Knee deep in the Chappell Roan lore, can’t think of any other queer pop artist? Is it casual now? (yes, I am obsessed with her song, Casual and the mermaid core music video) The Rise and Fall of the Midwest Princess by Chappell Roan is everywhere including on my Spotify, Instagram and on my mind, and I’m kind of over it so I’m not gonna talk about it anymore.
Yeah, I’m not gonna talk about Chappell Roan’s tacky ass dresses; silly, gaudy makeup and loud, gay music…that I love.
I’m not gonna talk about how all the visuals of Chappell Roan’s music videos make me want to get better at art so that I could recreate her outfits, her songs, the metaphors of her lyrics, her makeup looks, her humor. No, I’m not gonna talk about how I wish I could capture a smidge of what she makes everyone feel with her art.
I’m not gonna talk about how glad I am that I am not going through a talking stage right now because listening to ‘Casual’ would have resulted in me bawling.
I’m not gonna talk about how Chappell Roan DIY’s drag lewks to make her 8 y/o self proud makes me think a lot about my inner child and maybe, I need her to make a comeback in my life, more importantly in my career, in my creativity, somewhere, anywhere at this point.
I’m not gonna talk about how I cannot stop thinking of the time she said ‘twink’ on the Jimmy Fallon Show decked in a barbie drag outfit because casually dropping queer slang on international television is queer resistance of its own kind. I’m not gonna talk about how I hope media training doesn’t get to her and she loses out on her nonchalant sass.
I’m not gonna talk about how cool it is to see her song ‘Goodluck Babe’ helping us have conversations on comphet because honestly? Learning what comphet is, did a 360° on my feminism and I hope all the girlies, the pick me’s, the girlies knee deep in trad wife content, the girlies who have been convincing they’re not into other girlies and more, get a grip and more importantly, get freed because of the song.
I’m not gonna talk about how nice it is to have WLW representation in pop culture music that is not Katy Perry’s ‘I kissed the girl and I like it’ type that desperately caters to the male gaze because you know what? Enough things are already catered to the male gaze, we need more for and by the girlies and the gays.
I’m not gonna talk about how maybe I wish I could own up Roan’s tacky, diy crafty core that brings the amateur auteur in me instead of the perfectionist creative in me whose canvas is always blank and untouched.
I’m not gonna talk about how it took her a decade of struggle to make it out of the midwest or how her record label dropped her when her music wasn’t making any ‘money’ or how she almost moved back home but her NPR Tiny Desk Concert went viral just in time. I am not gonna talk about how she kept going in her creative pursuit since the age of 17 and made it at 26, so maybe it’s okay if I’m not working with cooler brands by 24, maybe it’s okay if I am not a part of an award winning campaign by 24, maybe it’s okay if I don’t have things figured out by 24.
So yeah, I’m not gonna talk about any of this. Instead I’m just going to switch off my spotify, pick up a book instead of doom scrolling the Chappell Roan memes and be more gay like her.
