It's kind of crazy to think about how much easier it became to come out as queer or even talk about queerness once openly gay artists entered mainstream music. Their identity alone causes conversation, and normalizes talk about previously controversial subjects- this is why representation means so much for any marginalized group.
Another way to look at it is how silencing queer voices is a form of violence- it forces the "controversial" label onto us as a whole and teaches the masses to value us as lesser than. Calling back again to a quote I used in a previous post: "Turning a human being into a thing is almost always the first step towards justifying violence against that person"
^^ (Kilborne 2010)
I agree. It's wild that something that was so taboo it had to be coded when referenced, is now cool and used as currency. My dad used to listen to Melissa Etheridge in the truck, he loved her and even said one of her songs reminded him of me. A god fearing, white, cis guy who hates homosexuality rocking out to Melissa Etheridge.
