Queer Affinity for Lana del Rey - Why?

[takeitdoen 10,627]

I am hoping the LB team can help me with working out something that I've wondered for a while. As with many prolific artists, Lana del Rey's music is so good that anyone can be a fan. However, we know there are two stereotypes that get the majority - typically regarded as hardcore fans of younger women and gay men.

 

My question is specifically about queer people - why do they gravitate so strongly to Lana's music? Are they drawn into Lana del Rey's persona? Is there a connection with the tragical lyrics? Is Born to Die persona a gay champion compared to NFR?

 

Why is Lana del Rey considering the mecca of queer iconography? The idea that any gay that loves Lana is a tragic bottom with daddy issues is strange as in recent times I've started to see Lana be described unironically as a gay icon. In 2017, Billboard Magazine published an article called "5 Reasons Lana del Rey is a Muse to Gay Fans", and Tulane Hullabaloo wrote an article last year that described her as an "unexpected gay icon". The second article is less scholarly but it touches on the fact that queer people find an affinity with her sad content that relates to them feeling misunderstood or unconnected - but surely not every fan feels like that??

 

Considering her contemporaries (Madonna, Cher, L. Gaga and maybe even Florence Welch) have been substantially more supportive and vocal of their queer fanbase, why is Lana regarded with the same status? 

 

I'm really interested in hearing anyone's reply - especially from queer folx I want to hear why you love Lana, and non-queer people about what you perceive in the situation. 

 

EDIT: 

TL;DR + an update to this post for clarity

• What attracts queer fans to Lana del Rey?
  • I'm asking either: 1) as a gay person, why do you like Lana? 2) as a gay person, why what do you think draws queer people to Lana 3) as a person not identifying as a gay man, what aspects do you think draw queer people to Lana? 4) as a person not identifying as a gay man, what makes you a fan of Lana?
• What factors contribute to the stereotypes of a Lana del Rey fan?
  • I'm asking what aspects of Lana's career, image, songs contribute to the stereotype - I am personally very interested in the 'sad gay' stereotype. See below for examples:

[Liz Taylor Blues 18,744]

We're also attracted to sexy, toxic, unavailable men.A lot of gays have daddy issues and Lana is the queen of daddy issues

[sparklrtrailrheaven 9,065]

It’s so hard to say without generalizing, but I feel like part of the draw could be that Lana appeals to the gay affinity for camp — especially in the BtD era, Lana verged on campiness, even though she seemed to take it all very seriously. Her meld of influences also ticks some classic ‘gay culture’ boxes, what with pop music/classic Hollywood glamour/etc. — and then she exaggerates it all, creating a perfect, campy, gay storm.

 

I think that’s at least part of the reason that her persona switch to wannabe-baddie White Girl Wednesday matcha drinker at Churchome has jarred the fan base so much — unreality and excess has always been a part of Lana’s story, and knowingly or not could be the reason a lot of people were drawn in — especially the gay fans.

[pin up galore 18,997]

well she came through with the heavy aesthetics in 2011-2015 so she was huge on Tumblr (and I feel like almost every gay has had a Tumblr era). she was also the counter voice for what was more mainstream at the time so maybe with us gays feeling like the outcast or the "weird" ones we could relate to Lana and have a deeper connection to her mystery and the controversy that surrounded her. idk if my stoner stream of consciousness makes sense lmao 

[PARADIXO 32,943]

The extreme feminity in the early days. That's why her newest demographic is mostly straight men, women, and the Gee Pee.

[Make me your Dream Life 87,898]

I think I read that article a while back, and I think what drew me in was the depth of feeling in her voice. around that time I remember like the music scene was ultra happy n all about empowerment, so there wasn't really any space to feel? and I ended up liking her bc of it. 

Like it's important to be strong and have ur wits about you, but sometimes its nice and also very much necessary to feel things out and explore yourself. There are definitely other things that kept me listening to her music but yeah, that's what got me.

Don't really think that its's exactly queer, but then u have the hyperfeminine energy (which personally is fun to do to just troll sometimes hahahahahaha), the daddy kink, and just like the overall adventures the songs help u do when ur adventuring. It's great.

[knives 2,524]

i don't have much to add to this tbh, but i can say that i think non-conformity as well as societal outsiders are always attractive/inviting to the lgbtq+ community. we see ourselves in them.

 

i've also always wondered why she doesnt have more of a wlw fanbase. lyrical content aside (aka experiences of a cishet woman's romantic life), theres always a possibility that we wlw could stan a cishet woman as long as their hot lol (cough florence pugh). i know there are other queer women out there who love her, but it's not many in comparison to the predominantly gay male portion of her fanbase. most wlw fans are bisexual women (after all, we do like men unfortunately so we can relate to romancing them), but i have yet to meet a lesbian lana fan! 

 

as a bisexual woman, personally my affinity for her came from her storytelling abilities and realness and honesty. it's uncensored and raw, and i really admire that. she was also an outsider, and as i said earlier, i'm sure im subconsciously and naturally drawn to outsiders in any aspect of life.

[takeitdoen 10,627]

These are really great answers, thanks everyone.

 

well she came through with the heavy aesthetics in 2011-2015 so she was huge on Tumblr (and I feel like almost every gay has had a Tumblr era). she was also the counter voice for what was more mainstream at the time so maybe with us gays feeling like the outcast or the "weird" ones we could relate to Lana and have a deeper connection to her mystery and the controversy that surrounded her. idk if my stoner stream of consciousness makes sense lmao 

So important, I haven't even considered that!! Rising to popularity on and in a platform which familiarised a section of her fanbase with her alternative sound. That might be the starting and big factor. 

 

I think that’s at least part of the reason that her persona switch to wannabe-baddie White Girl Wednesday matcha drinker at Churchome has jarred the fan base so much — unreality and excess has always been a part of Lana’s story, and knowingly or not could be the reason a lot of people were drawn in — especially the gay fans.

 

I wonder, if NFR was her debut album, would queer people have found it to be so relatable and iconic? There is still great material on the album but I think you're spot on with a sense of theatricality and camp that is in the first album. It's still a mystery to me why queer people are so drawn to Broadway and theatre but I suspect it's similar themes. 

 

The extreme feminity in the early days. That's why her newest demographic is mostly straight men, women, and the Gee Pee.

Do you think it's because all gay men are attracted or identity to that femininity, or is that why you were personally drawn to her? 

 

i don't have much to add to this tbh, but i can say that i think non-conformity as well as societal outsiders are always attractive/inviting to the lgbtq+ community. we see ourselves in them.

 

Iconic. Very true, especially with her persecution in and around her 'persona'.

[Kurac na Biciklu 2,359]

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[Creyk 11,699]

You don't have to take it seriously when the media calls someone a gay icon. They call Taylor Swift and Ariana Grande gay icons too, when Ariana never did shit for the LGBT community. And Taylor didn't do much either until You Need To Calm Down in her most recent era. It's just a buzz word the media uses for some articles and it diminishes the value of real allies like Gaga or Madonna.

[PARADIXO 32,943]

 

Do you think it's because all gay men are attracted or identity to that femininity, or is that why you were personally drawn to her? 

 

What I meant is that a big part of her homosexual fans were instantly attracted to her feminity due to being feminine themselves and/or overall feeling attracted to all things feminine. I mean, the 2012 LDR fanbase was completely obsessed with Marina's Electra Heart era which had another totally feminine image and sound. It's no secret that, psychologically speaking, a lot of homosexuals feel more comfortable with women and feminity in general. 

 

Also, the fact that she used to sing exclusively about men (and the way she worshipped them in her lyrics) is another factor. That's why her fanbase consists of mostly women and LGBT men (and women obviously, but you know).

 

In my case, it was purely the music and the vocals. I never felt amazed about/related to the Born to Die image. I actually felt more attracted to her imagery when she became more raw (UV-onwards). Also I remember not being attracted to her lyrics; I mean, I obviously liked them and felt they were poetry, but they didn't resonate with me (I was very young also). Her melodies were what caught me, as Born to Die inspired me to start making music myself.

 

However, now that I'm more mature, I analyze my taste in both women and men and come to the conclusion that I love feminine traits. I never felt physically attracted to LDR other than thinking she's insanely gorgeous simply because I respect her too much as an artist, but somehow she kind of shaped up my taste for people? I like feminine, sensual women with a "femme fatale" attitude. As for guys, I like them feminine too, but more shy and submissive. All of these topics and traits are definitely partt of the LDR universe. I also always felt like she's singing to me, instead of me relating to the lyrics directly, you know what I mean?

[WaitForLife 5,238]

I don't choose someone because I'm gay or the singer stands behind it. I stan quality and Lana makes quality music that I like.

The only "gay icons" I followed where I felt connected was Ke$ha and I still love her. Gaga lost me during Artpop but she changed when Joanne came out.

[mkultraviolence 5,832]

This is an excellent thread and something I think many of us wonder. I am a bisexual young woman and something I noticed, that I hope has some value in the conversation, is that I am not sexually attracted to Lana. And I have almost always been hypersexual. She is the most beautiful women I have ever seen and intelligent and talented, yet I don't want her sexually. And I like it that way. Now, because the fandom is made up of primarily straight women and gay men, maybe there is a correlation between the not being attracted to her? maybe? like we can recognize that she is gorgeous, but we wouldn't want to be involved with her. maybe there needs to be less of a focus on the daddy issues and more focus on mommy issues. if a straight woman and gay man both are attracted to men, maybe we are craving more woman figures in our lives? from a person we respect? idk. 

 

i think the feeling like we don't fit in plays a huuuuuuuge role and might explain why the more Lana has been accepted by the critics and the public, the more fearful we become. we don't want to lose the person that made us embrace our perceived "flaws." Lana gave us comfort in an age where most of us were/are young which can be a scary time to face your sexuality and face the world that may not accept it. maybe that's why we have felt less connected to her since Lust for Life, because critics gave it good reviews. i basically just think the feeling of acceptance and being able to face and even embrace the darker sides of ourself resonates with us. i would like to see if there's a link between campy gay men and lana vs more "traditional" or masculine gay men and lana and what type of traits they look for in a partner. and she talked openly about sad subjects where gay men may have been criticized for talking about the same thing because it's seen as more of a "woman-trait" and society demands more masculinity from them. idk but it's definitely interesting and i liked the responses i've seen so far and can't wait to see what others say

[PARADIXO 32,943]

I don't choose someone because I'm gay or the singer stands behind it. I stan quality and Lana makes quality music that I like.

 

The thing is that no one has to like her because they're gay The question is what in her artistry could attract an LGBT fanbase.

 

 

i don't have much to add to this tbh, but i can say that i think non-conformity as well as societal outsiders are always attractive/inviting to the lgbtq+ community. we see ourselves in them.

 

i've also always wondered why she doesnt have more of a wlw fanbase. lyrical content aside (aka experiences of a cishet woman's romantic life), theres always a possibility that we wlw could stan a cishet woman as long as their hot lol (cough florence pugh). i know there are other queer women out there who love her, but it's not many in comparison to the predominantly gay male portion of her fanbase. most wlw fans are bisexual women (after all, we do like men unfortunately so we can relate to romancing them), but i have yet to meet a lesbian lana fan! 

 

as a bisexual woman, personally my affinity for her came from her storytelling abilities and realness and honesty. it's uncensored and raw, and i really admire that. she was also an outsider, and as i said earlier, i'm sure im subconsciously and naturally drawn to outsiders in any aspect of life.

 

That was really interesting and true.

[evilentity 13,345]

i have yet to meet a lesbian lana fan! 

 

This forum is run by one!

[cashcomesquick 5,381]

I only partly agree. There are many LGBTQ fans, but definitely not the majority. The people I know who listen to her music are 90% straight men or women. She is appreciated for her quality music and especially her angelic voice. 

 

And to be honest, I'm actually glad that she does not focus on a certain group, like Gaga did back then, which means she is open to a larger audience in general. 

[Tristesse 1,765]

Well, Lana is a female pop singer. Isn't it enough to be a LGBT icon?

 

+ the LGBT community and homosexuals (bisexuals, etc...) are two very different concepts

[trailer park 249]

generalisations don't help and can be offensive in my opinion... I think each one of us likes her for different reasons

[sparklrtrailrheaven 9,065]

generalisations don't help and can be offensive in my opinion... I think each one of us likes her for different reasons

 

I agree that generalizations can be damaging, but to refer back to PARADIXO, who said it so well:

 

The thing is that no one has to like her because they're gay The question is what in her artistry could attract an LGBT fanbase.

 

I don't think anyone here is trying to claim that being LGBT+ is the reason we must like Lana, but it's undeniable that she has a large proportion of LGBT+ fans -- especially gay men -- so it's interesting to explore that correlation. Not all gay people like LDR, and not all LDR fans are gay, but there IS a link, and we're talking it out.

[Tristesse 1,765]

I don't think anyone here is trying to claim that being LGBT+ is the reason we must like Lana, but it's undeniable that she has a large proportion of LGBT+ fans -- especially gay men -- so it's interesting to explore that correlation. Not all gay people like LDR, and not all LDR fans are gay, but there IS a link, and we're talking it out.

 

Are we sure though ? I agree the majority of her louder fans on social networks are LGBT+ . But are they a majority of her fans ? 

I don't know for you all guys but I am absolutely silent on social networks. My friends know I like Lana but that's it + my best friend (male) is a fan too, is straight, and does not tell the world about it.