A WiseDove reader, M, writes in a VOX private message …
Hey Randy,
A question has been floating around in the back of my mind. I know this may sound silly, but I thought you may be able to clear this up for me. I (think I) heard/read recently that Coldplay tends to attract a significant gay fan base. Is that true? I mean, I like a few Coldplay tracks, but I’d hate to think it’s because of THAT. I just thought they were kind of introspective styled. Heard anything about that? …There are two topics represented above:1) Does Coldplay have a significant gay identified fan base? and 2) What is M’s motivation for liking a few of the Coldplay songs as indicated by the statement, “I mean, I like a few Coldplay tracks, but I’d hate to think it’s because of THAT. ”
Let’s talk about M’s motivation first. Well, M, I have no idea why you like those songs being that I am not you. However, if you do like them because there is some conscious/unconscious tie in with the gay-identified community …I would encourage you to not “hate” it. You simply can just deal with it. We may not identify as gay, or allow gay ideology to determine our relational paradigm but that doesn’t mean we can’t relate to the gay identified community with regard to themes and particular life experiences that affects most people dealing with same sex attraction. To put it another way, if Coldplay is singing about themes and issues that really resonate among those who have dealt with same sex attraction, of course you are going to relate to that. The difference is in how you steward your life as a result. That is where you need to determine for yourself if those songs are something you can enjoy and meditate on without hindrance or if they are edifying what you personally have determined to be negative things in your life. That’s deeply personal and I would have no clue on whether you should be concerned about Coldplay’s music or not. I just know that it doesn’t make sense to not admit we can relate to the gay identified community if in fact we can. It’s just how we deal with those commonalities that will, in some cases, be different.
I personally don’t listen to Coldplay because they bore me to tears. I know they are very good artists and have great lyrics (the ones I have heard or read) but… man … my boredometer kicks in when their songs come on. Maybe I should give them another chance. And, I like electronic and high bass thumping songs… the emotive rock/pop thing is cool but I am rarely in the mood to slow down for it.
Now for the other point, does Coldplay have a significant gay identified fan base? While I respect Coldplay, I am not a big fan of theirs so I really don’t know. I did a little bit of search surfing on the web and didn’t find a whole lot with regard to that possibility. Although, I did find three good angles as to why there might be truth to the rumor that they do have a significant gay identified fan base.
Apparently (the next link is to a gay blog) the lead singer, Chris Martin, was taunted as being gay when he was a teen so that would mean most gay identified males could relate to that either from directly being taunted themselves or being a teen who wouldn’t appreciate (and shouldn’t) those taunts. If this is true, that could be a powerful point of connection. Shared persecution generates empathy which can contribute to strong loyalty.
Also, Towleroad writes along the same lines of something I also know to be true, often the gay identified community will try to find something about celebrities that would indicate a pro-gay message coming from them. Towleroad was seeing some sort of gay centric marketing in the album artwork also shown on this post. They humbly admit to reading their own wishes into the artwork. When I was gay identified and a part of that community, almost every male celebrity with half a brain or in touch with his emotions … (or good looking) was either gay, pro-gay and at the very least bi-sexual. It was more wishful thinking than reality.
Another point is found in this article. It is a review of the movie 40 Year Old Virgin ( I do not recommend seeing this movie) and quotes the movie …
What sets “Virgin” apart from other comedies of its kind is Apatow’s willingness to turn Andy’s friends into flesh-and-blood characters and not broad stereotypes. They’re all a bit weird, but well-intentioned. Even more refreshing is their habit of speaking like real people, particularly in their incessant pop-culture references. One of the film’s hilarious set pieces involve buddies David (Rudd) and Cal (Rogen) playing a video game together while hurling good-natured invective at each other: “You know how I know you’re gay? Because you like Coldplay.” (emphasis mine.)
Apparently Coldplay also fits a stereotype of being “gay.” I don’t know what that would be considering I am not that familiar with the band. Seeing that all things in any movie is contrived to resonate with audiences, they put that line in the movie with the intent and understanding that many of the audience members would relate to the allegation and agree.
So while it would be too simplistic to reduce this down to three points, and taking into account that I am not a Coldplay groupie, I am going to try and summarize my findings. Mixing empathy, wishful thinking and stereotypes could cause a compelling case to believe that they do have a large gay identified fan base.
Even so, … what does that mean, if anything, to you? I believe entertainment comes down to personal conviction and I am personally convicted that Coldplay is boring. I would probably only enjoy listening to them if I was wanting low-key background music while I did something else (like draw.) Now, if I was a big fan, I don’t believe that this rumor of a gay identified fan base would stop me from enjoying their music. Life shouldn’t be reduced to being about “us and them” or if they like it maybe I shouldn’t. It’s much more complicated and personal than that.
For Christians, we are told in the scriptures to capture all thoughts “obedient” and submit them to Christ. He being the Great Teacher will then either steward us away from those influences, use them to edify us or turn them for good somehow. We will all have artists we need to stay away from and some that the Lord would use to speak to or train us. He has used popular culture and entertainment to help train me in applying my faith toward the messages being promoted. This journey will be different for each person.
Artists and musicians are very important messengers of our times. Being aware of and able to engage those messengers is a very important ministry. In fact, if it is true that Coldplay has a large gay identified fan base, understanding their work may prove very beneficial in being able to communicate, on common ground with authenticity, with those who identify as gay and like Coldplay.
Of course, in my case, I don’t know if any Coldplay fan would appreciate me describing how bored I get listening to their music.
And as usual, I reserve the right to be wrong ...
Source: http://randythomas.vox.com/
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