Last month, influencer and “Dance Moms” alumnae JoJo Siwa came out as a member of the LGBTQ community through a combination of social media posts. It started on Jan. 22, when she posted on Twitter that her cousin had gotten her a shirt that said “Best Gay Cousin.” She then posted a video on TikTok of her lip-synching to Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way,” and later posted a picture to her Instagram of her wearing a Gucci jacket with pride colors on it. She eventually posted a video to her IGTV (Instagram videos) confirming that she was coming out.
Siwa has not officially placed a label on herself as to her exact sexuality, but has said that, “I always believed that my person was just going to be my person. And if that person happened to be a boy, great, and if that person happened to be a girl, great!”
Siwa’s parents have been supportive, and she has gotten support from fans and celebrities on social media. Lil Nas X posted “If you spell ‘swag’ backwards, it’s ‘gay’. Coincidence??”
Twitter user @sapphicbisexual posted “If you don’t think jojo siwa coming out as gay is a big deal; just remember that there are lgbt kids that watch her videos that may have felt so alone with their identity and seeing the person they look up to coming out makes them feel safer and more comfortable with themselves.”
There have been some parents who have reacted negatively to the news, including one parent who commented “My daughter will never watch you again” on Siwa’s coming out video. Siwa cheerfully responded with “Okay!”
There has also been an incident where Siwa was swatted. Swatting, a federal crime, refers to a tactic where someone (or a group of people) call the police and make a false claim about a serious crime to get the police (such as the SWAT unit, hence the name) to appear at a particular address. In the past, swatting has been used as a means of harassment or violence against others. In Dec. 2017, when two Call of Duty players got into an argument over a bet, one of them swatted the other, which resulted in the death of a third uninvolved party. In Siwa’s case, however, the swatting was done by paparazzi in order to draw Siwa out of her home, presumably so that she could be photographed or interviewed.
I’m a bit too old for Siwa’s demographic (despite only being three years older than her), but I wish her the best. As a minor and someone who works in children’s media, there is a lot of pressure on her to stay quiet about topics like the LGBTQ community for fear of upsetting parents. I’m glad that she’s been able to express herself despite that. Like @sapphicbisexual said, seeing someone you look up to express their identity as a member of the LGBTQ community can be helpful for young people who may be questioning their sexuality, For those who aren’t, the presence of people like Siwa helps to normalize the presence of LGBTQ people. All in all, I expect Siwa to continue on in her rainbow-and-sparkle-decked glory, and I’m glad she can do it from her platform.
Categories: Opinion
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