It can be hard for any queer person to know how best to celebrate Pride, something I’m appreciating anew at 30-going-on-31 (which, yes, is objectively Not Old, but still makes me feel like a crone every time I go to the Woods on a Wednesday night and everyone looks young and dewy-skinned enough to be my biological daughter). Gay bars are always a popular choice, but, like clockwork, they get crowded and claustrophobic every June. And when it comes to parades? Sorry, but I have all the promotional bank T-shirts I need already.
In my quest this month to find new places to hang out and affirm my queer identity without getting a) sweaty, b) overwhelmed, or c) unattractively drunk, I’ve identified Pride paradise in an unlikely place: the Instagram comments of one Ms. Chappell Roan, a.k.a. the Femininomenon herself, whose sex-forward lyrics and recent transformation into a chaps-clad Statue of Liberty—to say nothing of her pointed refusal to perform at the White House—have cemented her as an LGBTQ+ icon in her own time.
For queer, trans, or gender-nonconforming people, Instagram comment sections can be absolute cesspools, but Roan’s are a friendly, rainbow-bathed, who’s-who of the cool-kid scene, with everyone from Ariana Grande to Rina Sawayama to indie label Fashion Brand Company logging on to make their standom known. (Plus, Roan recently got a follow from no less a club-banger authority than Carly Rae Jepsen…collab soon, queens?) Witness the magic for yourself below:
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As if the celeb factor of Roan’s Instagram presence weren’t enough, her comment section has also become something of a meeting spot for very online queers who might not necessarily have a lesbian bar in their hometowns:
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And, of course, like any queer pop star worth her salt, Roan (who is currently riding high on the release of her recent single “Good Luck, Babe!”) is even reaching the “shouldn’t be allowed to witness the splendor of gay Instagram” demographic:
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I wouldn’t wish a Terminally Online Existence on any celebrity I love, especially not the woman who took us all to the Pink Pony Club, but I have to admit there’s something extremely sweet about the level of Instagram adoration that Roan seems to inspire in queer teens and her fellow famous pop stars alike. Maybe I’ll eventually find the stamina to celebrate Pride in person again, but until then, you know where to find me: staked out in Roan’s Instagram comments, enjoying the show.
