http://frankocean.tumblr.com/post/26473798723
This above is a letter posted by singer Frank Ocean on his tumblr blog. When he released his album, Channel Orange, there was many suspicions to what he was referring to most his songs as he constantly used lyrics directed towards the same gender. He made it clear when he posted this letter and told the world about his first love, which was a man. As you could imagine doing this caused an uproar in the industry and he lost many fans. Why? Because he had a relationship with a man. Does the fact that he fell in love with a man change his music? No. Then you have people saying things like his music is for gay people yet before anyone knew that he was bisexual his music was perfectly fine and you would listen to it? Is that what the media and our society has come to that we judge a person's talent based on who he gives his heart to? It's pathetic to know that we live in a society where being judged is the big base that we are all founded on. Especially in the media industry where the glamour and perfection they show to you is all a lie and when someone like Frank Ocean shares himself he gets bashed.
My questions to the class is that in the entertainment business, why is it looked worse upon to be bisexual or homosexual?
Think of yourself as a celebrity, if you were homosexual or bisexual, would you come out?
And would you, or do you, look at Frank Ocean's music differently after knowing the fact that he was bisexual?
I look forward to the responses! ~Onkar, and I do not travel.
For a long time in the music industry, you could only see heterosexual singers, and now you are beginning to see more homosexual and bisexual singers. The public was used to heterosexual singers, and since they have been introduced to this new “phenomenon” they can’t seem to deal with it. I wouldn't necessarily say that it is looked down upon to be bi or homosexual in the industry itself, but some fans clearly cannot deal with the truth. Perhaps, they have a distorted image of what a homosexual person is, or maybe they were homophobic from the start, and this was their outlet. I agree with what you said that just because the artist is bi of homosexual, their music isn’t going to change. Also, if you start listening to their music, you aren’t going to be influenced to turn gay. If that was going to happen, it would have happened before they came out.
ReplyDeleteIf I was a homosexual/bi celebrity then I would come out because it would be a load off my shoulders. I wouldn’t want to be living a lie for the rest of my life. If my fans wanted to leave the fan base because they don’t agree with my sexual orientation, then I can’t really do anything to stop them. At least after I come out, I would get to know who my real fans are.
I don’t really listen to Frank Ocean, but I did watch Adam Lambert on American Idol, and I thought that he had the most amazing voice (this was before he came out). Even after he came out, I still listened to his music. He is one of my favourite singers, and nothing will change that. I really don’t care if he is gay because he is still talented, and his music is awesome. I mean, it would be a totally different story if his music was bad. Then I wouldn't hesitate to leave the fan base.
I agree with what you are saying because it seems that now there are more people coming out and are being public about their sexual orientation. But I disagree that it isn't looked down up on because I don't think in music genres like rap being homosexual would be a big issue and would be something used against you. I also agree with you views on being a singer and coming out, the whole point of an art like music is letting out your feelings and being yourself, Thanks for your reply
DeleteI don't understand, how is being gay looked down upon in the music industry?
DeleteWell let's look at rap, the whole scene of rap music is being "hard", getting money and getting girls but the whole image of being gay in today's society differs so much. Would you take a gay rapper seriously?
DeleteYeah, but just because you are gay doesn't necessarily mean that you are weak, or "soft." Yeah, it is true that some gay people are more feminine, but for some you can't even tell that they are gay or not. To be honest, I would expect the music industry to be more forgiving because there are a lot of other crazy people in it and they are accepted, so gay people should be accepted too.
DeleteBeing a homosexual singer creates a disconnect with a lot of people. People want to listen to music that they can relate to. As a straight man, I can't realate to a gay man singing about love. I am in no way ciriticizing his singing abilities.
ReplyDeleteIf a celebrity is gay, they should come out. Coming out the closet might get them more spotlight. If gays wants to change the way people percievethem, the celebrities should take the initiative because they have the ability to reach out.
After knowing he is bisexual, I don't care. I don't listen to his music.
Yes but what about his love songs before he was gay or even just his songs that had nothing to do with love? Songs he has such as "Swim Good" are not specifically about another man. I understand where you are coming from, thanks for the reply
DeleteI think it's worse when your famous, because you have more people that know you specifically. Its like this, your friend is against homosexuality, and both of you are fans of Ocean. That friend is going to come to you one day and tell you "Did you hear that Frank is gay?" I don't wanna listen to him anymore. Meanwhile if it was a person in the street, you just see him and maybe throw a couple of words at him and just let it go. I just can't put myself into the position of homosexuality, but if I were to imagine, I think I would, because you might lose fans, but you might gain fans. An example is what I mentioned on one of the other blogs, Liz Carmouche, she is a MMA fighter that said that she is a lesbian. I started cheering for her because of the fact that she came out and wasn't scared, I mean that takes alot of guts. Lastly, not at all. I've been listening to Ocean for a long time now, and it isn't different, it's just music, it's like looking at Neil Patrick Harris, his a actor that is awesome, so no difference for music taste :)
ReplyDeleteI agree that it is worse when you're famous because there more people you are going to be judged by. You're right because many people from the LGBT communities would support you so you would gain that fan base. Thank you for replying
DeleteTo be honest, i don't think in entertainment business these days it is looked down upon for being homosexual I actually think those people get more popularity and respect since they are different tha alot of people.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you, i don't believe that his homosexuality changed his singing abilities. Everyone interprates music differently according to their past experience. People are able to relate to love and he writes about it. Whether that love is towards a man or a woman its all the same, it is still love.
If i was a celebraity and i was homosexual, i would totally come out just so my fans and people around the world can feel comfartable as well. So they can realize that they are not alone and that their faviourite artist is in a similar situation.
I do not look at his music differently, its still the same to me. At the end of the day, if a song sounds good and i am able to relate to it, i would listen to it. He is still a intelligent man with a great voice.
I guess in someways being of different sexual orientation then the assumed heterosexual, is not that looked down upon in entertainment business but there are cases like rap in which it would be. And I agree with what you have to say as well about his music and coming out if you were in his shoes. Thank you for your reply
DeleteI don’t think that gay artists face much discrimination for being homosexual or gay. They’re artists and make a living by expressing themselves and their orientation is also self-expression if they choose to broadcast it. You have to be different to stand out and I think some celebs do come out of the closet to gain fame and be known to people while others hide it in fear of losing their fans. There are a lot of homosexual role models in the entertainment business like Adam Lambert who is openly gay and Frank Ocean as well recently. Yeah of course celebs might lose fans due to their backward thinking but that won’t cause a huge impact to their career.
ReplyDeleteIf I was homosexual or bisexual I wouldn’t hide it and neither would I flaunt my personal life to the whole world to see. Being lesbian wouldn’t affect my talent so disclosing my sexual orientation to the public wouldn’t be my top priority but let’s say it would come up in an interview I wouldn’t deny it either.
No I wouldn’t view his music to be any different if he was gay or straight. People’s sexual orientation isn’t anyone’s business and it’s just an overrated topic in my opinion. All the hate and discrimination these people face is ridiculous.
Homosexuality might be slowly becoming accepted in the western countries, but it is still uncommon worldwide. There are people that feel offended from discovering someone is homosexual. This is why celebrities can be judged harshly, especially since they have a fan base and it's publicized to the whole world.
ReplyDeleteIf I was a homosexual/bisexual celebrity, I would come out. It's not good to live a life with having such secret buried in that defines a big part of who you are.
Who cares about celebrities' sexual orientation? As long as they have good music or movies, their sexual orientation shouldn't matter to the entertainment business, nor should it affect people's view of music or movies the celebrities/artists produce.
In my opinion, I don't think homosexuality is looked down upon in the entertainment indusrty as much as it used to be a couple of years back. Many people are now open minded about homosexuality and it is accepted widely in western countries. I'm not saying there won't be a handful of people who will look down upon it for many reasons such as religion, culture, or upbringing, but the acceptance outweighs the discrimination. Celebs should come out of the closet if they're homosexual or bisexual. They should do it to have some type of inner peace. Keeping it to yourself will cause you to remain untrue to yourself. Why live a double life? Your fans may actually support you and continue to make your fan base even larger then it is by coming out. I definitely do not look at Frank Ocean or his music differently after he revealed his sexuality. Frank Ocean is one of my favourite singers and his voice is absolutely amazing. All of his songs have a story to tell and he's got some stellar talent. I wouldn't ever judge someone's music beacuse of their sexual preferance.
ReplyDeleteSociety has gotten used to heterosexual singers. Now hearing more homosexuals and bisexuals singers are coming people would be surprised. If I was homosexual or bisexual I would debate if I should open up to the people. I would be afraid with the hurtful comments I would get. I wouldn't look at Frank Ocean's music differently like others.
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