Sam Smith’s tour reactions prove once again that being queer puts a target on your back

I’m tired. I’m tired of scrolling TikTok, Facebook and Instagram to see people clutching their pearls over something Sam Smith, a literal pop star, is doing. I’m sick of people acting like it’s something they’ve never seen before in the history of music or performance, and that how their outrage is somehow saving the children of today from eternal corruption and damnation. Pop stars have dressed provocatively since the dawn of time – such is their prerogative. This thinly veiled outrage hides only one thing – and I’m sick of it. The Sam Smith outrage hypocrisy has to stop.

‘We know what the difference is here’

I saw a tweet yesterday that really resonated with me, and it was a sentiment I couldn’t believe hadn’t crossed my mind up until seeing it. “I just know if Lewis Capaldi did the exact same thing as Sam Smith on the left it would be found funny, but if Sam does it they’re a nonce. Both artists, both talented, both authentically themselves. Think we all know what the difference is here and I’m bored of seeing it.”

Accidental misgendering from the original tweeter aside (of which he has acknowledged and apologised for), it’s so right. When Lewis Capaldi does what Sam Smith does, it’s lapped up. When Sam Smith does it, it’s “what the hell has happened to Sam Smith?”

We all know the reason for this.

Sam Smith’s latest era is a big departure for them, sonically and visually. It’s seen them embrace their role as a pop star pushing queer boundaries, referencing Madonna on numerous occasions and going so far to cover her iconic clapback anthem Human Nature during the Gloria tour – touring worldwide as I write this. There’s been uproar because, if parents supervise, approve of it and buy their kid a ticket, they can go to the show. The Sam Smith hypocrisy is real, because the same rule stands for most gigs and you never hear a peep about it.

The right wing media and conservative pearl clutchers want you to think this is a show for children. They want you to think that Sam Smith is inviting children to this and making music for a young audience. They are not. Children consume pop music and the media as they have done since pop music and media were able to be consumed. When I sat and watched Christina Aguilera’s Dirty music video as a literal five year old, no one in the room turned it off – but no one in the room thought that it was being made for me. It was being made for adults.

When I played on GTA on my PlayStation when I was in primary school, my parents did not stop me. It wasn’t made for me, and no one was under any illusions that it was – but my parents accepted it. Guess what? We all turn out fine.

Influencer NoHun has been the subject of backlash this week after spamming well loved non-binary drag icon Bailey J Mills’ pregnant trans boyfriend with “Men can’t get pregnant”, an incorrect fact as Logan stands there living life as a pregnant trans man. His existence isn’t up for debate, it’s tangible. It’s right there.

NoHun has made it his mission with the content he creates to recently almost exclusively rant about people who use they/them pronouns, and specifically attack Sam Smith for their appearance and their stylistic choices in their visual performance. It wears thin, it’s baseless and it riles up a straight audience of local high school girlies who know no better.

When they see a gay person denouncing trans identities, it makes them feel like it’s okay for them to do it too. It sets a precedence. The outrage and hysteria regarding Sam Smith is present for all to see – and it’s okay for them to target it towards Sam, because Sam is queer and fat. If Lewis Capaldi wore a corset and some boots, best believe there’d be nothing but laughs. Nothing but praise for him being a “legend”.

The Sam Smith hypocrisy and bigotry is wearing thin. Leave queer people alone and stop this moral panic that has come from nowhere and is threatening to set back the progress we’ve been making since a trans woman threw the first brick at Stonewall. Don’t listen to the hate. We’re here. Trans and non-binary people deserve to have the same right to express themselves as anyone else does.

@harrisonjbrock

Related articles recommended by this writer:

• Conversion therapy is finally being banned, three years after government promised to end it

• ‘They tried to pray the gay away’: Growing up gay in a deeply religious household

• Uni’s a place for LGBTQ+ students to thrive, but this year many haven’t had the chance