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5 queer female artists adding much needed representation in 2020
There was a time, not too long ago that being anything but straight and cis would consume an artists’ entire public persona.
Think Freddy Mercury, Prince, Joan Jett.
Even current artists still deal with the overwhelming surprise audiences have when learning they’re queer. Think Katy Perry with “I kissed a girl” and Frank Ocean with “Chanel” (where’s the album btw?) even Lil Nas X who decided to come out to the world after his hit album dropped.
As music lovers, we’re still surprised when our fave artists are queer, a lot of us pleasantly surprised.
Those of us who are part of the queer community know it’s valuable to be represented and to have plenty of representation especially female queer representation is to be more widely accepted in society. And true acceptance is acknowledging the importance of individuality.
That said, here’s our incomplete list of artists that make female queer representation better today.
Syd
Known for her talent and building collective music groups, Syd continues to provide much-needed representation for the queer community in spaces where being queer is not mainstream.
Syd has been around for some time now and is a founding member of the Internet and an original member of Odd Future. Formerly known as Syd the Kyd, her music is criminally underrated.
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She stands out on her own musically. Syd doesn’t label herself as a lesbian, instead, she simply emphasizes that she loves and dates women and her love songs will be about them.
Instead of the lesbian label, she prefers navigating the world with the labels of being more than a woman… Because, all in all, she is a businesswoman. As a woman who loves women, it’s important to represent queerness in a light that does not fit into the clear cut community.
Navigating a straight world as a woman who dates women exclusively does not mean you need to become an activist or reduce your identity to your sexuality.
Joy Huerta
Joy of Jesse & Joy Mexican Pop brother/sister duo recently shared her own joy of marrying a woman and starting a family. The announcement came in a statement expressing her views on sexuality and love.
She emphasizes the ability to love regardless of gender.
— Joy (@solamentejoy) April 17, 2019
Joy is very honest about her boundaries of sharing intimate details of her life and makes it clear that although she prefers to speak about her work exclusively, she also understands the importance of representation.
As a Latina in a world that is still very much intolerant and homophobic, Joy’s coming out is powerful and inspiring, inching the needle of progress and acceptance forward for the baby queers to come.
King Princess
Brooklyn Singer King Princess brings vocal, musical and songwriting talent along with major soft butch energy. Her rise is ongoing as the first signee to Mark Ronson’s newly-created label Zelig Recordings.
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Her song “Ain’t Together” from her latest album Cheap Queen highlights the universality of love related situations. Romance is universal, and being gay doesn’t isolate one from experiencing and relating to it.
Hayley Kiyoko
Your fave dancing pop singer always comes through with both emotional content as well as fun bops. The “Girls Like Girls” video is a reminder of the still very much alive violent homophobia.
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“What I Need” featuring Kehlani tackles the internal struggles of wanting someone who’s not sure of their sexuality yet. Overall, Kiyoko’s fans don’t call her gay Jesus for anything.
Hayley Kiyoko’s music is definitely needed for the community.
Kehlani
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Kehlani’s music often references her sexuality as a queer person. In 2015, her song “1st Position” is about seducing a woman.
In the music video “Night’s Like This” featuring Ty Dolla $ign, Kehlani is opposite a female love interest. But Kehlani is featured on so many gay tracks at this point that she’s probably every woman’s wcw.
Teyana Taylor’s latest song “Morning” includes Kehlani as her sexy partner in song and bed.