Kehlani talks ‘straight-presenting’ privilege after coming out as a lesbian
"A lot of artists who we talk about and say, ‘Oh, they had to come out or they had to do this,’ a lot of them can’t hide it"
Words: Jamie Tabberer; pictures: Atlantic
Kehlani has opened up about the experience of “straight-presenting” privilege in a new interview.
The discussion follows the star coming out as a lesbian in an Instagram Live video this week.
Speaking to The Advocate, Kehlani also described being “cisgender-presenting”, and how as such the treatment she receives in the music industry differs from some of her LGBTQ peers.
“It’s tougher for Black masculine gay women”
Speaking to the outlet – which also describes the star as queer and on a gender spectrum – Kehlani said she has “a lot of privilege [as a] cisgender-presenting, straight-presenting” person in a heteronormative world.
She added: “I think a lot of artists who we talk about and say, ‘Oh, they had to come out or they had to do this,’ a lot of them can’t hide it. A lot of it is very [much] in how they present. It’s tougher for them. It’s tougher for trans artists. It’s tougher for Black gay men. It’s tougher for Black masculine gay women.”
Elsewhere in the interview, she added: “I didn’t even really have to come out in my private life. I don’t walk down the street and people look at me and go, Oh, I bet she’s queer. Or I bet that she’s into women or anything like that because of the way I present.
“That’s all privilege and I think that there are quite a few artists who were truly at the forefront but weren’t able to make the strides that I was able to make being 100 percent myself because of the way they present and the biases and the phobias of the American public and the world…. I’ve been lucky, super lucky.”
Kehlani is also known for songs such as ‘Good Thing’, ‘Can I’ and ‘Gangsta’.
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