Can Pop Music Save LGBT Lives?

Danceable confections or shallow songs of teenage angst, with fame achievable by cute stars with mediocre talent. Pop music doesn't always garner respect. As Alex Hawgood of the New York Times points out, however, several pop stars -- including Lady Gaga, Ke$ha, Katy Perry, P!nk, and Taylor Swift -- have recently created songs aimed at LGBT youth, songs of inspiration and hope in the face of ongoing bullying and harassment.

Pop music has had a long history of inspiring the gay community, as Hawgood notes, going back to the disco era. (I leave aside the whole subject of 1970's "women's music," which had a much different history than the club music associated with gay male culture.) Today's songs, though, are more "defiant" and "optimistic," says Hawgood, with singles like P!nk's "Raise Your Glass" and Lady Gaga's upcoming "Born This Way" coming across as "less 'I Will Survive' and more 'We Have Arrived.'"

Hawgood notes, however, the "whiff of opportunism" around some of the stars, such as Ke$ha and Katy Perry -- especially the latter, who caught flak from the LGBT community over her song "Ur So Gay." To my mind, P!nk, who received an Ally for Equality Award from the Human Rights Campaign last month, and Lady Gaga, who spoke at the National Equality March for LGBT rights a year ago, seem more sincere and engaged.

I think we need to ask, however, how many of these stars are donating funds to the Trevor Project, Gay Straight Alliances, and other organizations on the front lines? How many have purchased $20 Safe Space Kits from the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) to send to the middle school(s) or high school(s) of their choice? I'm thinking that a small percentage of one concert's earnings could fund a whole lot of schools.

Or, just like a bunch of Broadway stars did when they released the song "It Gets Better" for bullied youth, the pop stars could donate proceeds from downloads of their relevant singles to Trevor, GLSEN, or another organization. There is some value in simply having the songs out there, of course -- it is hard to put a price on inspiration. But there is practical value they can also bring by giving schools that can barely afford textbooks the resources to help create environments where all students can learn safely. They could start with their own alma maters.

At the very least, the stars could use their Web sites to help raise awareness. If you go to Lady Gaga's official Web site, ladygaga.com, for example, you will first see a splash screen expressing her disappointment that the U.S. Senate did not pass a repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."  I'd love to see all of the above stars put up links to Trevor and other resources for LGBT youth.

Although I can't claim to like the music of all the singers above, I think pop musicians do have the potential to make a difference, through their music, their very visible example, and their money. If they can prove they're about more than their own self-interest, I'll raise my glass to that.

Photo credit: Staci F.