Breaking news: Satanic panic is sweeping the nation because ignorant people don’t understand art symbolism. In other words, Lil Nas X released his highly anticipated song he teased for about a year, Montero (Call Me By Your Name), along with a visually stunning music video featuring some devilish acts.
With a bit of brain power and critical thinking, you can decipher that the whole music video and concept behind Montero (the rapper’s real name), is about taking pride in his sexuality as a gay man. Literally, the music video starts off with Lil Nas X narrating, “We hide the parts of ourselves we don’t want the world to see. We lock them away, we tell them no, we banish them. But here, we don’t.” Lil Nas X’s descent into hell through the video is a clear reference to the commonly held Christian belief that homosexuality is a sin and giving into those “temptations” earns you a spot in hell. Lil Nas X, therefore, is embracing the part of his identity that is condemned, unapologetically leaving the paradise apparently reserved only for straight people and sliding into hell where he can live his life authentically.
All over social media and even on Fox News, conservative Christians are discussing what a horrible influence this is on their young, impressionable children. Conservative politicians pitched in their two cents about the matter to scold Lil Nas X as well, because apparently in this pandemic where citizens have received little to no relief, they don’t have anything better to do.
Montero (Call Me By Your Name) is and never was about hell and demons and the devil, even for those misinterpreting it; this is about a gay black man choosing to be himself, which unfortunately places Lil Nas X in the crossfire of homophobia and racism. References and imagery of the devil are all too common in popular culture, whether in the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina or Lucifer, both of which have never received the magnitude of outrage Lil Nas X is receiving. It’s not a coincidence that those white characters playing off concepts of the devil in a positive light are not being met with a fraction of the backlash Lil Nas X has received.
When considering how accessible the Montero music video and the Netflix shows are to children (which has been a concern to parents who don’t monitor their children’s internet activities), there is really no difference. A child can just as easily click on an episode of those Netflix shows about the devil as they can click on the music video for Montero, so where does the issue that they have with Montero really reside in? Besides that, you can’t claim to be concerned about what media your child is consuming on the internet if you give them free range over it.
Some have even gone as far as discussing how young Lil Nas X’s fanbase is because of Old Town Road, but the target audience of that song was never for children in the first place. Again, it’s the parent’s responsibility to monitor their child’s internet activities, and it’s ridiculously naive to expect that celebrities will all act on their best behavior and conform to their good ole kid-friendly Christian values. At the end of the day, this isn’t a song for kids (not because it features a gay person, obviously) because the song talks about hookups and drugs. Just as you can limit your child’s viewing of other sexually explicit media, you can easily do so with Lil Nas X, so again, is that really the issue they have with Lil Nas X? Or, is this just a transparent guise to mask their homophobia? Otherwise, you might as well just start emailing every porn star and anybody who posts adult content on the internet to take down their videos, which would be an idiotic and tireless venture.
Even so, those who are outraged at how Lil Nas X must realize that no one is obligated to conform to Christian beliefs or respect them. No matter what Lil Nas X says in his songs, what imagery he puts in his music video or how many Satan shoes he sells, he is not bringing about harm to anyone. The same cannot be said for those outraged by this music video or for those who condone and spread homophobic sentiments that actually do put lives at risk. Just this week, the state of Arkansas passed a bill banning gender affirming healthcare for transgender youth. The LGBTQ+ community endures physical and mental harm in a variety of ways in our supposed “progressive” and advanced society, and those hateful sentiments and actions that cause this violence originate from the same people criticizing “Montero (Call Me By Your Name).”
In fact, Lil Nas X is doing much more for the youth than those who claim that he is corrupting them. LGBTQ+ representation is important, especially amongst BIPOC communities, because young people need to know that their existence is valid and that they too can express themselves freely. Specifically in the rap genre, it’s refreshing to see Lil Nas X breaking norms just by being his own self and describing relationships with a man instead of the heterosexual ones always depicted. There is power in normalizing and taking pride in LGBTQ+ identities in a society that only accepts those who fit a specific mold, and Lil Nas X’s Montero (Call Me By Your Name) is the perfect and inspiring example of that power