Tag: Jake Shears

gay persons of character: Azealia Banks controversy comes with hypocrisy

Much controversy has been stirred by American rapper Azealia Banks’s tweet to gossip maven Perez Hilton, which stated “omg u should just kill yourself… Like for real… lol what a messy faggot you are.” The context for their interchange is nicely summarized at digital spy. Now as much as I get how people might be offended by what some are calling a homophobic slur, I don’t understand why these same reportedly offended people, like Scissor Sisters’s Jake Shears (who has collaborated with Azealia Banks in the past, see video below), have not been equally bothered by Azealia’s use of the n-word in her lyrics. As Ms. Banks herself tweeted later, “If u listen to my music and are not offended by the word nigga… We’re not gonna go here with this faggot shitt… We’re just not. Lol.”

Some facts. Banks is bisexual, Perez and Jake are gay, and “faggot” and “nigga” are words that are pervasive within the vocabularies of various communities that intersect at points of sexuality and race. Hmm. Isn’t it high time that allegations of both homophobic and racist behavior are placed under scrutiny at the same moment? In this way a more in depth evaluation of what’s really going on could be achieved. Because there’s lots of homophobia and racism to go around, each with their own particular brands and idiosyncrasies, to say the least.

Make love, not war, bothers and sisters.

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