By Maya Salam
Upon winning her MTV Video Music Award for best new artist in September, Chappell Roan conveyed a heartfelt message to “all the queer kids in the Midwest watching right now.”
“I see you, I recognize you because I’m one of you, and never let anyone tell you that you can’t be exactly as you wish to be,” she declared, embodying Joan of Arc in a chain-mail outfit.
Just under two months later, on “Saturday Night Live,” Roan, who has seen a meteoric rise this year, introduced her lesbian country track “The Giver,” which speaks to how only women can fully satisfy women.
Not too long ago, such affirmations from one of the leading pop figures would have been a significant cultural moment. Yet this year, despite LGBTQ+ issues causing divisions in the U.S. elections, Roan’s popularity only grew.
At 26, she is among a multitude of lesbian and Sapphic artists who dominated mainstream culture last year by making their attraction to women a central theme of their artistry and personal identities. They do not cater to male audiences and often completely disregard them, achieving remarkable success regardless.
What has transformed
The broad acceptance of a star like Roan marks a dramatic change from the cultural landscape of a generation or two earlier. Back then, even the most notable lesbians — including Melissa Etheridge, k.d. lang, Ellen DeGeneres, Rosie O’Donnell, Wanda Sykes, and the Indigo Girls — while widely recognized, were generally confined to realms of comedy and adult contemporary music, their images often imbued with a sense of asexuality despite their openness.
Mainstream portrayals of female sexuality were typically crafted to excite male interest: when Madonna kissed Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards, or the troubling antics of the once-popular “Girls Gone Wild” series. Even Katy Perry’s 2008 breakout hit about bisexual curiosity, “I Kissed a Girl,” primarily appealed to a male audience.
For some famous lesbians of that time, there was concern that open honesty could confine them to stereotypes and limit career choices, leading to a culture of silence or implied truths.
Jodie Foster publicly addressed her sexual orientation during an unplanned moment in her 2013 Golden Globes acceptance speech for a lifetime achievement award.
“I just have a sudden urge to express something that I’ve never been able to reveal publicly,” Foster, then 50, stated. “I came out about a thousand years ago, back in the stone age, in those quaint days when a delicate young girl would share her truth with trusted friends and family, co-workers, and then gradually, proudly, to everyone who knew her,” she continued. “But now, I’m apparently told, every celebrity must disclose their private life with a press conference, a fragrance launch, and a prime-time reality show.”
Queen Latifah also avoided addressing similar assumptions for many years. “You don’t get that part of me,” she mentioned to The New York Times in 2008. “I don’t feel the need to disclose my personal life, and I’m indifferent about whether people think I’m gay or not.” However, at the 2021 BET Awards, during her acceptance speech for a lifetime achievement award, she openly called her partner, Eboni Nichols, “my love” and concluded with “Happy Pride!”
The legalization of marriage equality in the U.S. in 2015 also shifted public perceptions, aided by the impact of figures like DeGeneres, whose daytime talk show garnered over 60 Emmys from 2003 to 2022. Additionally, Lady Gaga, through her anthem “Born This Way,” resonated on national platforms, including the 2017 Super Bowl halftime show, asserting: “No matter gay, straight or bi, lesbian, transgender life, I’m on the right track, baby, I was born to thrive.”
Loud and proud
Today, a new wave of popular artists — including Roan, Billie Eilish, Kristen Stewart, Reneé Rapp, Janelle Monáe, Kehlani, Jojo Siwa, King Princess, Hayley Kiyoko, along with the members of Boygenius and Muna — are driving this evolution forward. They candidly and, at times, explicitly express their attraction to women through their music and interviews, complemented by visuals that align seamlessly in films, music videos, or online content.
In a June conversation with the online platform Them, Rapp, who performed at All Things Go along with her girlfriend Towa Bird, remarked, “‘Lesbian’ was not a term I enjoyed hearing as a child, and now it’s something I deeply connect with emotionally.”
Stewart — the “Twilight” actress turned Oscar contender who starred in this year’s lesbian neo-noir “Love Lies Bleeding” — graced the cover of Rolling Stone in March while donning a jockstrap. During the accompanying photo session, she wore shirts that read “Pride,” “Eat Me,” and “Animal.”
“I want to do the gayest [expletive] thing you’ve ever witnessed,” she declared in the interview.
When Seth Meyers referred to Stewart, 34, as a “lesbian icon” during a March segment on his late-night show, she affirmed, “That’s right.”
Eilish, who became the youngest individual to win two Oscars at age 22 this year, also took part in a similarly open conversation with Rolling Stone a few months after Stewart. “I’ve been in love with girls my whole life,” Eilish shared, noting that her awareness of wanting to be intimate with women had only recently dawned on her.
Although she hasn’t designated a specific sexual orientation, Eilish conveys this longing in “Lunch” — the lead single from her recent popular album — whose playful lyrics explore same-sex desire.
Similarly, Monáe’s lyrics and music videos, such as “Pynk” and “Water Slide,” vividly showcase joyful representations of Sapphic intimacy and connection.
Other thriving ecosystems
Entertainment and online communities centered around lesbian culture, which once seemed niche, are now thriving, especially across reality TV, social media, stand-up comedy, and podcast mediums.
The Netflix reality series “Ultimatum: Queer Love” gained massive popularity, with many cast members amassing large online followings. It is scheduled to return for a second season in 2025. In an unexpected twist, several former participants from ABC’s long-standing “Bachelor” franchise, including former Bachelorette Gabby Windey and contestant Becca Tilley, are now openly sharing their love lives and experiences on social media and podcasts.
Additionally, the trio of Mae Martin, Tig Notaro, and Fortune Feimster, all comedians and actors, have created a successful podcast titled “Handsome,” which recently surpassed 25 million downloads and was acquired by the podcast network Headgum. This is just one of several cherished podcasts hosted by lesbian and queer individuals.
Recently, Feimster, 44, unveiled her third Netflix stand-up special, “Crushing It,” where she discusses the highs and lows of marriage and life as a lesbian. In a recent interview with Them, she expressed the importance of being open and discussed the changes over time.
“I aim to be the representation I lacked while growing up,” Feimster shared. “I didn’t know a single gay person who was out when I was a child in the South.”
“Returning now, I see LGBTQ+ individuals with their partners, and it has become a far more visible reality,” she elaborated. “What a significant journey we’ve made in this time.”
