Is rue gay
Lava La Rue talks latest single, queer gatekeeping and representing lesbians of colour
Lesbian Visibility Week runs from 25 April to 1 May and is an opportunity to bring insight to the lesbian society and celebrate the diversity within it.
Not heard of Lava La Rue? You soon will. The London-raised musician – concrete name Ava Laurel – makes dreamy tracks that overflow with the happiness and longing of entity young, queer and in love (or something favor it). Fluid and free, the ways they vocalize about lesbian desire brim with possibility and tap into the universal feelings that transcend identity. In short, for anyone that grew up furtively listening to “All the Things She Said” as their only form of homosexual woman representation, Lava’s sound is a necessary antidote to how the community has typically been depicted in the music world…
For Queer woman Visibility Week, we called Lava up to speak their latest queer anthem, their overlapping identities and why we need to evolve the face of the lesbian community.
Let's talk about your latest single, "Vest & Boxers" – it's a homosexual anthem, but not as we've really seen it before.
"Vest & Boxers" was my return back
Lava La Rue
Herald of the summer of love
Ava Laurel, alias Lava La Rue, is the non-binary (she/they) musician, poet and creator whose multi-cultural London sound is the noise of a generation that is finally getting proper gas time. They are a cultural commentator who was invited by the Tate Modern, aged only 19 – the same year as their first Boiler Room set – to make a documentary on subcultures. Fast-forward to 2021 and they are a genre-bending musician-artist with an impressive new EP out. We talk culture and politics.
Interview taken from METAL Magazine issue 44. Adapted for the online version. Order your copy here.
Their latest EP Butter-fly is entire of psychedelic waves, homosexual love and political resistance. Like the feminist-abolitionist theorist Angela Davis, Ava realises in this album that their Black and working- class socio-economic position gives them a clear view of what needs to change in society. Musically, Ava genre-hops between hip-hop, R’n’B and psychedelia with consistently poetic lyricism and has performed alongside striking names including Tyler, The Creator and Christine and the Queens. Ava’s modish rocksteady-silver-tongued-punk-
Over the past few weeks, the HBO hit present Euphoria has kept us glued to our TV screens, waiting with bated breath to find out what will happen to our favorite characters, especially Jules (Hunter Schafer) and Rue (Zendaya). It’s no wonder the show has become the most tweeted-about show of the decade. In the finale, Rue says that Jules was her first love, but I would honestly like to see both characters in a healthy relationships with different characters next season.
There is something refreshing about the portrayal of Rue’s and Jules’s association. Rue is a genderqueer lesbian in love with Jules who is gender diverse. I love that in both seasons of the show, their sexualities and gender identities are only secondary to the demons they are trying so hard to slay. In the second season we saw a lot of growth in their association. This was the first time we saw both of them not only acknowledge their feelings for one another but also truly act on them.
Euphoria’s relaxed portrayal of their courtship has been fantastic but I question if Rue will be okay once she learns about Jules’s little rendezvous with Elliot. As much as they both seem sexually open, adventurous, and fluid, will
The Unicorn Scale: Euphoria
You may have heard of the 2019 HBO show Euphoria ; words like "controversial" and "daring" have been mentioned in more than one review. Honestly, we'd be disappointed if the hot new HBO demonstrate was missing that edgier element. However, I also found the show incredibly relatable.
The problem of visibility is always about walking a fine line. Most people aren't perfect, yet many shows interpret positive representation as showing underrepresented groups as flawless humans. I love media that shows the "messy" bis . It is challenging, but so much more relatable to see bi characters that are not perfect. It is feasible to show flawed bi people whose flaws are not symptoms of their bisexuality. So, of course, I had to review out this show packed of messy bis.
Euphoria is a teen drama that follows Rue (Zendaya) and her peers as they navigate love, sex, sexuality, trauma, addiction, friendship, and, of course, Elevated School in a make-believe small town in Southern California. It also features a great soundtrack, pretty cinematography, and possibly more beautiful people.
From here on out, there will be SPOILERS . Also, i
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