Despite attending most of high school and college in Texas, my knowledge of country music is limited to Dolly Parton, The Dixie Chicks, Garth Brooks and Wynonna. I know the names of many of the big country acts, but couldn’t name any of their songs or recognize their band members. That is changing today thanks to our friend Jeremy Hooper at goodasyou.org. In a post today, Jeremy recounts an interview Rascal Flatts singer Gary LeVox gave to Country Music Television recently about the band’s new single “Love Who You Love.”
Here’s an excerpt from Jeremy’s post – from the interview on the CMT blog:
We actually have some gay people that work with us, and we have a lot of friends that are gay, too, and I know that this song [“Love Who You Love”] has inspired them,” said [Rascal Flatts] singer Gary LeVox during an interview at CMT earlier this month. “I know that coming out was tough on their parents and on them and the whole entire family. For a long time, some of them didn’t get to hear ‘I love you’ from their dads or be accepted in that way. … It’s helped a lot of our friends.”
“That’s what’s cool about our music,” says guitarist Joe Don Rooney. “You can interpret (it like) that. If you get that — it’s perfect. If you are someone who’s gay or someone who’s straight, you still feel something from the song, and that’s what we want.”
This interview is one small step, to be sure, but it’s also a sign of progress and further proof that understanding of gay and lesbian people is not, and should not be, limited to urban settings or dance music fans. As the CMT blog post points out, Dolly Parton wrote a song for the movie Transamerica and Emmylou Harris and Lee Ann Womack have performed at the Human Rights Campaign’s annual gala dinner in Nashville.
Unfortunately, while at least a few country music stars apparently honor and respect gays and lesbians, country music media still has some work to do. The CMT blog post about Rascal Flatts’ new song also refers to the “gay lifestyle,” a sure sign that while Rascal Flatts may get it, the media folks who cover them still need a primer on language.
I’m still working on my post of the top ten words to avoid in gay and lesbian communications, but as I said two weeks ago, referring to “the gay lifestyle” or people “living that lifestyle” minimizes who gays and lesbians are as people. And unwittingly or not, people who use that kid of terminology are committing a major error. In reducing us to a “type” or an “other” in this way, these people are categorizing us as less than equal.
Being LGBT isn’t a “lifestyle choice,” an “alternative option” or any other choice. It’s a life. It’s our life. It’s part of who we are as people and human beings. Inferring anything else is more than inappropriate: it’s hurtful and wrong. My “lifestyle” is my life – nothing more and nothing less – and not a lot different from many other people, straight or gay. And that seems to be the point of Rascal Flatts’ new song.
Here’s a promo slide show for “Love Who You Love” – you can buy the song on iTunes starting today.
SUBSCRIBE