I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but the queer lady internet has been going crazy over the recently released video for “Closer” by Tegan and Sara. This generally happens after every video, but what makes this one different is the fact that two women are actually shown kissing. This shouldn’t be a big deal, but sadly, queer content appearing in a queer artist’s video IS a big deal, because it just doesn’t really happen (No, this does not count). In this video, the two women are actually portrayed in what I consider to be a non-exploitative manner. In other words, I feel like it is a genuine, cute moment that is not pandering to a male gaze and/or fetishizing lesbians. Although, I have to say, upon hearing the hype before I actually watched the video, I envisioned this being a bigger part of the video’s storyline. The fact that such a short moment caused all of this uproar made it kind of disappointing (it’s over in about a nanosecond, while a heterosexual couple canoodling on top of a car gets way more coverage).
But I digress. Too often, girl-on-girl action portrayed in the media features heterosexual women clearly playing along for the benefit of men (this post has some great examples). Whatever your feelings about Tegan and Sara musically, any mainstream thing that shows queer ladies for queer ladies’ sake is a welcome sight to me. What do you think?
If for no other reason, you should probably watch this video just to pick out which of the 9 Definitive Elements of Every Tegan and Sara Music Video appear this time around. Hint below.
blondie bites 