Q: Tell me the college dorm on Buswell St. is queer-friendly without telling me it’s queer-friendly.
A: They just hosted a party called “brat night, and it’s the same, but it’s the two-month anniversary, so it’s not” – it’s queer pop music.
This party isn’t just another form of pop music. Instead, Charli XCX and Brat are points of departure, leading to artists like Troye Sivan, Kim Petras, Doja Cat, Beyoncé, and more on the aux.
These artists are known for making pop music that represents the LGBTQ+ community. In other words, their music is made “for the girls and the gays.”
Disco’s role in queer pop music
Gay culture and disco – a subgenre of pop – have always been in the same conversation since the 1970s.
As the Stonewall riots of 1969 took place, the need for self-expression and cultural liberation progressed among the queer community, through nightlife.
Rather than conforming their behavior to fit the heterosexual notions of nightlife, the gay community forged their own spaces and means of expression through disco and disco clubs.
Manya Johnston-Ramirez, Disco and Gay Culture in the 1970s
Throughout Manhattan were disco clubs, legal and illegal ones, where people of the same sex could openly dance with each other.
During the early years of discrimination and aggression, these clubs provided rooms that made queer identities visible.
Manya Johnston-Ramirez also traces the roots of this association back to music theaters, showing that the transition to disco clubs was a natural evolution.
The community needed music that was loud, dramatic, heartfelt, but also could be danced to.
Manya Johnston-Ramirez
Ways of expression have always been channeled through physical experiences.
Exploring queer pop music dynamics
Pop’s upbeat rhythm connects with the LGBTQ+ community, but queerness in music extends beyond its sound.
Queer, as a term, includes a different variety of LGBTQ+ identities. Combined with popular music culture, it brings out a deeper level of depth and complexity.
It focuses, on the one hand, on the adjective ‘queer’ and describes and analyzes what makes certain music queer. On the other hand, there is a strong emphasis on the verb ‘to queer,’ on the doing, on how music culture can be made queer.
Doris Leibetseder, Queer(ing) Popular Music Culture
Doris Leibetseder offers a nuanced understanding of queer music culture: it’s both descriptive and transformative.
This dual framework allows us to view music through both queer and musical lenses.
Within this music culture are songs and artists that both reflect and give rise to the meaning of queer.
The descriptive side
Queer highlights experiences that reflect the LGBTQ+ community through music. It involves queer anthems and icons that perform and stand up for underrepresented identities and communities.
Starting with disco music in the 1970s and 1980s, artists like Freddie Mercury and David Bowie brought gender fluidity into the mainstream. Through their performances and lyrics, they helped develop a sense of openness toward sexuality.
Music is a tool and an expression used to challenge and change mainstream ideas of gender, sexuality, and other social constructs.
It influences present-day pop music, which reshapes narratives around the queer community.
For instance, Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way” presents a clear narrative, reflecting her desire to create a “freedom record.”
As more artists open up about their sexuality, music becomes a dynamic force. It holds, redefines, and pushes queer stories into the mainstream.
The transformative side
The verb “to queer” focuses on the mobility of music.
Music breaks social and cultural norms in this context—there are no binaries. “To queer” music is to blur conventional boundaries and introduce new understandings.
It is easy to find this transformation in Charli XCX’s music.
She pushes the boundaries of pop by experimenting with hyperpop and collaborating with queer artists to create a diverse and inclusive space.
She sings about traditional topics like her fiancé and wanting a child, yet these themes are universal.
The queering magic lies in the fact that anyone can sing and experience those lyrics.
The next generation of queer pop music
Gen Z experiences a different music landscape, leading to a new stage for queer pop set apart by different forms, widespread presence, and authenticity.
We’ve gotten past ‘Born This Way’—it was definitely needed at the time. We want positive and fun things to relate to.
Emily Puglisi, a ‘Brat’ party-goer
This shift is shown in the rise of artists like Chappell Roan, whose Midwest origin story and personal narratives resonate with both queer identity and self-discovery.
Roan’s music addresses the present-day struggles younger queer people face, according to Puglisi. “It’s a good release for queer people.”
Similarly, Charli XCX captures a parallel essence.
“They are both very confident in their personalities, and they are not creating their music to appeal to the masses,” Puglisi said.
Despite having different connections to the queer community—Chappell Roan as a bisexual artist and Charli XCX as a straight ally—both share a similar approach.
For them, music serves as a vessel for emotions and stories, while audiences enjoy a mixture of modern queer voices.
“Red Wine Supernova” is such an anthem that lays out romantic thoughts loud and raw to people of the same sex.
She was a playboy, Brigitte Bardot
Chappell Roan
She showed me things I didn’t know
She did right there out on the deck
Put her canine teeth in the side of my neck.
It’s no surprise that FLOOD Magazine called the song “Raunchy and Lipstick-Stained.” And these are also the marks you’d find in Charli XCX’s music, “Vroom Vroom”.
Bubblegum-pink Ferrari, yeah, I’m so bossy
Charli XCX
Speedin’ like Alonso just to crash your party
People are goin’ loco when I’m pullin’ up, takin’ your papi
Don’t think about consequences ’cause they’re never gonna stop me, what?
The nature of queer pop
Regardless of the position these artists take, boldness spreads throughout their music and goes beyond them. It shows us how queer pop music is needed right now.
The ongoing pop evolution follows the music’s exact ever-changing and identity-driven nature and digs deeper.
As Sasha Geffen writes in Glitter Up the Dark, “That gender is performative doesn’t mean that it’s superficial, and so voice became a way of exploring how gender works inside the body.”
Queer pop music creates a community where the artists and their audiences feel empowered to explore and express their gender without being cast off from society. Whether through boundary-pushing lyrics or performances, the voices of pop artists are fated to challenge and reshape social norms.
Troye Sivan followed Geffen’s idea in his most recent work. His single “One of Your Girls” uncovered the feminine side above and beyond his gay identity.
Not only did he sing as one of the girls, he dressed as one of the girls.
Of course, the music video went viral for Troye Sivan’s breathtaking drag and groundbreaking disposition. Gender? Sexuality? They can be boundless in his voice.
This performative step has been a measure for these queer pop stars throughout history. No matter what themes this generation goes for, know that the thread hasn’t changed.
With Troye Sivan and Charli XCX going on sold-out tours and Chappell Roan being nominated for the Grammys, they are louder than ever in the mainstream.
