Known to fans as the lesbian Jesus, Hayley Kiyoko has been helping set a benchmark for queer representation in pop music since the 2015 release of her single and music video “Girls Like Girls.”
Hot off the release of her debut album, “Expectations” and a headlining U.S. tour, she reflects on her journey toward living authentically in a new Rolling Stone interview. In it, the pop singer-songwriter says she came to identify as gay at age 6 and recalls how her attraction to girls drove her deep into isolation as an adolescent.
“No one knew what I did on the weekends,” Kiyoko says. “Everyone would always think I was with someone else, but I was alone. I was lonely. I was at home watching movies.”
She continues, “All the girls would go to the Promenade [an upscale Los Angeles shopping mall] to hang out with cute boys, and it made me feel very alone. It was depressing to watch girls that I liked flirt with guys. So I just stayed home.”
Kiyoko says she first told her parents she identified as queer in sixth grade, only to have them dismiss her same-sex attraction as “a phase.” In high school she was rebuffed by her best friend, for whom she had developed feelings.
“This is what’s funny about being gay: I look back and I remember her as a girlfriend,” she tells Rolling Stone. “We would tell each other we loved each other and hold hands under the table. She would cuddle me and tell me she missed me. When I went to kiss her, she looked at me like I was crazy and broke my heart.”
Things began to change when she began living on her own at 20 and garnered a circle of queer-identifying female friends. These days, however, the 27-year-old Kiyoko admits dating can be a struggle. “Normally I will date women who haven’t dated women before because I like a challenge,” she says. “I need to stop the madness because here I am single.”
“I love women,” she adds. “They need to love me back.”
Check out the full Rolling Stone interview with Hayley Kiyoko.
This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
Hot off the release of her debut album, “Expectations” and a headlining U.S. tour, she reflects on her journey toward living authentically in a new Rolling Stone interview. In it, the pop singer-songwriter says she came to identify as gay at age 6 and recalls how her attraction to girls drove her deep into isolation as an adolescent.
“No one knew what I did on the weekends,” Kiyoko says. “Everyone would always think I was with someone else, but I was alone. I was lonely. I was at home watching movies.”
She continues, “All the girls would go to the Promenade [an upscale Los Angeles shopping mall] to hang out with cute boys, and it made me feel very alone. It was depressing to watch girls that I liked flirt with guys. So I just stayed home.”
Kiyoko says she first told her parents she identified as queer in sixth grade, only to have them dismiss her same-sex attraction as “a phase.” In high school she was rebuffed by her best friend, for whom she had developed feelings.
“This is what’s funny about being gay: I look back and I remember her as a girlfriend,” she tells Rolling Stone. “We would tell each other we loved each other and hold hands under the table. She would cuddle me and tell me she missed me. When I went to kiss her, she looked at me like I was crazy and broke my heart.”
Things began to change when she began living on her own at 20 and garnered a circle of queer-identifying female friends. These days, however, the 27-year-old Kiyoko admits dating can be a struggle. “Normally I will date women who haven’t dated women before because I like a challenge,” she says. “I need to stop the madness because here I am single.”
“I love women,” she adds. “They need to love me back.”
Check out the full Rolling Stone interview with Hayley Kiyoko.
This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
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