I didn’t expect a thorough review of Katy Perry’s album [“Editor’s Pick,” Vol. 18 #7], but I was surprised that you didn’t mention some strong reactions caused by her song “I Kissed a Girl.”
Some (and I am among them) see it as exploitative. This song reminds me of one of those porn movies featuring “lesbians” but directed at straight men, from the clichéd lyrics (“Us girls, we are so magical/Soft skin, red lips, so kissable,” “Good girls don’t do that”) to the wink at the straight male audience: “I hope my boyfriend don’t mind it.”
Perry is probably describing her own experience, shared by many other women, and she certainly has the right to write a song about it. I just expected curve’s review to be less superficial, due to the fact that its audience’s perspective is more than likely to differ from that of the mainstream audience that made Perry’s song such a hit.
—Emery Brown, Chicago
Editor’s Note: Well, Emery, don’t think we didn’t discuss it, but in my 20-plus years of dating and sleeping with other women, I’ve learned that a whole lot of us hard-core dykes once started out as girls trying to titillate boys in some way, often to test the waters before jumping headfirst into the lesbian pool. Honestly, girls are magical, our lips are much softer and if Katy Perry wants to test the lesbian waters, baby, I’m ready with my rubber ducky.