apparently cishet people don't know that the song bohemian rhapsody is about freddie mercury accepting his queerness???

the song's sections mirror different stages of acceptance. in the opening, he's still wrestling with his identity. he feels like he's unintentionally killed the person he used to be, the person his mother loves, by simply trying to be himself.

hmm i wonder what truth about himself he had to "leave you all behind and face" hmm i guess theres zero historical hints as to what this famously queer person was wrestling with at the time!!

the middle section is the most interesting. he's using names of demons and religious figures not as specific references, but to illustrate to the spiritual magnitude of the internal battle he's facing. he feels like his sexuality is "monstrosity"--and begging it to "let me go"

it's important to note that a lot of queer people have feelings like this as they come out. particularly for freddie--born to a conservative and religious family in the mid-1940s, and coming out in the mid-1970s--it's eminently understandable he would struggle like this.

but you get the payoff you want in the song's thematic climax, where freddie finally unchains himself from his past. he invokes stoning, an old testament punishment for homosexuality, as he does so. he's fierce and no longer willing to compromise on who he is or what he deserves.

"extreme silliness." this is how the bbc described bohemian rhapsody in the opening to a whole article about the track. bish the only thing silly about it is the fact that non-queer ppl have been singing along for 45 years and still have no idea its about being a giant homo

the beeb is right about one thing: i can't think of a single song more universally known that is also more universally misunderstood--probably because understanding queerness has never been a priority of cishet music+art critics. if you read this thread tho, now u know