Lana and the LGBTQ+ Issue...

[Psychedelic Pussy 30,105]

*Obviously, if I watch/read her interviews and am on this forum, I am a HUGE fan and love her, so don't read this as hate.

This bit should be bold and all caps cause some ppl don’t know how to read

can we literally not have civil discussions about anything lol

[Zetterberg 1,879]

"I'm not a fag-pro nation"

[WorstAmericanRecord 232]

This bit should be bold and all caps cause some ppl don’t know how to read

can we literally not have civil discussions about anything lol

Yeah...and it should be implied. 

[WilshireBoulevard 5,420]

Lana Del Rey was the voice of my transition and all the adventures therein, so it'd be nice if she acknowledged her LGBTQ fans more.

 

But she doesn't know that she meant that to you. Lana is a cis and presumably straight woman. That's how she views the world. When she looks at her music and thinks about how people would connect to it, she's going to be seeing it through the lens of a straight cis woman. 

 

Personally my concern would be the fact she publicly attends a church that doesn't make their stance on LGBT people public knowledge- aka we can expect the worse. But- to give an example of something I saw someone write on this site- her songs and videos being "heteronormative" is simply untrue, as her songs and videos are just how she experiences or views the world as a straight and cis woman. There are plenty of artists that are LGBT themselves, or more explicitly acknowledge them, but I'm not too concerned about Lana viewing her music as relatable to girls.

[WorstAmericanRecord 232]

https://youtu.be/vwIaG5sRyrE?t=3651

 

around 1:00:55, its what PARADIXO described 

I literally got everything I was looking for from this. Thanks!

[Kurac na Biciklu 2,359]

wn

[WorstAmericanRecord 232]

Also though media always assumes (for some reason) that everyone's fanbase is "young females" like in lady gaga's 73 questions vogue interview she was asked what she would say to her "young female fans" and I was like ???? cause Gaga for sure has more 20s and late teens fans and a whole lot of gay male fans and other people under the LGBT+ umbrella than "young girls". Some people get asked about their gay fans nowadays (CRJ, Charli) but it seems like Lana isnt one of them... I remember the one radio host asking her about gay fans and all that but that's about it. I don't really see much of an issue with her not being "I LOVE GAAAAAYYYYYYYSSSSSSSS" every concert but yeah I can also understand fans wanting validation from someone they support so much. 

I DEFINITELY don't want that. lol

I am gay

and I do not care if Lana acknowledge me/gays or not

 

Being gay is just a tiny part of me

like the fact I have blue eyes

 

so... I live fine without anyone's thoughts about me being gay or whatever

 

p.s

 

thought yes... no gay couples in Love video was huge let down

My being gay isn't a huge all-encompassing part of me either...but it is in ways that matter...And that's probably why I relate to her work so much.

 

And there is a historical context wherein gay fans have shaped the culture in the arts through their support of female artists...and have been ignored. That was the point of this post. 

 

I agree with you, though!

[TrashMagiq 58,429]

g*ys are discussing why would she support them 

[Ryusei 5,071]

g*ys are discussing why would she support them 

yes I'm childish I find typos funny  even funnier since we're on a forum discussing her. 

[WorstAmericanRecord 232]

I’m going full on rant mode and I’m not sorry about it but here’s my argument:

 

Why is this even an “issue”? She’s aware of the gayness of her fans and I don’t think she gives a single fuck. I don’t think she cares whether you’re gay, white, black, male, female, whatever you may be. These posts make me so mad bc people try to put words into her mouth because she might say her fans might be young females so then automatically someone HAS to say “Oh she didn’t point me out because I’m gay!! She now must hate us gays!!”

 

No she just simply doesn’t feel the need to single out gay people. She’s aware, she knows you’re there and she knows there’s no need to run around screaming about it. It’s like the fact that I wish “coming out” didn’t have to be a thing because sexuality shouldn’t be a big deal where we have to tell everyone about it. Why??? Why single people out who are just people by making them conform to a label? To me, making a big deal out of my sexuality is a problem. I don’t want people thinking of me as just their “bi friend” or whatever. No I’m not that. I’m much more than that. And for her to say “Most of my fans are gay guys” would personally make me more angry because I’m not just some “gay stan.”

 

I think as I got older I’ve realized that about Gaga, she opted to try to include gays but then it almost went too far as to selling her music and herself to them for financial gain. And that’s not okay with me. “Oh I accept all gays(‘ money!!!!)” and that bothers the absolute shit out of me. Don’t get me wrong, shes done fundraising stuff and pushed for gay rights and gay acceptance but come on... I don’t want to be exploited for money as a fan of ANY artist.

 

At the end of the day, it’s a business. Just like Trump, Lana didn’t talk about it for a while bc politics + business = more problems. What we’ve learned about Lana is that she’s just here for the music. If all her gay fans disappeared, she’d still make music. If all her female fans disappeared, she’d still make music. No matter what, she’s a musician at heart.

 

Do we need to remind everyone of her performance in December at the ALLY Coalition thing?

There's definitely a tightrope of potential exploitation artists have to walk when it comes to speaking to particular groups, so I agree with that.

 

I didn't say nor imply that she "hated" gays...I hope. In all of the interviews I've seen (I've since been made aware of ones in which she has), there had not been any acknowledgment of anyone other than that one demographic.

 

I think it was in the Ride video, but she once stated that mother told her she had a chameleon heart (?). And while it's safe to assume not everything she creates reflects her life exactly, I think she really does feel that way, and I can see her shape-shifting a bit into different crowds. Maybe that's why she avoids tying herself to any political boats.

[WaitForLife 5,230]

What I don't like about the OP is that white is in brackets like she only has white people who listen to her.

Please don't be homophobe or racist. Lana loves all of her fans and is aware of it.

[WorstAmericanRecord 232]

What I don't like about the OP is that white is in brackets like she only has white people who listen to her.

Please don't be homophobe or racist. Lana loves all of her fans and is aware of it.

I know it's not only white people who listen to her, and I'm not being those things or calling Lana one! I thinks that's ignorant.

 

I've been a fan for a really long time, so there are many instances and creative decisions she has made that informed my decision to write that. 

[Rico25 7,877]

She's mad at the gays for always wanting more from her

[Rorman Nockwell 56,493]

https://youtu.be/vwIaG5sRyrE?t=3651

 

around 1:00:55, its what PARADIXO described 

 

I wrote about this long ago somewhere here, and I'm going to bring it up again just to throw a spanner in the works. I'm pretty tired so I'm sure it'll sound incoherent and insane, but that's fine. 

 

In that interview, I think she sounded almost hopeful when she said about finding out that there are straight men who like her music ... 

 

I'm not sure her fanbase is what she envisioned it to be. She spent a lot of time and effort crafting a "fuck me" persona early in her career, which obviously wasn't geared towards women or gays, but that's what she ended up with. 

 

I'm not saying she expected a fanbase of all straight dudes, but I feel like a lot of stuff she used to do encouraged it. 

 

I don't really have a point; it's just more of an observation. 

[Macintosh Manhattan 6,511]

I don’t think it’s a case of her trying to build a wall of denial that she has gay fans but just her being her usual scatty brained self. Plus I think that she’s still trying to figure out what she believes in (Gurl thinks she’s a centrist but clearly has left wing tendencies) if that makes any sense.

 

She’s clearly not homophobic or racist that’s for sure. Just very unaware of her fanbase...

 

If she was screaming from the rooftops about loving yourself and actively showing support LGBTQ+ rights, some of y’all will say she’s being pandering and doing it to look good. It’s a double edge sword that Lana and other celebs can not ever really handle properly without pissing off someone.

[PARADIXO 32,925]

she also held a gay flag in Brazil last year so 

[UltraviolenceBaby 5,014]

she doesn't have to take advantage of this, like many artists who tried to be more famous by using them

i really respect her for that, we all humans, we don't have to mentions groups differently 

[sweetie 6,627]

I do have an inkling that she's lowkey homophobic. Just recently that interview where she faced a "lightning round" of questions from a gay.... she seemed visibly uncomfortable by him. She is a white christian woman obsessed with the "golden age" of America, not much else to expect from her.

[Rico25 7,877]

LBR, the current setlist IS homophobic

 

[Psychedelic Pussy 30,105]

Perhaps she doesn’t draw a lot of attention to it because she doesn’t want to be seen as “pandering” to the lgbt community. She has lgbt family and friends, and has voiced her support for lgbt people in the past, so I don’t need anything more tbh

Lowkey when she keeps going to Hillsong though it does burn me a little bit, even though I know she’s just going to have a nice day/night out with friends and enjoy herself