(no subject)
I gotta admit something.
I know "I Kissed A Girl" by Katy Perry is all sorts of messed up, but there is a part of me that really wants to read it in a transgressive manner, and somehow that kind of rocks. And also pokes holes in our initial critical analysis. I like the idea of reading it as a story about a girl who's learning what it means to violate gender boundaries and test compulsory heteronormativity. Must it always be an absolutist statement? Must sexuality always be rigid? I don't think so. She kissed a girl, and she liked it. That's an astonishing revelation. I know the standard reading of the song is that this is a disgusting example of straight privilege. She got to try something wild and slink back to her hetero relationship without risking anything like an actual LGBT person would. But can't we read that as a story of emergent sexuality? An awakening. A state of transition. She had a preconception of her sexuality and her gender boundaries: she thinks there are certain things "good girls" don't do, and that's inclusive of - good girls shouldn't stray outside of a relationship ("I hope my boyfriend don't mind it"), good girls shouldn't express sexual desire ("lost my discretion"), good girls shouldn't want another girl ("it [the kiss] felt so wrong"), good girls shouldn't want an anonymous sexual encounter ("I don't even know your name"), good girls must always be in love to have a sexual encounter ("don't mean I'm in love tonight").
She's defying all that. And shouldn't that be a pretty awesome thing? Because I think it's a mistake to summarily dismiss this kind of experience. We should all have the room to experiment. Yes, I agree that there is a good contingent of "performative bisexuals" especially amongst girls. AKA, I'll kiss another girl to titillate a male audience. I don't deny that. But I think there's something powerful in the fact that there are all these questions, and it's all done in the form of a bubble gum pop song. The fact that it IS a trifle, light and fluffy somehow makes it more persuasive. That it's okay to look outside of what you've always known. Even the song says so. It's innocent. It's no big deal. And in the end, isn't that all we all want, for sexuality to become not a big deal?
And no, idk either why I'm analysing a Katy Perry song. -_- But this has been bugging me for a long time now. Again, I still think the song is problematic, I think a lot of people is not going to interpret it the way I've outlined above, but the fact that there is room there for it to BE interpreted that way is meaningful. You never know, you know? There's probably a girl out there listening to this song, and a light comes on inside her head. I can kiss a girl, goddammit, and I'm allowed to like it.
I know "I Kissed A Girl" by Katy Perry is all sorts of messed up, but there is a part of me that really wants to read it in a transgressive manner, and somehow that kind of rocks. And also pokes holes in our initial critical analysis. I like the idea of reading it as a story about a girl who's learning what it means to violate gender boundaries and test compulsory heteronormativity. Must it always be an absolutist statement? Must sexuality always be rigid? I don't think so. She kissed a girl, and she liked it. That's an astonishing revelation. I know the standard reading of the song is that this is a disgusting example of straight privilege. She got to try something wild and slink back to her hetero relationship without risking anything like an actual LGBT person would. But can't we read that as a story of emergent sexuality? An awakening. A state of transition. She had a preconception of her sexuality and her gender boundaries: she thinks there are certain things "good girls" don't do, and that's inclusive of - good girls shouldn't stray outside of a relationship ("I hope my boyfriend don't mind it"), good girls shouldn't express sexual desire ("lost my discretion"), good girls shouldn't want another girl ("it [the kiss] felt so wrong"), good girls shouldn't want an anonymous sexual encounter ("I don't even know your name"), good girls must always be in love to have a sexual encounter ("don't mean I'm in love tonight").
She's defying all that. And shouldn't that be a pretty awesome thing? Because I think it's a mistake to summarily dismiss this kind of experience. We should all have the room to experiment. Yes, I agree that there is a good contingent of "performative bisexuals" especially amongst girls. AKA, I'll kiss another girl to titillate a male audience. I don't deny that. But I think there's something powerful in the fact that there are all these questions, and it's all done in the form of a bubble gum pop song. The fact that it IS a trifle, light and fluffy somehow makes it more persuasive. That it's okay to look outside of what you've always known. Even the song says so. It's innocent. It's no big deal. And in the end, isn't that all we all want, for sexuality to become not a big deal?
And no, idk either why I'm analysing a Katy Perry song. -_- But this has been bugging me for a long time now. Again, I still think the song is problematic, I think a lot of people is not going to interpret it the way I've outlined above, but the fact that there is room there for it to BE interpreted that way is meaningful. You never know, you know? There's probably a girl out there listening to this song, and a light comes on inside her head. I can kiss a girl, goddammit, and I'm allowed to like it.