PopSyndicate.com

You’ve probably heard it if you’re a frequent radio listener. It’s been in heavy rotation for a hot minute now, and it’s one of the biggest songs of the summer. An ode to sexual experimentation between females, Katy Perry’s “I Kissed A Girl” is certainly a catchy little tune. The melody is nice, the pop rock power chords don’t go overboard, and Perry seems like a decent enough singer. Although at times, she has this Shania Twain thing going on that’s a bit unsettling (a “Twain-twang” if you will!). And let’s face it, who doesn’t love a song about two chicks making out just to see what it would be like? Well. . . .

Several gay/lesbian and feminist activists have taken Perry to task, citing that her song serves no socially redeeming purpose and makes light of the struggles of the gay/lesbian community. And if you really stopped to think about it, they’ve got a valid point. I remember a song by Jill Sobule back in 1995, also called “I Kissed A Girl”, that also dealt with the themes of homosexuality within our society, especially between females. The subject matter was handled with intelligence, awareness, and maturity, while still being a fun and catchy little ditty to sing along to. Thirteen years after the fact, Perry’s offering is beyond shortsighted by comparison. It’s not presented as “I’m a girl who may be attracted to girls, but I’m not sure.”, but as “I’m totally straight, but I think it’d be hot if we made out!”. Couple this with the sexy pillow fight with a bunch of underwear models in the video, and all Perry seems to be doing is playing on dated stereotypes and male fantasy clichés. It’s very telling of how we view homosexuality in this country. Yeah, there’s a lot of tolerance towards homosexuality, but not a lot of acceptance. Trust me, there is a huge difference. If we as a country were accepting of homosexuality, same-sex marriage would not be the hot-button issue it still is today. It shouldn’t be an issue at all. To say nothing of adolescents, and even adults, who may still be struggling with their own sexual identity, already confused and conflicted about whether or not they pitch for a different team. We’re certainly more tolerant of homosexuality than a few decades ago, but that tolerance is, more often than not, conditional and self-serving. In mainstream media, there can be a great deal of cherry-picking when it comes to what images of homosexuality are made available to the masses. So when Ms. Perry comes along with her ballad of faux-lesbianism, I can certainly see how some people might take issue with it.

Now, I know what you’re thinking; I’m trying to present myself as some noble sensitive man who would never be turned on by such things. . . .Of course I’m turned on by such things!!!  But it’s all a matter of context. Depending on the context, I can find the idea of two women being physically intimate quite arousing. Being the guy who takes a photograph of two relatively attractive women making out, for example, is a lot better than watching the act in a movie or on television. Think about it, which situation is more favorable for the man who wishes he could be intimate with the two women in question? There’s also something to be said for dating or being friends with women who willfully regale you with tales of their own experimentation with other women. This is what irks me so much about the lyric in Perry’s song “I hope my boyfriend don’t mind it.” Really, Katy?!? The lyric should have been “I hope my boyfriend don’t get any ideas.”, because, speaking from experience, that’s a far more likely scenario! Again, context! The tease and titillation of the whole thing is far more powerful when there are variables in play that increase the likelihood of participation. Beyond that, I could care less about two girls just kissing. 

And really, haven’t we been down this road before? T.aT.u. wasn’t really that long ago. And nowadays, we’ve got reality shows like A Shot of Antibiot-, I mean, A Shot At Love with Tila Tequila, in which the self-appointed Queen of MySpace dangles her cooter like a carrot at the end of a fishing pole for both men AND women. By comparison, Katy Perry’s “I Kissed A Girl” is a far too tame attempt at jumping on the “lesbian chic” bandwagon, and one that’s about a decade too late. There’s no veil that she’s pulling back, no truths to expose to society at large, nothing to really offer that we haven’t already seen before. For cryin’ out loud, people! It’s 2008! This can’t be all we need to tickle our collective wang!