a big taboo. We owe them a lot for the big spike in gay rights in the early 2010s and for helping to normalize gay content in the music industry-entertainment world, especially Gaga, who was as influential as Madonna and did so so much and people sometimes want to delete her legacy with the LGBTI when she was a before-after.

So, people here deleting history. Not sittin well with me

You forgot to mention "Ur so Gay". That phrase had a major anti-bullying campaign with ads on major networks 

[Cain]

1 hour ago, halcyonday said:

IKAG was literally groundbreaking even if some people call it queerbaiting, it was still in 2008 when she could've been cancelling for singing about it in a pop song and showing it in a positive light. And having gays kiss in Firework (song about self love) and then also have them in Unconditionally (song about unconditional love) is nothing?  She's also a founder of the Firework Foundition that helps kids, queer kids too. She never had to be the biggest gay icon, but she was a part of many gays growing up. She was even mentioned in one of the early RuPaul seasons as part of the our history.  And was awarded for her work, because not every pop girl was vocal with her support towards gays like her. 

 

https://www.capitalfm.com/artists/katy-perry/news/hero-award-the-trevor-project/

 

And there's more

 

https://www.billboard.com/culture/pride/katy-perry-support-lgbtq-community-7889857/

 

Just because you don't follow her news it doesn't mean she didn't do some work for the community.

IKAG was groundbreaking, but not for being a song about queer liberation. It's quite literally a song about a straight/bicurious woman with a boyfriend making out with another woman, told through the perspective of a straight person. And that was groundbreaking to hear on the radio, but has absolutely nothing to do with the community and as such it never got gay classic status, it never became a pride staple, it never gave her a core gay fanbase

 

As someone already mentioned Firework was one in a dozen songs with similar themes coming out during that period (along with Gaga's, P!nk's and Kesha's), not standing out or making a grand statement in that context

 

Having gay men kiss in a music video and starting a foundation is all very nice and needed, and I never said she didn't do anything for the community. But her career has never been the result nor the engine of a deep bond between her and the queer community, which is why it's surprising that this era she seems to go for an aesthetic and she says things that are commonly associated with artists who have such bonds

[STMG23]

I hope there is a dimension somewhere where this makes sense and is not as cringey as it is in this one. 

[STMG23]

…and I hope Katheryn finds the portal.

[MatiRod]

"I Kissed A Girl" was scandalous and groundbreaking back in the day, partly because it was one of the rare songs to piss off both liberals ("it's using bisexuality as a cheap costume!") AND conservatives ("she's promoting homosexuality to our impressionable youth!")  Like a lot of pop songs, it's a time capsule for the attitudes of that era.  

[CroNich]

Leave it to Katy to leave out the LBTQIA+

[BrokenMachine]

She's right. Gays were the only ones talking about her and her latest releases. Straights couldn't care less 

[Goaty]

10 hours ago, Young In Love said:

 

[BrokenMachine]

Also, she released Ur So Gay, I Kissed A Girl, and kissed Miley so she has the whole right to say that. Gay kween 

 

[BrokenMachine]

10 hours ago, Jay07 said:

I don't understand this belated rebrand into an LGBTQ artist when she has never courted that market in her entire career and it's clearly too late now. Did someone just now tell her gay men are loyal or something?

Well, after seeing how it kinda works for Charli and Kim Petras maybe she came to that conclusion 

[BrokenMachine]

10 hours ago, P!NK2LOVE said:

This confused woman 

Woman's world, so confusing

[JustHoran]

She can stop

[CherieMoon]

she's so cringy, i can't with her 

[Starchild]

6 hours ago, Jay07 said:

Not people bringing up I Kissed A Girl, the most stereotypical "oooh I try bisexuality on as a costume when I'm drunk" performative bicuriosity anthem for the male gaze (the lyric is literally "hope my boyfriend don't mind it") as an example of allyship. I'll be charitable and not even mention You're So Gay. Katy Perry was probably the most heteronormative popstar since Taylor Swift and her magical prince fairytales.

Thank you! Always thought this of her religious ass with that baiting song and always will, how can anyone say that is helpful to the community??

 

And not people bringing up her kissing Miley ffs, back in the day, men LOVED and FETISHIZED fake "LESBIAN" PORN, all while being homophobes to real queer people, Katy helped push that not help against it 

Edited August 25 by Starchild

[Gladiator]

Ok.

[Ethereaaal]

Just smile y'all 

[starsailor]

7 hours ago, MatiRod said:

"I Kissed A Girl" was scandalous and groundbreaking back in the day, partly because it was one of the rare songs to piss off both liberals ("it's using bisexuality as a cheap costume!") AND conservatives ("she's promoting homosexuality to our impressionable youth!")  Like a lot of pop songs, it's a time capsule for the attitudes of that era.  

babe, not here to throw hate on Katy at all, but this song is all about the male fetish of two hot girls kissing each other so he can eat both. The classic porn stereotype.

Edited August 26 by starsailor

[Bewitched]

 

[NoOneDiesFromLove]

this is such an odd thing to say because the gay male gaze is still a male gaze so is she trying to equate the gays to the female gaze?? 

[Vrx.]

Well that's one way to completely end homosexuality

 

Edited August 26 by Vrx.

[ThehushSound]

Why has she set her destructive sights on the gays? Hasn't she done enough damage over the last decade?
 

 

[cyberraga]

Pandering solely to gay men is a guaranteed way to tank. Even Gaga learned her lesson and broadened her audience. 
 

Her team is definitely full of mid-to-late 20s, early 30s gays who keep telling her "serving c-word and dropping dance bawps" are what people want 

Edited August 26 by cyberraga

[MatiRod]

4 minutes ago, cyberraga said:

Pandering solely to gay men is a guaranteed way to tank. Even Gaga learned her lesson and broadened her audience. 
 

Her team is definitely full of mid-to-late 20s, early 30s gays who keep telling her "serving c-word and dropping dance bawps" are what people want 

The gay male audience is one of the most loyal and that doesn't disappear with time. Unlike straight people who have kids and move to the suburbs, gay men stay living in urban centres and stay going out, consuming popular culture and going to shows etc well into their 40s and 50s. Any pop diva knows the gay male audience is key to having a longevous career. Gays are the reason Kylie Minogue can still get #1 albums in the UK and the reason Madonna can still sell out arenas worldwide. In every major city in the world there will be an audience of gays of every age who are ready to part with their money to see a pop diva live. Katy knows this and is blatantly going for it. There is flopping, and then there is flopping with dignity. Gays can be the difference!

[cyberraga]

1 minute ago, MatiRod said:

The gay male audience is one of the most loyal and that doesn't disappear with time. Unlike straight people who have kids and move to the suburbs, gay men stay living in urban centres and stay going out, consuming popular culture and going to shows etc well into their 40s and 50s. Any pop diva knows the gay male audience is key to having a longevous career. Gays are the reason Kylie Minogue can still get #1 albums in the UK and the reason Madonna can still sell out arenas worldwide. In every major city in the world there will be an audience of gays of every age who are ready to part with their money to see a pop diva live. Katy knows this and is blatantly going for it. There is flopping, and then there is flopping with dignity. Gays can be the difference!

Except Katy didn't build a dedicated fanbase during her peak like *everyone else*, which is why they can all still go #1 on iTunes all these years later and Katy can't. 
 

Trying to build a dedicated fanbase after you've already tanked 3 eras in a row isn't going to work.