My Teenage Self: Queer edition 🏳️🌈
These queer icons take a look back in time
Last updated 7th Jun 2022
Unfortunately, Miss 'Rona once again got in the way of Pride taking place last year, but we certainly plan on making up for it this year! To kick off the celebrations for Pride Month in June, we thought we'd look back at some of the fabulous queer artists who joined us for My Teenage Self: Queer Edition.
During Pride month last year, KISS Breakfast's Harriet Rose caught up with some queer icons who we absolutely adore here at KISS! Jodie Harsh, Lil Nas X and Olly Alexander all shared their teenage crushes, the advice they'd give to their younger selves and so much more!
Jodie Harsh
Jodie told Harriet that her best memory of being a teenager was when she went to London and visited a gay club for the first time. Like many queer people Jodie never felt like she fit in at school, but going to a gay club (which is such a safe haven for many) changed that, saying: "And I remember walking into that room and thinking, Oh, I'm not that weird. There are other people like me. And that felt really special."
Jodie also shared something that she'd never told her parents, and that was the disappearance of her secret porn collection! 😱 Jodie said "I remember once I found porn, and I hid it in like the bottom of a drawer or something. And once I went to a swimming lesson. When I got home, my mum had cleaned my room. And the porn was missing!"
Lil Nas X
Since coming out back in 2019 Lil Nas X has become a huge queer icon and unapologetic about who he is. When he spoke with Harriet Rose he shared that his teenage crush was none other than Usher!
When telling Harriet about his crush he said: “I never got the opportunity to date as a teenager. But my first celebrity crush was probably Usher. It was more than a crush, his album was one of the first I ever bought.
"I just thought, oh my God, he’s the biggest star ever. I’ve met him a couple of times now. It’s insane, you know?” So it's already coming full circle for Nas.
Also we learned Lil Nas X's first email address was monterois2cool - which is one he created in the 5th grade. We wonder if he still checks it? 👀
The 'Industry Baby' singer also shared that his queer icon is none other than Sam Smith and that the piece of advice he'd give himself is “No matter how scary it may look, you’re definitely gonna make it through it.”
Olly Alexander
Remember shag bands? Those cheap coloured plastic wristbands that had some very NSFW meanings if you happened to snap one. Well Harriet does, but that's not the fashion trend Olly Alexander wants to bring back, instead he's been wearing beaded jewellery again - it's probably a better choice to be honest.
The Years and Years singer told Harriet who his teenage crush was and apparently it was Aladdin - as in the Disney cartoon character. Well we're not here to judge and hey, he can't disappoint you if he's not real right?
He also gave quite an impassioned speech when talking about his piece of advice: "I doubt I would have taken my advice. Like, it's hard to really take advice. But if I would have listened, I would have just - my advice would be to not be so hard on yourself. Like, that is the biggest one.
"And it's hard to really hear that I think. But I just was really tough on myself to blame myself for things that were not my fault. I was just, I was so ashamed of stuff. You know, it's all goes back to shame.
"I think it like, comes with being queer and growing up trying to figure that out and that being a struggle. And also like loads of other stuff. Being a teenager is so difficult, being alive is a challenge. So I feel like if you can just give yourself a little bit less of a hard time like - I'm talking to myself now - like yeah, you know, maybe you'll kind of just get through it a little smoother."
Where can I hear more from Harriet Rose?
You can catch Harriet alongside Jordan Banjo and Perri Kiely every weekday on KISS Breakfast from 6am-10am bringing her OWN take on what's going on in the world right now.
You can also follow Harriet Rose on Instagram here.
Scroll through our favourite artists who are LGBTQ+ or allies:
Lizzo
Lizzo says her music is meant to be enjoyed by those who have felt shunned by society, because that is the experience she has had throughout the course of her life.
Lizzo wrote 'Good as Hell' to celebrate what it means to be different from the norm and to embrace that difference.
Lizzo argues she is an ally for the LGBTQ+ community, telling Teen Vogue, "I've always stood up for the underdog and the underrepresented because I can't escape from that myself," she said. "I can't wake up one day and not be black. I can't wake up one day and not be a woman. I can't wake up one day and not be fat. I always had those three things against me in this world, and because I fight for myself, I have to fight for everyone else."
She has also been open about her own sexuality, telling Billboard, "When it comes to sexuality or gender, I personally don't ascribe to just one thing. I cannot sit here right now and tell you I'm just one thing. That's why the colours for LGBTQ+ are a rainbow! Because there's a spectrum, and right now we try to keep it black and white. That's just not working for me."
MNEK
Known to his fans as a trailblazer LGBTQ+ artist in the music industry, MNEK pays homage to his sexuality and LGBTQ+ fans in most of his music and TV work.
Part of that is being a role model to the younger generation, who turn to his music for escapism and guidance. Speaking about growing up MNEK stated, "I didn't always see someone that I could relate to, that would tell me that being black and gay is OK."
MNEK is also an advocate for diversity in the music industry. In 2019, the star set up writing camps dedicated to helping emerging LGBTQ+ singer-songwriters. The Grammy Award winning singer says the writing camps help to create safe spaces for LGBTQ+ artists to work in, offering support and lack of judgement - something he says artists like himself didn't receive when starting out.
Olly Alexander from Years and Years
Olly has been outspoken in his views, pushing pro-LGBTQ+ messages in his interviews with the media and through his music.
In 2016, the band re-released their number one single Desire with Tove Lo, accompanied with a pro-LGBT video in order to "celebrate all different kinds of sexuality and queer identities."
The following year, Olly released a documentary with the BBC called Growing Up Gay, which shed light on mental health issues among LGBTQ+ youth.
Jade Thirlwall
Jade supports and campaigns for LGBTQ+ charities, including Stonewall. She took time out of recording LM5 to present at the charity's awards show.
One fan came out to their family because of the support they received from Jade - she tweeted them with congratulations, saying how proud she was of them.
Jade is also a huge drag fan, celebrating her birthday in 2019 in LA surrounded by drag queens and attending Drag Con. Her fellow band-mates are also huge fans of the drag scene, with many drag stars like Courtney Act appearing in their 'Power' music video.
Miley Cyrus
Miley Cyrus has been a huge advocate for the advancement of LGBTQ+ rights. The pansexual artist knew they weren't straight from around fifth or sixth grade. In an interview with Variety, Miley explained she realised she was pansexual after going to the LA LGBTQ centre and met someone who was gender-neutral for the first time and as Miley came to understand her own gender identity she realised: "Oh — that's why I don't feel straight and I don't feel gay. It's because I'm not."
Lady Gaga
Lady Gaga is a huge ally of the LGBTQ+ community around the world, having taken part in many marches, including the National Equality March in America, and has been praised for her compassion towards her LGBTQ+ fans.
Back in 2011, she released 'Born This Way', which was once described as the "new gay anthem" by the legend Elton John. Many have said the lyrics are symbolic of living your true self and finding happiness in the body you were born in. Alongside this, Gaga volunteers at an LGBTQ+ homeless youth centre in New York and encourages her fans to volunteer when they can.
And let's not forget, Gaga convinced the director of A Star Is Born Bradley Cooper to make a drag bar the initial meeting point for her and his character in the Oscar-winning film in order to increase diversity onscreen. When accepting her Oscar for the film, Gaga paid homage to her LGBTQ+ fan base, saying she hoped more award shows will become more inclusive of all gender identities.
Sam Smith
Sam came out as gay in 2014, and as non-binary in 2019, telling Jameela Jamil, "Non-binary genderqueer is that you do not identify in a gender. You are a mixture of different things, you are your own special creation. I'm not male or female."
Since then, Sam has won various LGBTQ+ related awards, including, Person Of The Year Award 2019 at the LGBT Attitude Awards. Having written songs about same-sex relationships and falling in love, the LGBTQ+ advocate was recognised for their work in transforming understanding around global identities. Discussing the win, Sam quipped, "In the words of Cheryl Cole, 'We have to fight, fight, fight, fight... fight for this love. And I have. Am I am."
In 2020, Sam was nominated for the MTV Music Artist Award at the British LGBT Awards 2020, alongside Ariana Grande, Lizzo and Kim Petras.
Ariana Grande
In 2013, Grande teamed up with Seventeen Magazine to raise awareness around homophobic online bullying.
Grande has taken to Twitter to tweet her support following the US Supreme Court's ruling to make gay marriage legal. 'YAAAAAAS AMERICAN. LOVE WON. LOVE WINS. AND IT ALWAYS. WILL'(sic). She then celebrated the success during her Dance On The Pier set, where her backing dancers had body paint in the style of gay art legend Keith Haring.
Ariana also wrote an open letter for Billboard Pride in 2018, saying she was "eternally indebted to and inspired by the LGBTQ community" for her success.
Katy Perry
Katy Perry's 'Firework' video was dedicated to the It Gets Better Project, a worldwide movement against harassment of LGBTQ youth. The video's storyline is about a gay teen boy who embraces his sexuality.
Her 'Swish Swish' music video was in homage to Drag Queens, and her performance of the song on SNL only featured New York Drag Queens. Additionally, Katy made it her mission to meet a victim of the Orlando Club Shooting after he said her song 'Rise' played on repeat during his recovery.
And like the icon she is, Perry teamed up with Taylor Swift after Trump banned transgender military personnel.
Beyoncé and Jay-Z
In 2011, Beyoncé told Pride Source her LGBT fans were her inspiration, and seven years later, at her 2018 Global Citizen Festival performance, Queen B lined up in a row with her dancers, each wearing a different colour, to make a human Pride flag.
In 2017, she and her husband Jay-Z were announced as the recipients of the Vanguard Award from GLAAD for their continued support of the LGBTQ+ community.
Charli XCX
Charli XCX makes it known she wants to collaborate with LGBTQ+ artists. In her third studio album, she collaborated with Troye Sivan, Christine and the Queens, Kim Petras, Big Freedia, Pabllo Vittar, Brooke Candy and Clairo.
To celebrate the LGBTQ+ community, Charli threw a queer music festival with her friend, and artist, Troye Sivan. It was specifically for queer people. It is common for LGBTQ+ festivals to book straight artists to perform, so every artist was from the LGBTQ+ community, with the events profits going to GLAAD.
Charli XCX attributes her success to her LGBTQ+ fans, writing in an open letter to Billboard, "The LGBTQ community has shaped who I am as an artist today. I am thankful every day for my friends, fans, and collaborators, who belong to this very special community. Without you I'd be nothing."
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