Katy Perry admits “I Kissed a Girl” has ‘a couple of stereotypes in it’

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I came very late to the Katy Perry party. I don’t even remember when I first heard I Kissed a Girl but I know it was long after it had been a hit. So, by the time I heard it, all the ‘shock’ had been filtered from it. I do, think it’s a catchy tune. I’ll generally leave it on the radio if it plays. However, once I really pay attention to the lyrics, I can see that it’s a problematic song. Fortunately, I am not the only one. Katy, who has been on a journey of self-discovery, told Glamour that she recognizes the song supported the notion that woman on woman affection was viewed mostly as a titillation for men. Since she’s become more educated on sexual fluidity, she acknowledged she would not write the song the same way today.

The song was branded as “lesbian-friendly” in 2008, but to be clear, there’s nothing genuinely queer about it. Some critics have said the lyrics “reflect the trivialization of queer female sexuality and the cultural norms which state that female sexuality exists for the pleasure of men.”

To be fair, that’s something our heteronormative culture did quite a bit during the early aughts. Think back to Britney Spears and Madonna’s kiss at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards, or the two girls making out at the Halloween party in Mean Girls. Even if Perry does consider herself sexually fluid, “I Kissed a Girl” winks to queerness without offering much nuance.

Thankfully, we’ve (mostly) moved past this, which is why Perry admits she’d rework some of the lyrics to “I Kissed a Girl” if she released it now.

“We’ve really changed, conversationally, in the past 10 years,” she told Glamour. “We’ve come a long way. Bisexuality wasn’t as talked about back then, or any type of fluidity. If I had to write that song again, I probably would make an edit on it. Lyrically, it has a couple of stereotypes in it. Your mind changes so much in 10 years, and you grow so much. What’s true for you can evolve.”

[From Glamour]

I understand what Katy’s saying. On first read, I thought her correction was a little light. But it was her breakout hit, I can see how bashing it could be an affront to her fans. And I appreciate her personal evolution. I’ve had my eyes opened to many of my antiquated beliefs in the last decade, too. I’d edit the majority of what I said in the ’90s if I had a chance. Katy could have written this off and say she was just having fun when she wrote it, but she didn’t. She acknowledged that her views have grown. I’m okay with that. I think there is a lot of space in this world for people who can admit their views were narrower than they should have been.

As for Katy’s overall evolution, she sheds some light on what motivated it. Apparently, it started with her being knocked off her pedestal.

This last year has been about killing my ego, which has been really necessary for my career… You know, I had a lot of expectations at the end of 2015 and the end of 2016 that weren’t met. That was the first time, in a long time, that I didn’t get my way. I think it was the universe’s way of testing me, of saying, “We’re going to see if you really do love yourself.” That was challenging for me, because I didn’t realize how much I relied on the outside validation. I thought that I didn’t, but once you get kicked down the mountain a little bit, you realize that the weather really is better at the top. It’s been really necessary for me to go through that. [And I’ve learned that] people don’t relate to someone who is perfect or always winning anyway. You can’t always be sitting perched on top of the mountain.

[From Glamour]

I believe understanding the size of your ego is the first step to a better life. I’ve done it, my husband’s done it and I see my kids struggling with it. You can read Katy’s full Glamour interview here. I’d say it made me relate to her a little more, even though I recognize she’ll always want for a bit of drama.

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Photo credit: Emma Summerton/ Glamour and WENN Photos

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10 Responses to “Katy Perry admits “I Kissed a Girl” has ‘a couple of stereotypes in it’”

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  1. HH says:

    This song is actually why it took me so long to like her. I remember thinking why doesn’t she just release a song titled “I need attention.” Lol. But I’m glad she has matured.

    ETA: I have no issue with exploring your sexuality in song. I just had an issue with this song because it was clearly a “male gaze” track.

  2. adastraperaspera says:

    I remember visiting homophobic family in the Midwest in 2008. This song played pretty continually through most of the summer on the pop radio stations. I got a kick out of it, because I knew it must drive them crazy.

  3. Lucy says:

    I like her here. She sounds mature and sensible.

    • Lauren II says:

      I like Katy, she seems fairly decent.
      I miss her dark hair. When Katy was with JM, she looked so pretty. Her current hairstyle ages her.

  4. JA says:

    Hated the song for that very reason & the fact I knew a couple girls who would love doing that type of thing at clubs/parties because guys thought it was “hot”. Glad she realized that’s BS!

  5. Alexandria says:

    Not a fan but it’s true, I’m also not the same person I was heck even 5 years ago. I had a lot of misconceptions about feminism, mental illness etc. Learned a lot from then on.

    • Adele Dazeem says:

      Agreed. I also used problematic words I had no idea were offensive (gypsy comes to mind). I think as long as we are willing to look internally, accept feedback, continually change and adjust and practice forgiveness with ourselves and others, we are on the right track. No one is perfect.

  6. Mimz says:

    I don’t like the music she has out now but I’ve always liked KP because I think she really always puts a lot of work on her performances and shows.
    I related to her a lot, re. Views changing in 10 or 14 years. I am baffled by some of the stuff i said or did years ago, although i recognize that i grew from these experiences and i have been proven wrong.
    My understanding of sexuality has changed a lot too, so that’s why i understand when people say that they didn’t realize the stuff they were doing was so stereotypical. Like, watch any 80s/90s/00s romcom. It is a challenge to not gag at some of the stuff i used to really like in a movie 😂😂😂😂

  7. Abby says:

    This makes a lot of sense.

    But… I don’t think she wrote that song, right? Someone else did? I remember hearing it was a song that say, Britney or Xtina turned down back in the day. So she would have changed the lyrics to a song someone else wrote.

    Also, I’m a totally different person in a lot of ways than who I was 10 years ago. Even 5 years ago. Two years ago. I cringe at some of the views I held in college.