Over the weekend, during Kylie Minogue‘s Glastonbury debut, she smooched the Scissor Sisters’ Ana Matronic on the lips. Some papers are calling it a “lesbian” kiss. It’s not really gay, but it is trendy.
Madonna and Britney, Sandra and Meryl, Sandra and Scarlett, blah blah blah. When ladies smooch ladies, on the lips, in public, a couple of things happen: 1. People notice. 2. People talk about it. 3. It makes headlines. 4. Eventually someone asks, “what’s the big deal?”
Kisses carefully crafted for shock value do snag attention. But is a same-sex kiss still “shocking” these days? Possibly. Consider Chely Wright’s difficulty in coming out. Think of the fact that Ellen is one of the most popular women on TV, but you rarely see her in a sexual situation.
So is it harmful or helpful when straight women kiss each other? On one hand, the idea that girl-on-girl action is sexy and thrilling is steeped in straight men’s fantasies and porn. Buying into that cliché — that it’s “hot” when women make out, especially if they’re both hot — buys into objectification and a male-centric sexuality. In addition, when a same-sex kiss is a punchline, or an act that’s supposed to be scandalous, doesn’t that imply that gay relations are funny, weird, or abnormal?
On the other hand, maybe the more the general public sees straight women kiss straight women — especially all-American sweethearts like Sandra Bullock — the less an actual lesbian kiss seems deviant or wrong. There are still those who do not approve of any homosexuality, but perhaps seeing Kylie spread a little love, in the spirit of the moment, will have those people wondering what the big deal is.
Kylie Minogue Shares Lesbian kiss Onstage [Hindustan Times]