Saturday, June 28, 2008

Why Katy Perry Sucks

Katy Perry has the #1 song in the nation with "I Kissed a Girl", a video that sees her provocatively dressed and that has such gems of lyrics like:

I kissed a girl and I liked it
The taste of her cherry chapstick
I kissed a girl just to try it
I hope my boyfriend don't mind it.

Come again? You hope your boyfriend "don't mind it"? Issues with grammar aside, that is a horrible sentiment! Look, I'm all for sexual exploration. I'm down with the theory that most people on earth aren't entirely one thing or the other, totally straight or totally gay, and that sexuality is more of a gradient or sliding scale than it is a binary code. I myself have a Gay Island of Celebrities, famous people I would think about putting aside my straight-and-narrow ways for. But seriously now. Katy Perry and her ilk of "bi-curious" girls with high school mentalities make me angry, Incredible Hulk style. If you have a boyfriend, you can't explore your attraction to women -just like you can't explore your attraction to other men. That, unless the situation has been discussed and approved of by BOTH parties (and, for my money, actually applies to both parties), is called "cheating". Just because there are two girls involved doesn't make it a lesser offense.

This song, and this behavior, exemplifies the heteronormative ideals of our society. First, there is the assertion that kissing another girl is "not what good girls do"; I would give her the benefit of the doubt and say that she was referring to the cheating, but she already hopes her boyfriend won't mind it and later describes the event as "innocent", so no dice there. Lesbians, therefore, are "bad". And while this girl may think she's being bad by kissing another girl, her plan to return to her boyfriend only furthers the ideology that lesbian encounters are missing something fundamental and vital to a fun and happy and fulfilling sexual encounter: a penis. Same thing goes, by the way, for the girls who think watching their boyfriend suck face with another guy is "hot". Because they don't feel threatened that their boyfriend may suddenly decide that this vagina thing just isn't for him. Songs like this and the behavior it espouses diminish and denigrate the validity of homosexual relationships and feelings. Katy Perry's boyfriend shouldn't worry; she's not going home with a GIRL. Furthering that line of thought is the idea that this encounter is somehow "innocent", and thereby not threatening to the accepted heterosexual relationship. Had her loss of inhibition led to her kissing a boy, the song would probably be a more angst-ridden tune.

And that is the kind of attitude that is absolute crap, that allows men to find two women engaging in sexual acts "hot" as opposed to "threatening" or "disgusting" when two men are engaging in the exact same behavior. Because as long as "bi-curious" women treat their homosexual liaisons as "cute" and "innocent" and "not threatening", as long as these women get hot and bothered and then return to their boyfriends and insist that there is nothing wrong with it, these girls will be doing a disservice to every gay person who seeks to have their relationship considered on par with a straight one.

So, to Katy Perry and girls like her, just stop it. Stop kissing (and doing other things) with girls and then going home with your boyfriend. What you're doing is just greedy, and engages in a horrible double standard. If you want to explore your sexuality, then break up with your boyfriend and actually explore it. Actually treat the relationship you develop with a woman or the encounters you have with a woman as just as important and viable as you would had these occurred with a guy. Otherwise, you're a cheater. And like every other cheater, you're pretty much just an asshole.

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

YES! It's about time someone agreed with me on it!

Because time and time again, we see girls on Girls Gone Wild or a porno or something like it make out with their friend just to get a guy's attention so they'll get laid. Also, just so you all know, the song, although it at first seems like it supports homosexuality, it supports heterosexuality and homophobia (for example, one part of the song has the lyrics of "It's not what, good girls do/Not how they should behave". So if any of you folks out there support gay rights but love this song for the lyrics, you're two-faced. Suck my ovaries.

petpluto said...

Thanks for commenting! This is exactly playing into the Girls Gone Wild side of the culture, and it is definitely about making lesbian tendencies a heterosexual commodity, a way of exciting heterosexual partners.

Anonymous said...

Agreed. Thank you.
xo

Anonymous said...

yea katy perrys horrible...
i think lady gagas awesome tho :D
but im glad u agree with me :D yay!

Anonymous said...

i completely agree that this song is terrible and deserving of the highest criticism. however, if you are going to say that you believe in a natural sliding scale of sexuality, i have trouble understanding why you think monogamy is the only natural tendency when it comes to partners. by saying so you are saying that a person must look to one single person to embody all of their needs and more importantly their wants. if you can say that there is a sliding sexual scale, then that would mean that those who are directly in the center of the spectrum would only be allowed to experience partial satisfaction at a time?

katyperryrox7 said...

you all are fucking retarted. katy perry is amazing. you're just to much of a dumb fuck to see it. i know from personal experience that katy perry is awesome, even live. so why dont u all just shut the fuck up? ohh right. cus you're to stupid.

petpluto said...

however, if you are going to say that you believe in a natural sliding scale of sexuality, i have trouble understanding why you think monogamy is the only natural tendency when it comes to partners. by saying so you are saying that a person must look to one single person to embody all of their needs and more importantly their wants. if you can say that there is a sliding sexual scale, then that would mean that those who are directly in the center of the spectrum would only be allowed to experience partial satisfaction at a time?

Well, I didn't mention monogamy in the post, but my feeling on this particular song is that it isn't about a true exploration of a nonmonogamous lifestyle. Partially because she "hopes [her] boyfriend don't mind it", meaning an exploration of sexual desires outside the boundaries of a monogamous relationship hasn't been discussed and is just assumed to be okay - possibly because it's just a girl-on-girl thing, and that's not generally considered threatening to a heterosexual relationship, and is seen as hot and for the enjoyment of men.

Beyond that, I think that if a person decides to be in a monogamous relationship, then you (universal "you" here) explore your sexual desires with your partner - and if your sexual desires are unsatisfied and you're unhappy and unfulfilled, you either discuss a change in your relationship (like making it nonmonogamous), or you break up and explore your sexuality elsewhere and with other people without the boyfriend or girlfriend holding you back.

That being said, I don't think there is ever a sexual relationship that fulfills every sexual desire, or every sexual impulse. The issue is whether or not your sexual relationship fulfills you (again, universal you) - and if the relationship in general fulfills your needs. If you're generally happy with your level of sexual gratification and your relationship in general, and your partner wants to be monogamous, then I think you have to balance whether or not you can be happy being monogamous. If you can't, get out. But if you can, then you can. There are plenty of people who forego certain sex acts because they are genuinely satisfied with their partner, even if their partner doesn't fulfill every single desire. The issue is figuring out if the desire is more of a "need" or a "want", IMO.

Anyway, hope that cleared things up!

petpluto said...

you all are fucking retarted. katy perry is amazing. you're just to much of a dumb fuck to see it. i know from personal experience that katy perry is awesome, even live. so why dont u all just shut the fuck up? ohh right. cus you're to stupid.

Wow, your misspelled ramblings really changed my mind! How could I have been so delusional to not see that "katy perry is awesome"? I really must be a "dumb fuck" to not see the logic there.

Oh, and I know from some vague personal experience that she sucks. G'day!

Anonymous said...

I personally like Katy Perry. But i do see where your coming from. i think what has to be realised though, is, while it is based on a situation or 2 that she has personally been involved in, it is just a song. i dont think she was thinking about the things that your saying. I think as an artist you have you take a risk in releasing just about every song because its offensive to somebody.. but they take into account whether the MAJORITY will enjoy it. and in this case they did. it was her first single released after 'ur so gay' promoting a new album, it had to be catchy and controversial and have a bit of OMG! in there so people will notice her.. and i think this is the exact reaction she wanted.. it caused people to talk and in show business theres no such thing as bad publicity.

i think she is extremely talented. acoustically she sounds amazing. i kissed a girl is actually my least favourite song of hers but she is very talented.

petpluto said...

i dont think she was thinking about the things that your saying. I think as an artist you have you take a risk in releasing just about every song because its offensive to somebody.. but they take into account whether the MAJORITY will enjoy it.

I think that's what they take into account, but I also think we would be remiss if we didn't examine why the majority would like it, what message the song in question sends, whether or not it reinforces negative (or positive) stereotypes...

It is easy to further marginalize a marginalized community, and I do think "I Kissed A Girl" does that. I don't think it's the worst song in the world or that people are deficient if they like it - or her. But I do think that pop culture says something about who we are, and that even if this isn't her specific intention, its still in there.

I do understand and appreciate what you're saying, though. Thanks for the pleasant convo!

jpgo79 said...

Katy Perry is comlpletely what is wrong with American Pop Culture!!! Yes, she is absolutely gorgeous! Yes, she works hard at what she does! However, are we forgetting one big critical factor????

The girl has absolutely No Frickin Talent!!!! I have had bowel movements that have possessed more talent in one of their flakes than she has in her entire body!

I have seen many, many talented people. Either by luck, or circumstance of this ever so driven "looks" world, these people remain playing in dives, bars, or, if they're lucky, a small venue in an"off the beaten path" city. These folks, truly have talent, but because they are no longer in their late teens or early twenties and don't have "Six Pack Abs" or "36-24-36" figure with "Eyes that Pierce" or a "Smile that could Kill", they are destined to be only Local Heroes.

Katy Perry has no talent!!!! She is simply a product of the industry! I would rather have a root canal with no novocaine than hear her sing live. Does anyone remember when she performed on American Idol??? All these hopefull new singers that have an immense amount of talent were getting criticized by the judges....then....Katy comes on stage and attempts to sing (I use the word sing very loosely) "Waking up in Vegas".

To say she was attrocious would be an understatement! I mean, how can you criticize a nearly perfect performance by one of the final 4 of American Idol, and then, in a split second, stand up and applaud the Hollywood Induced piece of Ass Vomit that the American public was just forced to listen to for over 3 minutes?????

Again, the only reason why we know Katy Perry's name is because some half ass song writer found a 5 foot nothing, 105 pound BIMBO with rockin abs and beatiful eyes to "attempt to sing" their song! To think that she makes millions for mutilating songs written by other talented people just kills me. I know that I can't carry a tune even in a bucket, but yet she seems to think she can. Katy, Honey, you couldn't carry a Tune with a Fork Lift, Dump Truck, and Seven Dwarf's following behind you. Face reality, and do the only thing that you were destined for.......A stripper in Vegas, or maybe if you're lucky, a spread in Maxim. I would say Playboy, but I don't think you have the "Class" to be in that publication.

Anonymous said...

Why is she famous? She is ugly and has no talent. Even Miley Cyrus is better than her. Do you want Women, who have talent and who are beautifeul? Try woman like Avril Lavigne, Kelly Clarkson, Ashlee Simpson and Shania Twain.

Anonymous said...

Ehh, I like her.
This song isn't for the intellectual masses, obviously. It's played for teenagers who want a good beat.
In depth precision to the lyrics is not what they're looking for..

Anonymous said...

as long as there is a girl with d-cups and some sort of voice and shes willing to be a degenerate on TV then we're all gonna have to suffer through crap like hers.

and no katy perry isn't made for the intelligent masses, because they're not. the masses of this country are stupid, and that's why pop sells. talent? sure you probably think so.

Anonymous said...

Totally agree with you. Katy Perry Sucks!