This is a sapphic summer – songs about women who love women are one of the year's big trends in the music world.
Music journalist Tina Mehrafzoon links the wave to a more open climate, not least on social media.
Artists dare to show all their nuances, she says.
Former reality TV participant Jojo Siwa, 21, met strong criticism this spring when she declared that she had invented a new type of music genre – "gay pop". The resistance on social media was tough, and many pointed out that she was hardly the first in the music world to sing about same-sex love. Siwa later nuanced her statement, saying she rather wanted to broaden the genre.
However, sapphic pop has recently taken a strong position on the world's top lists. Billie Eilish's oral sex song "Lunch" has become one of the summer's big hits. Similarly, Chappell Roan's "Good luck, babe!", which depicts a relationship where one partner denies their lesbian feelings.
The xx member Romy has started a strong solo career, including the song "She's on my mind", and has told Dagens Nyheter in an interview that she wants to normalize and make queer relationships visible in pop music.
Reaction to backlash
On the international music scene, there are also names like Girl In Red, St Vincent, Muna, Fletcher... the list can be made long. At home, artists Ellen Krauss and Kerstin Ljungström are two interpreters of same-sex relationships.
But despite the fact that the situation for LGBTQ people is improving in some parts of the world, rights are being restricted in other parts. According to Tina Mehrafzoon, music journalist at P3, there are two ways to look at the lesbian music boom.
You can interpret this as a reaction to the fact that things are going backwards in development. At the same time, there is a more cultural liberation, people dare to express themselves more freely within the pop scene.
"No hate messages"
Culture journalist Saga Cavallin is also of the opinion that the new media landscape allows for more and more niche expressions, which may have been rejected by radio stations earlier.
It was harder to reach out with lyrics that deal with homosexuality, it wasn't as easy for artists to sing about, especially in the USA, she says.
In an interview with The Guardian from earlier this summer, indie pop artist King Princess looks back on when she released the song "Pussy is good" in 2018, and notes that the tone on social media has changed.
You don't get hate messages when you talk about being gay, because people have realized how iconic it is to lick pussy, she says.
