By Mia Swartz
For my subsection of the project, I will be discussing the way in which music from the 1980’s to now has given representation to the LGBTQIA+ community in pop culture, as well as to pay tribute to those victimized within the community following hate crimes specifically in music videos. I plan to discuss the influence of David Bowie on the expression of sexuality in the 70s and 80sas he was so inspirational in that sense to so many people, beginning with his donation of the song “All the Young Dudes” to the band Mott the Hoople. In terms of today, I am going to talk about the success of songs such as “Same Love” by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, “Born This Way” by Lady Gaga, and “Take Me to Church” by Hozier in using their music videos to shed light on the struggles of the LGBTQ+ community, as well as to celebrate the culture. Lastly, I will explore the effect of Sia’s music video for the song “The Greatest”, which she created specifically to honor the victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando.