Jojo Siwa
I think one of the most interesting topics currently would be JoJo Siwa and her attempts to almost erase any type of queer identification she previously had from the internet. Through the last year she has gotten accused of adopting a "Trad Wife" identity, even going as far as making a cover to "Betty Davis Eyes" that depicted her in the role of a trad wife. Alot of individuals have been harmed by her choice to ignore her previous identity and to almost erase any sense of queer identity she once had. It almost appears as if she is ashamed, she ever developed this sense of style, which is extremely offensive and harmful to the LGBTQ+ community. She even cheated on her girlfriend with a man after being openly out as a lesbian for years and then chose to ignore the elephant in the room for months before finally beating around the bush and saying she is queer identifying. I definitely don't agree with her actions, if anything I think many of her actions have been harmful towards the LGBTQ+ community, I believe a lot of what she does is for views and popularity even if the publicity she receives is not necessarily good.
I also found this super interesting because her whole situation to me seemed a bit weird. She advocated for the queer community for such a long period of time and then all of a sudden completely changed her whole identity and started dating a man. Obviously date whoever you want, that's not the issue. But I agree, I think she is almost reversing everything she did for so many years.
ReplyDeleteI find this quite interesting as I have always had some vendetta against Jojo for no real reason. Everything she did just rubbed me the wrong way. She created such a large platform for herself from a young age and has since then always seemed to change her platform and identity after upsetting her fanbase. I definitely do not agree with what she did after claiming she was a lesbian, dating multiple women, then ultimately dating a man and essentially erasing that part of her life from the internet. I'm not focused on who she was dating rather I am focused on how she is using her platform now as if she is a 'traditional' life partner now that she is in a straight relationship.
ReplyDeleteI think we can all agree that Jojo is an interesting person. I also saw one of her more recent videos and was majorly confused at her most recent character change. Even if she no longer identifies as LGBTQ+, she shouldn't erase her support for the community and apparently now support traditional gender roles.
ReplyDeleteI found what you said to be very realistic, honestly a lot of our “childhood idols” happen to end up as content creators doing everything for views and “clout” now. When I was younger I always watched dance moms and even then Jojo was a very interesting character. (I loved her personality but NOT that voice lol) However, I feel as if she took it wayy to far with her publicity stunts. I do not thinks she should be using her sexuality as a way to get views because that can to me feels like she was never truly apart of the LGBTQ+ and it was all to boost her online persona.
ReplyDeleteI think it’s interesting and I wouldn’t want to attempt to erase the queer experiences they had because going past the lens of the internet/social media, they looked real and seemed genuine. I remember within the same year she came out, she also cut off a lot of hair and rocked a new edgy style, and she wasn’t invited to the Kid’s Choice Awards despite being associated with Nickelodeon for years. Even when she was on Big Brother UK, she publicly discriminated by one of the contestants (who was later removed). Of course people have the right to change their style and not feel so boxed in by what society thinks a lesbian or queer identifying person to dress, but it’s worth mentioning and holding her accountable for cheating on her parter openly on television, and soon not even advocating for queer and trans youth. Again, I don’t want to deny the experiences she had (bi phobia is high and strong especially if a fem presenting bisexual person dates the opposite sex), but I wouldn’t put it past anyone who wanted to say it could’ve been done for clout, or shock value.
ReplyDeleteI definitely find this particular situation very interesting, and I'm very glad you decided to bring it up. While it completely okay that gender identity and sexuality can be ever changing, and hard to label, what is not okay is attempting to erase these experiences, knowing that you have a large platform of people who use you as an inspiration. Jojo became such an influence for a lot of queer youth who needed someone to look up to, and to then attempt to completely erase that could be very harmful to these young kids who were now using her as a role model, as it could show them that maybe it isn't okay after all, and force them back into very dark and isolate places.
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