We can all agree on one thing: Katy Perry’s latest single “Woman’s World” flat-out misses the mark.

It’s unclear what Perry was going for: An authentic girlboss bop? A satire of empty feminism? A generic dance-pop single to dominate the Top 40? Whatever she was after, she didn’t reach it: the song has been critically and commercially panned, with folks everywhere trashing its empty lyrics, uninspired sound, and its involvement from producer Dr. Luke, who was famously embroiled in a legal battle with Kesha for years over his alleged sexual assault of the “TiK ToK” singer.

So yes, the song is a flop. But who’s fault is that? Is it Perry, for being the face and voice of the track? Is it Dr. Luke, for tainting the song with his presence? Or is it, as one viral article seems to suggest, gay people, who it claims inspired the song’s direction?

Related
The girls, gays, and theys are cringing at Katy Perry’s new video
Katy Perry is rebranding once again and the gays are not having it

An article from British pop culture magazine Dazed made waves on social media for associating “Woman’s World” with the gays. A post promoting the article on X reads, “The Dr-Luke produced ‘Woman’s World’ – which is as empowering as an advert for Vagisil – exposes the problems of catering solely to gay stereotypes.”

The article itself, which is titled “Katy Perry’s new era is the epitome of 2010s girlboss feminism,” expands on that point, reading, “‘Woman’s World’ sounds like it was designed by a committee in a boardroom at Capitol Records whose sole objective was a sync on RuPaul’s Drag Race and generating comments of ‘you ate’ from white gays living in West Hollywood. It is female empowerment filtered through the lens of a Ryan Murphy show.”

We can’t deny that the article’s reads are clever. But gays across the internet can’t help wonder why a collaboration between a straight woman and a straight man is being blamed on the queer community.

In fairness, the article doesn’t say gay people are themselves responsible for “Woman’s World”’s existence, just that Perry was likely hoping they’d love it when she made it (and the music video’s random makeout sesh between two men does support that theory).

Still, the article’s framing makes it seem as though catering to gay people leads to bad music, when that couldn’t be further from the truth. What about queer artists like Chappell Roan, Troye Sivan, Janelle Monáe, or Frank Ocean, who are definitely making music for the gays without sacrificing quality? Or even the straight artists who have been dubbed queer icons and pay tribute to their gay fans, like Charli xcx, Beyoncé, and Ariana Grande?

Long story short, the gays shouldn’t be held responsible for Perry’s misguided music choices. “Woman’s World” may be an awful song, but the gays had nothing to do with it.

Help make sure LGBTQ+ stories are being told...

We can't rely on mainstream media to tell our stories. That's why we don't lock our articles behind a paywall. Will you support our mission with a contribution today?

Once Monthly Annually

Cancel anytime · Proudly LGBTQ+ owned and operated