Lesbian Music — Five Playlists to Help You Through Your Lesbian Issues

For the last article of Lesbian Visibility Week, we’re going to put the spotlight on some of the current lesbian artists that have been outspoken about their sexuality, and who have helped me through a lot of emotions. After introducing them, there will be a compilation of five playlists made by yours truly that relate to quite specific feelings in the rollercoaster of experiencing life as a lesbian. 

Give these artists all the love and hype, for we need as much representation as possible. 

Reneé Rapp

If I say I’m a lesbian, I am a lesbian, and if someone says they’re bi, they are bi. I’ve had enough of you witches.

Reneé Rapp started her career on Broadway as Regina George in the musical Mean Girls. She then went on to develop her acting career by starring in the HBO show The Sex Lives of College Girls. Although she began with theatre and television, she revealed that her true love was music. Reneé Rapp released her first single Tattoos, which went viral on social media. The single however did not make the cut for her first EP, Everything to Everyone. Reneé Rapp released her debut album Snow Angel last year, which along with the movie Mean Girls: The Musical has given her a huge platform. 

Reneé Rapp was originally out as bisexual, but recently revealed she was a lesbian. Her story is an important one for lesbians who realised they identified as such later on. Reneé’s honesty and transparency is refreshing and is what distinguishes her from other artists. 

Chappell Roan

Got bullied, got called a lesbian, they weren’t wrong but I wasn’t ready to hear that.

Chappell Roan had a tumultuous rise to fame. After releasing her first EP “School Nights”, she was told by her label that if her next single, Pink Pony Club, would not succeed, they would drop her. After moving to the Midwest to California to kickstart her career, this ultimatum was a lot of pressure. Although the single did pretty well, it wasn’t enough for Chappell Roan’s previous label. The singer had to move back to Missouri, where she gave herself a year to save enough money and try again — if not, she would give up on her music career. Thankfully, everything worked out. Her debut album The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess ranked in Rolling Stones and Billboard, to name a few. 

Chappell Roan is unashamedly queer, in the past identifying more as bisexual or pansexual. In a recent interview, she called herself a lesbian, and said she isn’t dating men anymore. 

Kehlani 

I don’t have any relationships with men anymore. I’ve been out as a lesbian for two years.

Kehlani’s solo career started in 2014, with her debut mixtape Cloud 19. They continued their independent artist streak with the mixtape You Should Be Here (2015). Kehlani rose to fame after signing with Atlantic Records, where she released her first studio album, SweetSexySavage. Since then, they released two more albums, and one mixtape, as well as multiple singles. This April, Kehlani released After Hours, which is the lead single of their next album. 

Kehlani was out as bisexual for a long time, even having child with their ex-boyfriend. They opened up about identifying as a lesbian in 2021, and confirmed they still identified as such in a podcast last year. 

Hayley Kiyoko

My journey has really been trying to normalize girls loving girls.

Hayley Kiyoko began her career as an actress. She starred on Disney’s Wizards of Waverly Place and Lemonade Mouth. Her solo artist career started with two EP’s, A Belle to Remember and This Side of Paradise. The latter contains the track Girls Like Girls, whose music video was directed by Hayley herself, and received millions of views. It was a prominent song and video for a lot of queer women, including myself. After that, Hayley Kiyoko released more songs for sapphics to latch onto, with her EP Citrine (2016) and her debut album Expectations (2018). Her sophomore album PANORAMA was released in 2022.

Hayley Kiyoko is known as “Lesbian Jesus” in the queer community, for the trailblazing work she has done in the music industry. She continues to deliver heartfelt music, her lyrics being the epitome of the lesbian experience. 

girl in red

Girl In Red (given name Marie Ulven Ringheim) began her music career in her bedroom, where she produced her first two EP’s chapter 1 (2018) and chapter 2 (2019). Her first single, i wanna be your girlfriend (2016) established her as an indie artist. Her single girls (2018) gained popularity on social media, as she talked about being attracted to girls, not boys. Girl In Red’s debut album if i could make it go quiet (2021) received lots of praise. Her music explores themes of mental health and relationships. Her latest album, I’M DOING IT AGAIN BABY! came out this month.

Girl In Red identified as queer, explaining that in Norwegian, the word “lesbian” was a slur. She reclaimed the word later on, the caption of one of her recent videos on TikTok being “proud lesbian”. 

Now that we have covered the most prominent lesbian names in the music industry, it is time to delve into the issues explored through lesbian music. 

Compulsive heterosexuality 

If you don’t know what compulsive heterosexuality is, consider yourself lucky. Comphet is the experience that lesbians go through, where we feel pressured by society and patriarchy to be attracted to men. Therefore, we try our best to date men, but in the end, it doesn’t work out. It is the constant voice in your head that tells you that you’re supposed to be with a man, not a woman or a non-binary person. However, since you can’t change who you are, it causes a lot of distress. It is the reason why most lesbians have a difficult time coming to terms with their sexuality. 

Crushing on best friend 

Who hasn’t been there? You have a close friendship with someone, and then you realise, you’re in love with them. This brings forth feelings of inadequacy, constant questioning whether they feel the same for you, as well as going back and forth between whether you should confess your love or keep quiet. There is the heavy weight of not ruining the friendship, because even having them as a friend means more than not having them at all.

Straight girl crush 

Almost the same as crushing on your best friend, except this can happen at any level of friendship or simply acquaintance. You develop feelings for someone who is straight. There is this unspoken thought that there is no happy ending, except your brain still holds onto the hope that maybe there is a slight chance they will be into you. Sometimes, there are mixed signals. Sometimes, the message is very clear. In any case, it’s not a great experience to go through. 

Commitment issues

Whether you’re the one with commitment issues, or the person you’re seeing is, it doesn’t look good. Most of the time, there is still a romantic or/and sexual relationship, but someone doesn’t want to put a label on that relationship. It can be hurtful for the other person who can might feel invalidated in their feelings. Not to mention the guilt of wanting more, while harbouring resentment for the person who doesn’t. If both people are on the same page about having a casual relationship, then it’s fine, but if not, run. It will not get better, and it is rare that the commitment phobia will change. 

Friends with your ex 

Sometimes stereotypes are true, and the one about lesbian relationships being intense is a prime example. It’s the reason why many of us stay friends with our exes, even though it’s unhealthy. There is almost no situation in which staying friends with your ex is going to bring peace of mind. Right after the break-up, there needs to be no contact. Otherwise, you’re going in circles of not moving on from them. They’re still present in your life, so one of you thinks there’s a chance you’re going to get back together, while the other is moving on. It adds onto the heartbreak, and it’s not fair to anyone involved.