OUR LATEST ISSUE
Hip-hop star defends use of word 'gay'
Kanye West
Kanye West - 'gay' is the new 'dope'
"The successful hip-hop artist has in the past made comparisons between African Americans' struggle for civil rights and today's gay rights movement"
Hip-hop star Kanye West claims that the use of the word ‘gay’ is now more of a compliment than an offensive term, derogatory to homosexuals.
Speaking to detail magazine, West said the term gay summed up everything that is fashionable and stylish. He said:
"I like to embody titles or words that have negative connotations, and explain why that's good.
"Take the word gay. Like, in hip-hop, that's a negative thing, right?
"But in the past two, three years, all the gay people I've encountered have been, like, really, really, extremely dope.
"I haven't gone to a gay bar, nor do I ever plan to. But where I would talk to a gay person, the conversation would be mostly around art or design, it'd be really dope.
"From a design standpoint, kids'll say, 'Dude, those pants are gay.'
"But if it's good, good, good fashion-level, design-level stuff, where it's on a higher level than the average commercial design stuff, it's gay people that do that.
"I think that should be said as a compliment. Like, 'Dude, that's so good it's almost gay.'"
West offers a fresh perspective supporting homosexuality in such a notoriously homophobic industry as hip-hop. The successful hip-hop artist has in the past made comparisons between African Americans' struggle for civil rights and today's gay rights movement. His support for the gay and lesbian community has led to speculation over the artists own sexuality.
Last year West urged fans to reject homophobia at a concert in New York, telling fans:
"I used to be scared to talk to a gay person. In hip-hop, there's people - and let's not even say scared like homophobic - but they're scared of the way people gonna look at them."
Coming from Chicago, where if you saw somebody that was gay you were supposed to stay ten feet away.
"It took me time to break out of the mental prisons I was in. The stereotypes of the fear of the backlash that I would get if you don’t believe what I believe in, accepting people for who they are.
"I’ve flown across the world y’all, and I’ve come back here to tell you—open your minds and live a happier life."
