Dyke Lite: Chapstick “Lesbians” (and the women who don’t love them)

A caption from an article about the musician describes “pop songs with Perry cast as a sunnier Avril.” The comparison of Avril Lavigne and Katy Perry is right on target–both are poseurs. Avril has–in pop culture–conned younger generations into believing that dark eyeliner and angst define punk, and Katy’s current song (with a ripped off title) “I Kissed a Girl” is promoting pseudo-lesbianism as the real thing.

The song lyrics in question:

This was never the way I planned
Not my intention
I got so brave, drink in hand
Lost my discretion
It’s not what, I’m used to
Just wanna try you on
I’m curious for you
Caught my attention

I kissed a girl and I liked it
The taste of her cherry chap stick
I kissed a girl just to try it
I hope my boyfriend don’t mind it
It felt so wrong
It felt so right
Don’t mean I’m in love tonight
I kissed a girl and I liked it
I liked it

No, I don’t even know your name
It doesn’t matter
You’re my experimental game
Just human nature
It’s not what, good girls do
Not how they should behave
My head gets so confused
Hard to obey

I kissed a girl and I liked it
The taste of her cherry chap stick
I kissed a girl just to try it
I hope my boyfriend don’t mind it
It felt so wrong
It felt so right
Don’t mean I’m in love tonight
I kissed a girl and I liked it
I liked it

Us girls we are so magical
Soft skin, red lips, so kissable
Hard to resist so touchable
Too good to deny it
Ain’t no big deal, it’s innocent

I kissed a girl and I liked it
The taste of her cherry chap stick
I kissed a girl just to try it
I hope my boyfriend don’t mind it
It felt so wrong
It felt so right
Don’t mean I’m in love tonight
I kissed a girl and I liked it
I liked it

This is hardly the first time in recent memory that pop culture has celebrated a very specific form of sexual experimentation. The subtext of such songs (tv show plots, celebrities, etc) is that such experimentation occurs with the intention of returning to the privileged heterosexual lifestyle. The musician, Katy Perry, appears to be following this trend, doing nothing more than rebelling against her Christian upbringing. There is a sickening naivete and exoticism of other cultures in her lyrics and pop star persona. Her MySpace page announces that: “[she] love[s] anything Japanese… like going down to Sawtelle and looking at all the Japanese-y stuff.” In an interview, she fails to justify her song “UR So Gay”, explaining: “That song is about a specific guy that I used to date and specific issues that he had. The song is about my ex wearing guyliner and taking emo pictures of himself in the bathroom mirror. The listeners have to read the context of the song and decide for themselves.” It must be a luxury to try on other sexualities and cultures, selecting what appeals to her, while discarding the whole identity. After all, as a faux lesbian, she does not have to consider the repercussions associated with owning that identity (or even a more committed bisexual identity) for a lifetime.

While some might call it progress to have non-hetero sexualities portrayed in pop culture in a positive way, we can do better. There is no reason that sexual and emotional “experimentation” can’t be depicted without the promise of a safe return to straightsville when such experiences bring on threats and conflicts that out queers regularly endure.