Dodie
I first heard of Dodie through her music video for the song ‘Sick of Losing Soulmates’. It was featured on a ‘Top 5’ list on Tumblr, featuring the best music videos involving gay women. Listening at a time in my life when any and all media featuring LGBT+ people was devoured instantly and repetitively, I had a field day. Her video showed the highs and lows of a lesbian relationship, but the song in itself didn’t identify any gender pronouns. It was about love, about a deep connection, and about being tired of losing it so many times.
Dodie has other songs that directly talk about her attraction to women, and to men. ‘She’, a song about her experience falling for a girl, was a fan favourite since she released it on YouTube in 2014, when she refrained from giving herself a label, and is now on Spotify. Now choosing to identify as a bisexual, having come out three years ago also on YouTube, she flaunts the pride flag onstage at her shows, celebrates pride, and supports LGBT+ and other minorities causes online on Twitter and Instagram.
What always got to me about her music is that her deeply personal songs are usually about mental health and the growing pains of adolescence, not exclusively about her experiences as part of the LGBT+ community. Yet it is hearing about her life struggles from the mouth of a person who I know is an out and proud bisexual woman which makes the experience feel more intimate, more relatable.
Words by Gio Chiconelli