Music

The evolution of “lesbian music”

In this 2016 article in the New York Times, Tegan and Sara were asked about the hardships faced by gay women in music. Sara responded:

“I think that the second people find out a woman is gay, it sort of makes their voice, or their value, very specific and very other.”

Photo by: Andrew Lipovsky/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images

Tegan’s response was more personal:

“There’s no doubt in my mind that it’s probably taken us this many records and this long to get where we’ve gotten because people have written us off because we’re queer.”

Anxieties over being stereotyped simply as a gay musician have been expressed by a number of artists, recently including the Indigo Girls. In January of last year, Amy Ray described the reception of lesbians working in the singer-songwriter genre:

“It’s not like somebody says, ‘Alright! It’s a lesbian singer-songwriter. I love them!’ It’s more like, ‘It’s another lesbian singer-songwriter…’ And it implies mediocrity.”

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While many of us do get excited about discovering new gay women singer-songwriters, Ray’s point echoes the accusations so often leveled against women in many fields. Their work isn’t really worthy. They’re only here to fill a quota. (Raise your hand if you’ve heard something to that effect said about LGBT women and/or women of color in the past year/month/24 hours.)

But outside of the “mediocre” stereotype, what do we really think about when we think about lesbian or queer music? The first images I ever had of lesbian musicians were k.d. lang and Melissa Etheridge, one crooning to Leisha Hailey and the other rocking out and proclaiming she’s the only one. Not far from the singer-songwriter stereotype. Indeed, that stereotype does have some basis in reality, as the singer-songwriter genre of that era has offered fans a number of lesbian performers, including Ani DiFranco, Garrison Starr, and Melissa Ferrick. Though her debut album didn’t come out until 2005, Brandi Carlile fits right in with this ’90s image. Back when I was confused about why I felt drawn to Etheridge’s music, I just thought of “queer music” as music from Lilith Fair, even though many Lilith Fair performers weren’t gay at all.

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The ’90s singer-songwriter association with female homosexuality seems to be the cultural remnant of the “women’s music” (alternately spelled “womyn’s music”) of the 1970s. Growing out of the feminist movement, this music had a distinctly lesbian character and indeed included openly gay and bi women recording openly lesbian/queer songs. The founding of Olivia Records in 1973 allowed these performers the space and opportunity that they were typically denied in the male-dominated industry.

A decade later, the New York Times described the music of Olivia as “a highly romantic extension of the confessional singer-songwriter” exemplified by Joan Baez and Joni Mitchell. Like Baez and Mitchell, many key figures of the movement were folk singers and included Meg Christian and Cris Williamson. Both openly sang about love between women with lilting voices and the stripped down instrumentation that would become quintessential for the singer-songwriter. Lesbian music beyond Olivia Records was also steeped in folk images of a girl with her guitar. Alix Dobkin‘s brand of folk imagined a radical lesbian sisterhood. Gay women with guitars found a harder sound with Fanny, who could rock out like nobody’s business and whose praises David Bowie was still singing in 1999.

Photo by Michael Putland/Getty Images

Of course, to put the singer-songwriter of the ’90s at the start of gay women’s music overlooks others whose sexualities weren’t as publicly well-known earlier in the 20th century. Legendary “Mother of the Blues” Ma Rainey was singing about women loving women in the 1920s. Other women in the Harlem music scene at the time were known to be gay, including Rainey’s fellow legend and protegee Bessie Smith (for an excellent overview of lesbian women working in the scene, see Lisa Hix‘s “Singing the Lesbian Blues in 1920s Harlem”). Lesley Gore, whose proto-bubblegum voice gave us the 1960s pop hits “My Boyfriend’s Back” and “It’s My Party,” can be counted as another pioneer for queer women in music. Most famous for singing about a “Son of a Preacher Man,” Dusty Springfield herself would have been also interested in the preacher man’s daughter. On the rock side of things, Janis Joplin had relationships with both men and women as she cemented her place amongst the 1960s heavy hitters.

Such a starting point also risks overlooking women working in more recent decades whose work doesn’t conform to the nebulous “singer-songwriter” type. Joan Jett has given some cagey but telling responses regarding her own sexual relationships during the ’70s and ’80s. In addition to being an early punk and then new wave icon, Debbie Harry of Blondie has confirmed she is bisexual. In the late ’80s, Tracy Chapman arrived with her mix of folk and blues with pop-rock elements. Queen Latifah‘s 1989 debut album launched her into the hip-hop spotlight, where she stayed throughout the ’90s.

Photo by Ebet Roberts/Redferns

Rising out of the riot grrrl scene in the ’90s, Sleater-Kinney offered up punk rock, feminism, and bisexual visibility. With frontwoman Skin, Skunk Anansie fused punk, rock, and even metal in the ’90s and has continued to do so (the band just released a new album this year!). Tegan and Sara ostensibly started in the singer-songwriter genre, but their past two albums have been firmly dance pop, a transition I welcome, but that is far from “The First” or “My Number.”

Photo by Paolo Pizzi/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images

The point is, while lesbians and bi women are often associated with one musical genre, they are now in fact everywhere. Even before the 2000s, they have ranged from indie coffeehouse singers to legends of their genres. Increased visibility, however, means we can trace their presence in the current music industry all the more easily. The indie, punk, and other underground scenes offer far more queerness than the mainstream market, but just by looking at the more widely-recognizable names in major genres we can see the mark that these women are making. Here’s a short, by-no-means exhaustive list of some of the gay women who have made a name for themselves in popular genres.

Pop

Pop is typically a genre of heterosexual romance, but today we have some queer women cranking out some of pop’s biggest hits. Though quietly working under the mainstream radar since the ’90s, Sia is now a powerhouse who has never shied away from acknowledging her bisexuality. Some take issue with Lady Gaga due to the commercialization of her identity and her performance art-inspired exploration of the performer themselves as a commodity, but she has been vocal about her bisexuality in a way that few other pop megastars are able to manage.

Gay women of pop are also making waves outside of club anthems. Last month, Shura (who officially came out as lesbian late last year) argued for the rising new style of pop that defies the cute bubblegum image:

“We’re reappropriating pop and saying you don’t have to be an ex-Disney star to make pop music.”

Photo by Gus Stewart/Redferns

It goes without saying, of course, that Tegan and Sara have become essential figures in lesbian pop music.

Rap

Angel Haze is often identified in the press as a lesbian but self-identifies as agender and pansexual. Their androgynous aesthetic and work have a particularly queer appeal because they deliberately avoid third-person pronouns in their lyrics, which allows listeners to interpret and relate to the songs as they see fit. Controversial and at times problematic tweets (some exchanged with Angel Haze) keep Azealia Banks in the pop culture news, but she also remains a very visible bisexual woman in the genre. Siya‘s career has been a bit more of a slow burn, but being a regular cast member on Sisterhood of Hip Hop has helped put her name out there more. Dai Burger, hailed as an Artist to Watch by Rolling Stone in 2014, released her first EP back in December.

Photo by Gaelle Beri/Redferns

Country

Even though k.d. lang got her start in country music, and many of those ’90s singer-songwriters worked in the genre, country stars coming out always surprises me. Growing up in a rural area, I associated country with heteronormative, patriarchal values that didn’t allow for any sexual difference at all. The rise of “bro country” only seemed to make matters worse with its awkward combination of frat boy mentality with sanitized pretensions of rural life.

But when Chely Wright came out in 2010, while she definitely was not the first lesbian in country music, the press attention she received signaled that the contemporary country world might be ready for a new discussion of sexuality. Since then, Brandy Clark has made the transition from songwriter to award-winning singer with her first LP in 2014. Her second has recently been released.

Photo by Gabriel Olsen/Getty Images

Rock

Many of the same women cited at the beginning of this article are still active. After a seven-year hiatus, Sleater-Kinney reunited in 2014 and began touring again. It bears repeating that Skunk Anansie released a new album this last year.

It’s a good time for ’90s nostalgia. But it’s also a good time for new rockers. St. Vincent straddles the line between electropop and rock, but her style is all rock star. Her genre-bending experimentation, aesthetic, and private persona make her one of the most intriguing women working in either genre. Fans wanting something harder can rejoice in Screaming Females, whose frontwoman, Marissa Paternoster, shreds her guitar with the very best of them. And in September, according to frontwoman Laura Jane Grace, Against Me! is due to release their next album.

Photo by Steve Jennings/WireImage

Metal

Metal is often criticized as misogynistic (though I would argue the accusation overlooks the latent misogyny of other genres out of a popular dislike of this one). Enter Otep. Looking like a post-apocalyptic heroine, frontwoman Otep Shamaya screams into the mike with all the rage and aggression of thousands of women who’ve been denied their place in the world on account of their gender or sexuality. Her unapologetic activism for causes like veganism makes her metal even when she’s not letting out an earth-scorching death growl.

Photo by Joey Foley/Getty Images

This is only a short list of more widely-recognized lesbian, bisexual, and queer women working in popular genres today. There are far more out there than I can list here, some struggling to get recognition and others well on their way to it. Feel free to keep adding to the list in the comments.

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