Matty Healy: Sexual Fluidity and the Blurring Lines of Masculinity
Sex, drugs, and... mini skirts! Enter the world of The 1975’s Matty Healy as he inspires his fans to explore their sexual identities and expand their expressive boundaries.
Following in the footsteps of the great androgynous and sexually ambiguous artists before him, Matty Healy of The 1975 is using his ever-expanding platform to show the world that you don’t need to categorize yourself.
“I tend not to talk about my sexuality that explicitly because I don’t really have to, and all things are subject to change,” he explained in an interview. Healy faced backlash after kissing a male fan on stage at a show in Dubai because of their government’s violent suppression of LGBT rights, meaning the man he kissed could be targeted and potentially killed. Luckily, the man was safe, stating that it was the best night of his life and that he was grateful for the experience.
Healy’s upbringing reflects his open-mindedness about his sexuality; his parents were part of a vibrant social scene, allowing him to experience people of all genders and sexualities at a young age. In an interview, he noted that the first kiss he ever witnessed was between two men, a “formative experience” for him, he says. It piqued his interest into what love truly was, and how humans expressed it toward each other.
Even at the age of 31, Healy said he still questions his sexuality: “The idea of a conflicted sexuality is something loads of people go through.” Along with his delphic views of sexuality, he often questioned what it means to be masculine and if masculinity and sexuality are truly concatenated. He correlates true success with utter freedom from all societal barriers concerning sexuality and gender; the first successful people he looked up to were all sexually “free.”
From donning dresses and skirts in his music videos and live shows to proudly waving pride flags at concerts, Healy’s freedom of expression has invited criticism, support, and a newfound understanding for some people: in response to the question “Are you attracted to men?” Healy stated, “yes, but not in a carnal, sexual way.” While he enjoys the aesthetics of men, he would not currently pursue a sexual relationship with a man.
Many have called this a cop-out, an intrusion on the LGBT community, and gay-baiting. But, Healy made a statement on Twitter to clear the air: “I’m not playing a game and trying to take up queer spaces I’m simply trying to be an ally….” A queer media source criticized his use of language after he self-identified as an Aesthete, someone who defines their sexuality based on what they see as objectively beautiful.
“The other sex is still attractive, it’s just that sex is weird, isn’t it?” Healy referenced an essay by Elaine Scarry: On Beauty and Being Just. He explained that we as humans see beautiful people, no matter your sexuality or their gender and feel the urge for reciprocation: creating more beauty...reproduction.
In The 1975’s new album Notes on a Conditional Form, Healy wrote about a conflicting story: struggling to find a connection with a higher power and coming to terms with an ambiguous relationship: whether it be homosexual, concerning non-binary partners or a different narrative, is up to the listener.
Jesus Christ 2005 God Bless America, despite its satirical title, houses lyrics of innocent sorrow, the struggle of a child who cannot articulate the love they feel as it is burdened by their search for religion. It begins as a guitar ballad, lyrics sweet and unsullied: “I’m in love with Jesus Christ / He’s so nice / I’m in love I’ll say it twice… / I’m in love but I’m feeling low / For I am just a footprint in the snow.” Children are taught to love one another and especially love Jesus, yet they know no bounds of where that love may reach. Can I love a boy? How is the love I have for Jesus different than the love I have for the boy I know? This song is the internal monologue, the moral tug-of-war: “I’m in love with a boy I know / But that’s a feeling I can never show / Fortunately, I believe / Lucky me / Searching for planes in the sea.” The child identifies as a believer and is aware that he cannot expose his love for a boy, despite the acceptance of his love for Jesus. Whether this is written of personal experience for Healy and his band-mates, we are unsure.
Healy is a prime example of the modern man that is not afraid to question masculinity: Am I any less of a man when wearing a dress than pants? Am I gay because I find men attractive, or do I just think that anyone can be beautiful?
As Matt Healy explores his own sexuality, the youth are following in his footsteps. As more people come to view sexuality as a spectrum and not simply a black and white issue, the lines become blurred: what structures have we created as a society that restrict our expression, our freedom of self? If no one was there to judge you, who would you be?
This pride month, whether you are LGBT+, an ally, or questioning, take time to reflect on the way you view sexuality and masculinity and what experiences you have had to lead you to your beliefs. You might just discover that you are not much different from Matty.
