Yay or Nay: Katy Perry

Sorry for the dry spell between this post and the last, I’ve been busy buying stuff for the past few days to get ready for college. (Junior year, here I come!) So as promised, here’s my scathing attack of Katy Perry (well, not too scathing, but I’m mentally sharpening my non-existent claws).

By now, most people in the nation have heard “I Kissed a Girl” (seriously, who hasn’t heard it yet? It’s been number one on the Billboard Charts for about five weeks now and I can’t walk into a damn store with out hearing it.). The first time I heard the song, I thought “awesome, a song about LGBT relationships can be popular!” Upon paying closer attention to the lyrics, I lost some of my excitement, but I was still happy that a song about some girl-on-girl action was actually receiving airplay, and lots of it. And the song, taken by itself, is still a big deal because it looks at the issue of fluid sexuality, and what defines a person as lesbian, gay, or even bisexual (albeit in a superficial fashion.). Katy Perry’s song makes it clear that she was curious about women, however that doesn’t automatically make her a lesbian. So by itsself, “I Kissed a Girl” isn’t that bad (provided that you overlook her whiny singing.).

Unfortunately, I decided to check out the rest of Katy Perry’s songs on iTunes, where I discover “Ur so Gay,” her other single. This song is so rife with gay stereotypes that there’s really no point in listing them all, so I’ll post the song lyrics instead.

I hope you hang yourself with your H&M scarf
While jacking off listening to Mozart
You bitch and moan about LA
Wishing you were in the rain reading Hemingway
You don’t eat meat
And drive electrical cars
You’re so indie rock it’s almost an art
You need SPF 45 just to stay alive

You’re so gay and you don’t even like boys
No you don’t even like
No you don’t even like
No you don’t even like boys
You’re so gay and you don’t even like boys
No you don’t even like
No you don’t even like
No you don’t even like…

You’re so sad maybe you should buy a happy meal
You’re so skinny you should really Super Size the deal
Secretly you’re so amused
That nobody understands you
I’m so mean cause I cannot get you outta your head
I’m so angry cause you’d rather MySpace instead
I can’t believe I fell in love with someone that wears more makeup than…

You’re so gay and you don’t even like boys
No you don’t even like
No you don’t even like
No you don’t even like boys
You’re so gay and you don’t even like boys
No you don’t even like
No you don’t even like
No you don’t even like…

You walk around like you’re oh so debonair
You pull ‘em down and there’s really nothing there
I wish you would just be real with me

You’re so gay and you don’t even like boys
No you don’t even like
No you don’t even like
No you don’t even like boys
You’re so gay and you don’t even like boys
No you don’t even like
No you don’t even like
Oh no no no no no no no
You’re so gay and you don’t even like boys
No you don’t even like
No you don’t even like
No you don’t even like boys
You’re so gay and you don’t even like boys
No you don’t even like
No you don’t even like
No you don’t even like… PENIS

Like I said, there’s no point in sitting here and pointing out each and every gay stereotype, because I don’t feel like writing a book on this. A few things about this song do stick out to me, though. Perry sings “You bitch and moan about LA,” playing the age old game of attributing feminine behavior and using words reserved for women against gay men. She couldn’t figure out a more original way of insulting gay men? She takes it a step further by saying “You pull ‘em down and there’s nothing really there.” So apparently emasculating gay men isn’t enough, because she has to verbally castrate them too. Just because the penis doesn’t get up when you come around doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.

Katy Perry

The other main thing I want to point out about this song is her assumption that the only reason a man wouldn’t be attracted to her is because he’s gay. It’s not clear exactly who she is singing about in this song, but I honestly don’t believe that someone would write or sing a song so scathing unless she was insulted or wronged in some way. I’m sorry Katy Perry that your boyfriend dumped you for your best friend, or your crush laughed in your face while you confessed your love, but that does not give you the right to attack gay men. We did nothing to you; one of us was probably with you at H&M while you bought some of that cherry chap stick you love so much.

Katy Perry’s contradictory songs are part of a bigger trend in society: girl-on-girl action is fine, hot even, but the moment two men even think about touching each other, pitchforks are sharpened and the mob screams “kill those faggots!” It’s depressing, given all that has occurred in the past few years for gay rights, that these sentiments still exist. Hopefully, in the next few weeks, some new songs will come along to knock this crap off the charts.

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