Sam Smith and the "gentle revolution" of "My Guy"

Sam Smith is sparking a "gentle revolution" in pop music with their new single, "My Guy." Unlike their previous chart-topper "Unholy," this ballad is a straightforward love song that uses a masculine noun to explicitly refer to a same-sex relationship, a move that carries significant weight for LGBTQ+ representation in the mainstream.

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You can dream it all that you want, but you can't have my boy You can't have him you can try try tryA breath of fresh air, a rose on the vineOh, I could just stare at him all the time time timeHe's my guy

Barry Walters, a writer for Rolling Stone and author of the new book "Mighty Real: A History of LGBTQ Music, 1969-2000," explains the impact of such a simple linguistic choice. For many in the LGBTQ+ community, relating to popular music often requires mentally substituting genders in lyrics. Smith's directness, amplified by their global fame and multi-million record sales, bypasses this need, making the song accessible and affirming for queer audiences.

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When I hear love songs sung by straight men, I mentally switch the gender of their nouns so I can relate to what they're singing about. This is what gay people do. Most hits aren't designed for us, not even those by us.

Walters draws a parallel between Smith's subtle approach and the history of LGBTQ+ artists who have pushed boundaries. While figures like Little Richard and David Bowie used more overt forms of rebellion and gender provocation, Smith's "gentle revolution" represents a different, yet equally impactful, way of advancing queer musical content. The song's simple, repeated use of "my guy" is presented as a powerful, albeit quiet, statement in the ongoing evolution of LGBTQ+ visibility in popular culture.

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Revolution has never sounded so gentle.