What's Queer Music?

Some artists who came out of the closet even don't like to be categorized as "gay artists".

It is not a special thing to be gay. But nevertheless, they don't want to talk so much about their sexualities. They want people to pay more attention to their music, not their sexualities. I guess it so.

I often hear the following claims; there can't be "gay music". Because the word "gay" isn't a musical term. They say if there is such genre, there should be "hetero music" as opposite.

However, is it really impossible to categorize rock music/pops by a non-musical term? On what authority do they say that? Homosexuality and heterosexuality must be opposite in any case? Really? For what reason?

In Japanese pop scene (J-Pop), "Girl Pop" was popular at one time. This term means the music by the female artists from teens to twenties, and was not the category by musicality. It can be the female contempt to categorize their music by sex. But there were few female artists opposed it loud.

This fact does not mean their ignorance of women discrimination. Because, "Girl Pop" came from a solidarity of women.

Japanese young women supported those female artists as their role model. That phenomenon has led to "Girl Pop"; Pops by the girls, for the girls.

Those female artists are very active. They talk their own words. They has succeeded in self-realization as women, not as opposites of masculinity. Their feminity is for themselves, not for men. So they didn't take exception to be categorized their music as "Girl Pop". In other words, "Girl Pop" is not to make a prison of women.

I think, "Gay Music" has the same nature. It doesn't ghettoize homosexuality.

Even when the disrimination against gay disappeared from the world, gay market would go on. Cause gay men surely demand encounters with another gay men. It is unrelated to presence of disrimination against gay at all.

In the same way, even if there were no disriminations in the world against gay, the category "gay music" would occur naturally as needs from gay listeners and audiences. Demands of that should be rising more and more. Because, if the disrimination against gay completely disappeared from this world, gay listeners/audiences do not have to hide their sexuallities from the world, and they get possible to demand their role model loudly magnificently.

A lot of gay people want their role models in rock music/pop scene. Many Japanese closet gay are encouraged by Gay indie music, and came out to gay community. I'm also the one of those.

"Gay Music" never ghettoize homosexuality, and has told us homosexuality was not a special thing.

Surely, I believe in "Gay Music". And I think that gay artists can welcome it. Cause that is the words praising the artists who is proud of their sexualities.

Also, "Gay music" should be able to show diversity of sex inside and outside of our community, by including various types of music, like "girl pop".

"Gay Music" is not based on musicality, therefore it may be musically various. Only after it is various, "gay music" can be.

And from now on, I use the words "Queer Music" in place of "Gay Music". In Japan, often the word "gay" means only the men of homosexual. Some says "Gay Music" doesn't mean the music by lesbian, bisexual or transgender artists.

In Europe and America, the words "Queer Music" means LGBT music. I follow it.