Aka. "Destination Anywhere", "The Boy and Girl from County Bavaria"... After a very intense year in Würzburg (Germany), I'm back in Salamanca. I probably won't have that many experiences to write, but there's always an excuse to post a new entry!

Today I'm going to go a little bit sidetrack. A couple of days ago I was listening to a song by Katy Perry called 'I kissed a girl'. I was also surprised when I saw that she has another song called 'Ur so gay'. Coincidence? Or is she simply very interested in the topic for some reason? This made me curious, so I decided to look for some information about her. And what did I find out? Apparently her songs have ruffled a few feathers, since many people consider them to be homophobic. This is what Wikipedia says:

Her two songs, "Ur So Gay" and "I Kissed a Girl", have been cited as being homophobic as well as misandric by columnists, activists, and commentators including Glenn Sacks, gay periodicals like the Washington Blade, and prominent bloggers

MSNBC contributor Tony Sclafani wrote, "The litmus test of hypocrisy here is that if you substituted a different minority in Perry’s tunes, they’d never get airplay. 'I Kissed a Black Guy' or 'Ur So Korean' would not be Top 40. For that matter, a song called 'I Kissed a Boy,' sung by a guy, would probably die on the vine."

Others, such as Chicago Sun-Times columnist Dr. Laura Berman, find the lyrics positive, arguing that "the fact that this song (I Kissed a Girl) is sparking so much interest " suggests that our society is beginning to accept that there isn't always one box (gay or straight) for people to check."

Katy Perry responded to the controversy about "Gay" with, "It’s not a negative connotation. It’s not “You’re so gay,” like “You're so lame,” but the fact of the matter is that this boy should’ve been gay. I totally understand how it could be misconstrued or whatever...I wasn’t stereotyping anyone in particular, I was talking about ex-boyfriends."

This is the video for 'Ur so gay':

Ok, I do understand how it could be misinterpreted, since some people use the word 'gay' with a negative connotation (meaning something like crappy or silly), but even Katy herself explained it. And apart from that, the lyrics might be mean, but this is natural taking into account that she's talking about an ex-boyfriend who seemed to be a walking blend of gay stereotypes (such as listening to classical music, shopping in H&M, wearing make-up). Apparently, the only thing this boy lacked to be gay was being interested in boys ('You're so gay and you don't even like boys')

And this is 'I kissed a girl'

I really can't see any homophobia in this song, but much to the contrary. She's just telling some experience she had, something she tried just for fun and liked it. And I don't think the fact that she says 'This is not what good girls do' or 'It felt so wrong, it felt so right' doesn't necessarily have to mean that homosexuality or bisexuality is something bad, but simply that since we are children we are told not to do these kind of things (or it might even be related to the fact that she has a boyfriend: 'Hope my boyfriend don't mind it') and about how confusing the sensation can be for someone who has never tried it.

But what really killed me is the comment that 'if the songs were called 'Ur so Korean' or 'I kissed a black guy' they would not be successful'. Well, I have to say that if I came across a song called 'Ur so Korean' I'd be very curious to see what it is about. And... sorry? Saying that you kissed a black guy is racist? I don't think so. Maybe it's not such a big deal anymore because LUCKILY nowadays people from different races can have a relationship without anyone looking at them like they were freaks, but I still understand that many people who have never tried it could be curious. Please! Is the fact that Skandinavians or Germans feel attracted to Spanish or Italian girls racist? We simply feel attracted or are interested in people we find exotic because we are not used to seeing them so often in our countries, I don't feel it means anything negative. We might consider them different, but not better or worse. And if the only effect it can have on us is making us interested in them, it can't be that terrible.

What do you think about it? I'd love to have more opinions about it.