Imani Hoffman

English 1100
Satira
10/24/15

The presence of same love in music

What reason do music artist sing about and mention same sex love? What is it exactly
that they are addressing? What do these music artist want us to know? What is it that music artist
such as Macklemore and Adam Lambert are saying through their songs Outlaws of Love and
Same Love? According to www.CDC.gov LGBTQ youth are at increased risk for suicidal
thoughts and behaviors, suicide attempts, and suicide. A nationally representative study of
adolescents in grades 712 found that lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth were more than twice as
likely to have attempted suicide as their heterosexual peers. So perhaps that is what
Macklemore is addressing when he raps the lyrics When kids are walking 'round the hallway
plagued by pain in their heart. A world so hateful some would rather die than be who they are.
Suicide rates are a serious problem anywhere or in any community, but to have them statistically
more than twice as high as other communities speaks to a larger problem. Why is it that
according to www.bullyingstatistics.org About 30 percent of all completed suicides have been
related to sexual identity crisis. Students who also fall into the gay, bisexual, lesbian or
transgendered identity groups report being five times as more likely to miss school because they
feel unsafe after being bullied due to their sexual orientation. I believe this is what Adam
Lambert is trying to hint towards with his lyrics Hey, tears all fall the same. We all feel the rain,

we can't change...Everywhere we go we're looking for the sun. Nowhere to grow old, we're
always on the run. Could it be that he is addressing the rejection felt inside of schools towards
LGBT youth? Is he saying that no matter who people love, we are all human and we all feel love
the same, even if not towards the same gender. So if we all feel love the same, and general
emotions because we are all human, why do others bully one another. Macklemore states
Playing God, aw nah here we go. America the brave still fears what we don't know. And "God
loves all his children" is somehow forgotten. But we paraphrase a book written thirty-fivehundred years ago. I don't know he speaks towards religion and the many different perspectives
that come with it. It is stated in the bible, treat thy neighbor how you would want to be treated.
Surely people do not wish to be beaten each day among other horrible acts, so how does one take
those actions against another. If I was gay, I would think hip-hop hates me. Have you read the
YouTube comments lately? "Man, that's gay" gets dropped on the daily. We become so numb to
what we're saying. It would be pure ignorance to believe that kids these days werent aware of
what they were saying to each other, at some point or another throughout the day. It is true
however that not every kid out there thinks of their words as being the trigger pulled or the noose
around someones neck ending a life. During the time that these songs written, was gay just a fad
to sing about or perhaps Hollywood had a gay agenda? Well according to www.Newsbusters.org
Hollywood celebrities exuberantly celebrated President Obamas recent declaration of support
for gay marriage. But Hollywood did not have to come out of the closet and support
homosexuality it has long used its influence to purposely swing public opinion in favor of
homosexuality.

For several decades, Hollywood has shown its overt support for homosexuality. Brokeback
Mountain was nominated for Best Picture for its unabashedly sympathetic portrayal of a doomed
gay relationship. Newt Gingrichs half-sister officiated at a gay wedding on Friends in the
1990s. More recently, late night talk show host Conan OBrian officiated at an actual gay
wedding. Homosexual advocacy on television first began to manifest itself in the 1970s. In
1972, made for TV movie That Certain Summer featured Hal Holbrook and Martin Sheen as a
gay couple. In 1973, the reality show An American Family featured son Lance Loud's coming
out. Billy Crystal played a gay character on the ABC sitcom Soap in 1977. Despite the fact that
the show consistently lost money, ABC put on Soap for 4 seasons. So, could that be
considered a gay agenda? Or is this simply human rights for everyone that celebrities alike are
working towards? I personally do not think there is something called the gay agenda in modern
society. Typically when politicians and other people speak of the gay agenda it is used negatively
as if the gays are taking over the world.. Well agenda is defined as a list, plan, outline, or the like,
of things to be done, matters to be acted or voted upon, etc.: So technically yes, there is a gay
agenda, because people are working towards gay rights. Still working towards it because even
though marriage equality was passed, there is still much work to be done. So I believe that is
why Artist such as Macklemore and Adam Lambert sang these songs.

"Agenda." <i>Dictionary.com</i>. Dictionary.com, n.d. Web. 30 Oct. 2015.

"Bullying Statistics - Anti-Bullying Help, Facts, and More." <i>Bullying Statistics</i>. N.p., n.d.
Web. 30 Oct. 2015.

"CDC Works 24/7 to Protect US from Health, Safety and Security Threats." <i>Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention</i>. N.p., 28 Oct. 2015. Web. 30 Oct. 2015.

"Hollywood: Driving the Homosexual Agenda for 40 Years." <i>NewsBusters</i>. N.p., n.d.
Web. 30 Oct. 2015.