The Vans Warped Tour rips into town tomorrow, and controversial singer / songwriter Katy Perry is on the bus.
Perry, who started her career as a Christian gospel singer, released a single last you called "UR So Gay" followed by another hit, "I Kissed A Girl."
Both songs created a fair share of controversy, but for different reasons. Some members of the LGBT community felt "UR So Gay" came off as homophobic, whereas "I Kissed A Girl" is criticized for using shock value lyrics to sell albums.
It's genius, really. Perry relies on the classic girl-on-girl fantasy to appeal to male listeners, which is exactly what Britney did with her naughty schoolgirl look. Simultaneously, Perry hooks female listeners, too, because -- let's just say it -- most ladies are bicurious.
However, "I Kissed A Girl" doesn't scratch the surface of the lesbian or bisexual experience. Lyrically, it's much weaker than songs by Ani DiFranco like "In or Out" or Jill Sobule's less contrived song also called "I Kissed A Girl" that came out in 1995.
If anything, "I Kissed A Girl" is closer to Cyndi Lauper's "Girls Just Want To Have Fun."
At the end of the video, Perry wakes up in bed with a man and it turns out her female-on-female frolics were only a dream. This suggests the song is merely a safe, mainstream attempt to snag listeners by capitalizing on straight people's obsession with the gay experience.
Not that there's anything wrong with that.
Molly Snyder started writing and publishing her work at the age 10, when her community newspaper printed her poem, "The Unicorn.” Since then, she's expanded beyond the subject of mythical creatures and written in many different mediums but, nearest and dearest to her heart, thousands of articles for OnMilwaukee.
Molly is a regular contributor to FOX6 News and numerous radio stations as well as the co-host of "Dandelions: A Podcast For Women.” She's received five Milwaukee Press Club Awards, served as the Pfister Narrator and is the Wisconsin State Fair’s Celebrity Cream Puff Eating Champion of 2019.
