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“Gay” has become a niche, Are we finally a group in which most music aficionados would call a sell out crowd? We’ve seen every diva appeal to us, and we have finally become a world-renowned mass-market audience. Even though the majority of the world’s population isn’t gay, in the eyes of record labels we are known as BIG BUCKS.
These days, if an artist isn’t making it big with the masses, they turn to appeal to our love for catchy hooks, glittery costumes, and “fierceness.” Back in the day, when Madge A.K.A Madonna made pointed statements in support of gay rights and equal love it wasn’t to stir up the press or boost the sales of her latest record, it was because she really meant it. But now in my opinion artists like Gaga, Katy Perry, Britney, and even comedian Kathy Griffin are all in the media speaking out about their love and support for the gays, and it just feels a little disingenuous.
Of course I am extremely thankful and grateful for the support and the focus they have all brought to our fight for equality, but still I feel a bit used. When I see Gaga live and she makes all the “little monsters” stand up and yell in acceptance for our individuality, it makes me wonder how genuine is she really being. Does she really want to unite us all as one, and accept that we are “beautiful in our way, because God makes no mistakes” or does she want to unite us so that we all go and download her latest track off iTunes and buy a $200 concert ticket?
Kathy Griffin lived her life on the D-list as the “wacky red head” from Chicago with spots here and there on random sitcoms, until she found her niche with the gays. Now she’s the queen of Bravo, headlining Gay Days and Pride events around the world. Katy Perry never found success in her early days as a Christian rock singer, but once she “Kissed a girl and liked it” she gained worldwide recognition and soared to the top of the billboard charts. I don’t mean to say these people are without merit or talent.
I’ve spent hundreds of my hard-earned dollars seeing Katy, Kathy, and Gaga in concert, or buying their CDs, DVDs, t-shirts, and posters, but I’m also fully aware that when I spend I those dollars on these artists, I’m doing it not just because I enjoy them, but because some big business executive has figured out how to market to my demographic. I am a part of the market that has carried these and many more artists from zeros to heroes, all in the name of “Gay.”
- Neil
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