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She kissed a girl, but do we like it? 'Lesbian' hit divides gay community


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Katy Perry's 'I Kissed A Girl' is number one in the US and is expected to top the UK charts this week. Even though the song seems to send a positive message about her sexual experiences with another girl - apparently, she "liked it" - the gay community is not quite sure what to make of the song and its singer.

One of the reasons why gays and lesbians are not willing to approve of the hit might be Perry's previous song 'UR So Gay', in which she accuses her boyfriend for "acting gay" even though he is not. She opens the song with the lines: "I hope you hang yourself with your H&M scarf/While jacking off listening to Mozart."

MSNBC site contributor Tony Sclafani writes: "Well, it's official. It's cool to make fun of gay people again. How do we know? Because the folks in Medialand told us as much by relentlessly cheerleading two gay-unfriendly songs by newcomer Katy Perry."

Gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell said he liked the music but found the lyrics dubious: "They're not seriously homophobic but they can be read as implicitly demeaning gay people. I am sure Katy would get a critical reception if she expressed comparable sentiments in a song called 'UR so black, Jewish or disabled'. Should there be different standards for lyrics about gay issues, as opposed to race and disability issues? I don't think so. Having said this, the homophobia of some reggae, rap and ragga music is far worse. Some of these songs explicitly incite the murder of lesbians and gays. They are much more offensive than any lyrics sung by Katy Perry."

Perry, whose parents are both Protestant pastors, has said she was not aiming to alienate gay listeners. In an interview with the US New Gay website, when it was put to her that she had annoyed many gay people, she said: "That's unfortunate. It's not what I came to do."

What do you make of Perry's songs? Do you think she is homophobic or not? And, do you even care?
JanaPokana

50 responses // She kissed a girl, but do we like it? 'Lesbian' hit divides gay community

  • I kissed a girl a once, the moment was not nearly as lyrical for me as it may have been for Perry. Some individuals may feel the song is homophobic. Though personally, I digress. It is just good music. 2 dance 2

    Flashback to "Gay Boyfriend" By The Hazzards
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HK9VBxDlQOE
    EddieStarr
  • When I first heard the song "I Kissed a Girl" I kinda read it as pro-gay, however than I heard the song "Ur so gay". Immediatly that song kinda felt anti-gay because she was basically listing the stereotypes of gays, and them being bad. Idk, im not really mad about it at all and I think its obvious she wasnt intending to offend homosexuals and bisexuals.
    NickerBocker09
  • wasn't there already a song like this by Jill Sobule in the 90s?
    SamuraiDave
    3 responses to this
  • i honestly don't care, becasue I do not listen to a song to find all the wrong things, becasue honestly i dont think she really wrote a song to put down gay people.
    knightlynight200
  • I don't think this song is half as danceable as that song by Larissa-I Do Both Jay And Jane from several years ago.
    This track seems to be pretty popular at the clubs around here though, dunno why.
    VegaNerDiva
  • i think she is telling girls its ok to experiment with other girls which I think it would be cool because it would improve my chances of getting two girls :-), but at the same time eventually I'd like to have kids and if I had a girl, i'm not sure of what i'd think if she was making out with girls, by the time i'd have kids old enough to understand these lyrics it might be 10 years, who knows how much the world will have changed by then. hopefully for the better
    chivideoguy
  • Stories like this are a prime example of why I pay no mind to the media when it comes to music. 99% of the music I listen to has been found through self searching or word of mouth. Because of this I’ve stayed blissfully unaware of hipster garbage, pop poison and hip hop sell outs. As far as this Katy Perry person goes, well no thanks. I’m not going to download her song.

    If she is of the opinion that listening to Mozart makes you gay then she is an idiot. Heavy metals borrows many aspects from classical music and last time I checked there is nothing “gay” about getting your teeth knocked out in a circle pit. Secondly Requiem Mass is one of the greatest songs hands down.
    Ricky84
  • I don't think of the song (I kissed a girl) as homophobic, but I do think it's disrespectful, especially at the part where it goes something like 'you're my experimental game.' Maybe I'm just overly sensitive, but I would be upset if someone was just using me as some sort of sexuality experiment!
    fuhleesha
    2 responses to this
  • It may not be outwardly or violently homophobic, but the attitude of the song is what makes it so messed up, in my opinion. The lines about her boyfriend and how, in the video, she ends up in bed next to a boy (to her obvious relief) is what really kills any chance of this song being pro-gay or anything like that. The message of the song really is, "hey girls, it's okay to experiment (in fact, we even think it's kind of cute!), as long as you come back to where you really belong (i.e. katy perry ending up next to a man in bed at the end of the music video) in the end. Don't cross that line into homosexuality, cuz that's just gross!"

    It supports the double standard that exists for women when it comes to experimenting with sexuality. If this was a male pop singer talking about kissing a boy and liking it, do you think it would be as successful as this song?

    Probably not.
    chocopretzel
    1 response to this
  • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Tv95LDOb78
    Trust Whoopie Goldberg to make sure Katy Perry actually does kiss girls ...
    JanaPokana
  • She is perfectly fine. She can have her own views and opinions. She does not have to like homosexuals. She also can make her music any way she likes. I am straight and I like her "I kissed a girl song".

    Katy Perry has a right to have her own thoughts, views, ideas, opinions and so fourth, no matter how many people think it is demeaning or rude. I would and am defending her opinion.
    kaecvtionr
  • realy?
    xueren
  • ?
    xueren
  • Shr can sing what the hell she likes, if its chart topping them someone must have liked it, and if you dont, ten dont bloody listen to the song then, then you wont any reason to moan about it
    Azai
  • It is fair enough to say that the content of music lyrics should not be censored and that we should not care as much, but would you be as lenient if you were talking about a potentially racist song?
    JanaPokana
    1 response to this
  • "I hope you hang yourself with your H&M scarf/While jacking off listening to Mozart." ......Artistic. Truly genius.
    timuel
  • ugh, It's obviously her scheme at getting famous. Come on, remember Maddona and Britney?

    Fact of the matter is, nowadays it's "cool" to kiss girls. Guys gobble that up. It's so pathetic, back in highschool I saw an idiot girl make out with another (actual lesbian, the poor thing was used) just to get popular. The worst part is I was next to the boys and saw them go crazy.

    Ah, idiots.
    virggie
  • Its just a song written to attract a young crowd with a little "humor".

    I do not think Katy Perry is homophobic, just a plain old, everyday, sellout....If she even wrote the songs, then she did so to sell albums, not to make music...
    TyMarshal
  • No one will know this song in a couple months, it's pop, nonsense, it has no lyrical girth.....it is an awful, song. Complete marketing genius, I saw a five year old singing it in the grocery store. It's like girls gone wild, done only for the entertainment of men.
    marlaynek
  • It's all good in da hood!
    pokesmot
  • Is she would have kissed a girl in the video maybe I would have liked it
    NoGodsNoMasters
  • honestly ive never figured out why guys go crazy over lesbian action. is it the fact that this would never include you, ever? they dont like your junk, sorry boys.
    if anyone would like to enlighten me on why its so appealing, please do.
    cityaffinity
    6 responses to this
  • I read that MSNBC post a few weeks ago (i'd never heard the song or singer before) and it was one of the most ridiculous, shocked to be shocked things i ever had the misfortune to come across.

    The song is just more watery pop music, the media will forget about in days. who cares.
    Owwmykneecap
  • i kissed a white boy and i liked it....could i get a record deal???


    the song is shitty anyway and just a gimmick. she's said already she never even kissed a girl. she was like a christian folk singer in the 90s. her management team knows just how to market her.
    keeshii768
  • I kissed a metal pole on a winter's day in New England and tore half my skin off.
    I didnt like it.
    stephenthomson
    5 responses to this
  • Different....
    dixiefilms
  • "Look at me, look at me, I kissed a gir! Aren't I sexy and naughty!" Um, no. You're predictable and exploitative, and you kind of make me sick.

    Sweet baby Jesus and all the angels. Have you watched this video? It's just an excuse to shoot a pretty, straight-looking girl wearing very little and all her commodified, objectified, sexualised body parts in a 'naughty' bi-curious context, surrounded by similarly underdressed straight-looking girls. And its all designed to grab the attention of straight men with threesome fantasies, and the dopey girls and women who think its really 'sexy' to try to impress said straight men with their sexual adventurousness.

    I'm completely sick of bisexuality and lesbianism being neatly packaged as nothing more than something to turn on a straight audience. I'm more than that, and so are other gay or bisexual women. Fuck off Katy Perry.
    LindseyIndigo
    1 response to this
  • Kate Perry sings about a lesbian relationship but I would not go along that way at all.

    Similarly The Beatles sang "We All Live In A Yellow Submarine" Like wise my not following them as I easily become seasick with any rocking motion.

    However I will admit she is very attractive and if she goes along the lesbian path it will be a tragic loss to the healthy male comminity
    themanwithadog
  • This song was written for straight guys. Because I know I kissed a girl and liked it. I would also let missy Katy Perry jump my bones.

    Also, why don't the gays and lesbians chill out and be tolerant, I mean we hetero's have been working super hard to tolerate them and their lives. time for a little acceptance the other way.
    thewarnerla
    1 response to this
  • Enough already!! I ain't uncomfortable.
    pokesmot

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