How Kacey Musgraves Quietly Became The LGBTQ Champion We Need
In the current political climate, it’s more important than ever to have famous artists publicly standing up for disenfranchised minorities.
When it comes to the relationship between LGBTQ people and music, the role of the classic “gay icon” is usually played by flamboyant, camp pop divas. And while vocal allies like Lady Gaga and highly visible community members like Troye Sivan are out there in full force, a different kind of LGBTQ champion has slowly but steadily moved from a trailer park in Golden, Texas, into queer hearts all over the world: Kacey Musgraves.
She may not be as up-front as Lady Gaga and co., and she may not cater to queer audiences as obviously as they do, but in her unique way the country singer-songwriter has carved out her own niche in the elite circle of music’s current “gay icons”. Kacey Musgraves is one of the least likely, but also one of the most powerful, LGBTQ champions we have at the moment.
If you look at the musicians who qualify as “gay icons” these days, you’ll find that many of them are highly aware of their status and — naturally — use it as an effective marketing tool. People like Lady Gaga, Troye Sivan, or Ariana Grande recognise the need to cater to their large queer fan bases with their music, their visuals, and their overall image.
While this kind of outspoken presentation as community members or allies is hugely important and empowering for LGBTQ individuals, it arguably speaks predominantly to listeners that already are one of the above. It doesn’t necessarily lead people to become more open-minded and embrace a community that they feel isn’t for them.
This is, in a sense, the general problem with a lot of online activism. It’s well-received by those it supports — and is absolutely necessary as an intra-community empowerment tool — but it doesn’t reach the people whose minds need to be changed. In other words, it cements the opinion of those who already are on board, but it doesn’t inspire anybody else to join the ride. As such, it’s an easy way to get praise, but fails to bring about much-needed change in certain areas.
Enter Kacey Musgraves.
In contrast to most traditional “gay icons”, she grew up in a trailer park in the tiny town of Golden, Texas, experiencing a small world filled with country music and traditional values that has no place for queer people. In her hugely inspiring Love Letter To The LGBTQ Community, Kacey openly admits this:
“I’ve not always been the “Follow Your Arrow” girl. It’s embarrassing to admit but I wasn’t always so open-minded. Growing up in rural East Texas I can count on on only a few fingers the amount of interactions I had with anyone gay throughout my entire childhood and most of which was clouded by closed-minded viewpoints and sneers. I love where I came from but the stance on homosexuality is unfortunately still pretty archaic and behind the facts.”
Her country upbringing heavily influenced Kacey’s foray into the big bright world of music. It makes her highly relatable for precisely the demographic that is not yet supporting the LGBTQ community — and that, crucially, “gay icons” like Gaga, Ariana, and Troye are having a hard time to reach.
When Kacey dropped her major label debut “Merry Go ‘Round” in 2012, she addressed small town life in a brutally honest way, speaking right from the hearts of people that grew up in rural areas. They fell in love with her witty lyrics and traditional sound, making her brilliant albums Same Trailer, Different Park (2013) and Pageant Material (2015) resounding successes.
At the time, Kacey might have been just one of many upcoming country divas — if it hadn’t been for her lyrics. “Merry Go ‘Round” painfully disects small town life, the ballad “It Is What It Is” describes casual sex, and the mid-tempo masterpiece “Follow Your Arrow” includes the chorus line “kiss lots of boys, or kiss lots of girls if that’s what you’re into”.
Wait, what?
“Follow Your Arrow”, which was co-written by openly homosexual geniuses Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally, clearly breaks with traditional country values. Yet, unlike Gaga’s “Born This Way” or Troye’s “Bloom”, the song was never targeted at queer audiences. On the contrary, it was still very much written for country audiences, dealing with the general fact that you can’t make everybody happy and just gently slipping that one line into the chorus. It’s a subtle kind of LGBTQ empowerment anthem — and exactly the kind that makes people warm up to the community by not hitting them over the head with a brand new philosophy.
“Follow Your Arrow” divided Kacey’s fan base and caused radio stations to boycott her music — while at the same time giving her a hit record, a Grammy, and the love of those LGBTQ individuals from small towns who had never felt represented before. Kacey had elegantly taken her first step towards becoming a much-needed, new kind of LGBTQ champion.
The strong point of Kacey’s music to this day remains that it empowers minorities through little hints and nuanced lines instead of direct mentions and clichéd mantras. “Biscuits” picks up where “Follow Your Arrow” left off, humorously reminding you to just do you and let others do their own thing. “Cup Of Tea” addresses a similar topic, while latest single “High Horse” is a sugar sweet f*ck you to patronising idiots.
None of these songs are LGBTQ anthems in the traditional sense, but all of them uniquely speak to queer people. Like no other artist, Kacey manages to write for everybody and yet make LGBTQ fans feel particularly included in her modern take on country music.
And it’s not just the lyrics, mind you. On her latest critically acclaimed album Golden Hour, Kacey marries traditional country with funky and poppy soundscapes, bridging the gap between rural communities and the LGBTQ community on a sonic as well as a lyrical level.
Her visuals, meanwhile, have always had a camp element to them — which, as we all know, queer fans tend to enjoy — , but the glittery 70s-inspired video for “High Horse” goes further than all others, showing that Kacey can play the sassy-pop-diva game extremely well when she wants to. Also, there’s that brilliant Donald Trump appearance that’s so brief you might miss it when you blink. Kacey may be a proud Texas girl, but she makes sure to remind everyone that she doesn’t support bigotry and discrimination.
With the release of the more pop-oriented Golden Hour, LGBTQ people that hadn’t payed the country artist any attention before have awoken to recognise Kacey’s talent and new-found open-mindedness. Among queer music lovers, “High Horse” is widely celebrated as one of the best songs of 2018, and Kacey is slowly becoming more and more of a household name. Touring the US in support of none other than Harry Styles certainly helps as well, introducing her music and unique viewpoint to a whole new group of young fans.
One may argue that a true champion for LGBTQ rights needs to address issues directly both in their art and on social media. But it’s precisely the fact that Kacey is more subtle about her support that gives her the unique opportunity to open narrow minds.
While artists like Lady Gaga or Troye Sivan can easily be dismissed as making music purely for queer audiences, Kacey manages to float somewhere between low-key “gay icon” and country music superstar. She has retained many of her original fans and won over new ones with relatable lyrics and the occasional direct reference. She’s country enough for fans who have never given the LGBTQ community a second thought, and she’s ally enough for queer fans who have never given country a second thought.
This means that by now Kacey is one of the very few artists who have maneuvered themselves into a position where they can bring vastly different groups of people together. Her own story serves as a perfect example that no matter how you were raised, you can always grow more open-minded by learning from the people around you.
Kacey Musgraves embodies precisely the kind of change that needs to happen to make this world more inclusive.
At the end of the day, she certainly isn’t the loudest LGBTQ champion out there, but she may just be the one making the biggest impact where it truly needs to be made.
Follow Kacey Musgraves on social media and check out her fantastic music.
