Source: Daniel Boczarski / Getty Words, words, words. On one hand, they can be meaningless compared to say, sticks and stones. But on another hand, they can mean the world — especially when talking about gender and sexuality. Kehlani found this out when she decided to share her definition of “queer” online. In a Sunday tweet that has since been deleted, Kehlani proclaimed “cuz I keep geddin asked… I’m queer. Not bi, not straight. I’m attracted to women, men, REALLY attracted to queer men, non binary people, intersex people, trans people. lil poly pansexual papa hello good morning. Does that answer your questions?” She continued in another deleted tweet, “and since we on that… I’m the LEAST attracted to straight men, y’all really adorable sometimes tho. Bisexual men really are little gifts from god tho.” This isn’t the first time Kehlani has brought the term “queer” into the public spotlight. In a 2017 interview she said she was happy to be in an “openly queer relationship.” It’s a loaded term that has a history of ridicule and shame. But now, many folks have reclaimed it as an umbrella term used to describe people who don’t limit their sexuality to one gender. Kehlani explained her queer identity further to a follower who questioned why she didn’t use “gay.” https://twitter.com/Kehlani/status/988162673379491840 She also explained how she’s all for reclaiming queer. https://twitter.com/Kehlani/status/988169922810281984 Despite Kehlani educating folks on her identity, the singer still got a little pushback from some people across the gender spectrum (trans folks, intersex folks, etc.) who thought she was fetishizing them in her first tweet. It turned into a learning moment for Kehlani that proved even queer folks have room to discuss and grow. Swipe through to find out how she handled the criticism!
