This thesis is an exploration of the relationship between religion and Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (GLBTQ) identity in the United States as revealed and complicated through popular music. It is based upon three case studies
consisting of the 2011 Chicago Gay Pride Parade, the musical voice of the GLBTQ community as portrayed through gay anthems and historical gay icons, and pop star Lady Gaga’s music and concert “The Monster Ball.” These three case studies build upon one
another in order to further contextualize each other: the Chicago Gay Pride Parade uses music in order to redefine spaces in Chicago, the musical voice builds upon the concept
of “gay” anthems by female singers, and Lady Gaga is one of the most popular contemporary gay icons. I completed much of the research for this project through ethnographic methods of participant observation and several interviews with community
insiders.
I examine the 2011 Chicago Gay Pride Parade as a ritualesque event that allows for personal and societal transformations needed in order to promote acceptance of GLBTQ individuals within the United States and as a celebration of a range of identities.
By reflecting on my own and others’ experiences as parade attendees and participants, I analyze music’s role in the creation of a safe space that is necessary for these transformations. This study also reveals how the GLBTQ rights movement’s aims and goals draw extensively on narratives of the American Dream, with its focus on narratives of transformation, since the movement’s aims are on transforming the GLBTQ community’s role in the United States.
Next, to show certain strategic, political aims of the GLBTQ community, I explore the musical voices with which it has identified. More often than not, GLBTQ individuals do not turn to their own voices in choosing their musical anthems but rather the voices of non-GLBTQ individuals, in a manner that I understand as strategic identification. I detail how examining the chosen voices can provide insights into the GLBTQ community. I reveal the way that black musical practices influence popular music now and historically, influencing the current gay anthems. I suggest that gay men identify with voices influenced by these black musical practices in to strategically connect the GLBTQ rights movement with the African American civil rights movement.
Finally, I explore Lady Gaga’s use of Christian-inspired language in her support of her GLBTQ fans and detail the political implications of this language. Her language reveals the importance of religious rhetoric in the United States and connects her to a larger history where religion becomes a key component of American identity and reinserts GLBTQ individuals into this discursive framework.