QUEER ANTHEMS FOR WEIRDOS

Are you a total queerboner but are sick of the same old disco songs? Well, no, you're probably not sick of all that disco-or at least, I'm not. But maybe you ARE a weirdo creep like me who might have difficulty relating to all of that Logo TV blando overproduced crap; maybe you don't prescribe to the commodified idea of being "gay," and maybe you don't even adhere to the current aesthetics popular with alterna-queers these days.
Well, whatever you may be, I know I'M a creep and these songs strike a particular chord with me.

This song is very important to me. Even if it's not intentionally queer (and I think it just may be) it's easily appropriated by queers like me. The lyrics of the song express overcoming misfit feelings and embracing your weirdness, but unlike some Lady Gaga crap, Mama Cass isn't sugar-coating how much it can suck to be different. Life is always going to be rough, but accepting your differences and making the most of them is the message here, which I suppose is one of the reasons why I didn't feel pandered to by this song when I was a little kid. This song shows up in the context of the H.R. Pufnstuf movie during a witch convention,an aspect of the film that deserves a page of analysis unto itself. The witches appear to be a group of lesbians, drag queens, and proud virgins. In this scene, they dance in female witch solidarity a'la lesbian Helen Reddy's "I am Woman" (only without the witch part).


This is a song from the low budget musical, Strangers in Paradise . Strangers in Paradise is about a Weimar-Germany mesmerist who cryogenically freezes himself to escape Nazis and is thawed out by future suburban fascists who use him to brainwash punk bands, homosexuals, and other such weirdos (you'll see this in action at the end of the video). I like this song a lot, and I like that the lesbian in it straddles the butch/femme line. I get sick of lesbians in fiction being depicted in masculine/feminine extremes.ANYWAY, SHE'S JUST A BABE.


This song isn't that esoteric, but it's so damn good. When I was a Buzzcocks-obsessed punk teen and saw this video for the first time, it blew my mind. I had no idea Pete Shelley was queer. The song was banned by the BBC for the lyric "homo superior in my interior," which was interpreted as an explicit reference to anal sex.
You can watch an interview with Pete Shelley in which he discusses queerness here.


This song isn't explicitly about being queer,although it's a great "stick it to the man/fuck the norm" song from a queer perspective. Dean Johnson's gender presentation is really unique and he's really fun to watch. Here is another great song by his other band, Velvet Mafia.


THIS IS ONE OF MY FAVORITE SONGS.EVER. I play it at every dance party I DJ. I just can't resist. A lot of people are unfamiliar with Divine's disco career (although it seems like that is beginning to change). Divine was produced by Bobby O, who is responsible for disco groups like The Flirts and The Village People.
Anyhow,this is an amazing song for when you feel like shit. My favorite lyric is "I'm so beautiful, and everybody's welcome to this point of view." Additionally, I personally respond to both "I'm So Beautiful" and Mama Cass's "Different" because both videos demonstrate some awesome body positivity (and some awesome draggy makeup).


Okay, everyone knows this song. However, when I learned a few years ago that Lesley Gore was an out lesbian,this feminist anthem took on new significance for me. This is a particularly good performance of "You Don't Own Me." If you watch other videos of her songs like "She's a Fool" and "That's the Way Boys Are," Lesley seems to sing them with kittenish irony. Also, I guess I am biased because I have a total crush on her.

So this concludes the "Queer Anthems for Weirdos" post. Please submit your suggestions in this vein, and if I get enough, I can dedicate a whole episode of Ampersand Theater to this theme!