page_title: I Kissed a Girl
section_title: Controversy
hierarchical_section_title: I Kissed a Girl / Critical reception / Controversy
caption_attribution_description: English: Katy Perry performing 2009-03-06 in Hamburg Germany
context_page_description: "I Kissed a Girl" is the debut single by American singer Katy Perry for her second studio album, One of the Boys. It was released on April 28, 2008 by Capitol Records as the lead single from the record. Perry co-wrote the song with Max Martin, Cathy Dennis, and its producer Dr. Luke, with additional production from Benny Blanco. "I Kissed a Girl" is a pop rock song with elements of new wave. Perry stated its lyrics are "about the magical beauty of a woman." The song sparked controversy for its handling of homosexual themes, but in retrospect has been viewed as the beginning to LGBT awareness in pop music.
  The song topped the US Billboard Hot 100 chart for seven consecutive weeks, becoming the 1,000th number-one song of the rock era. The single has sold over 4.7 million digital copies in the US alone. "I Kissed a Girl" is one of eight songs by Perry to sell over 4 million digital copies in the US, the others being "Hot n Cold", "California Gurls", "Firework", "E.T.", "Teenage Dream", "Roar" and "Dark Horse".
context_section_description: AllMusic concluded "the problem is not with Katy's gender-bending, it's that her heart isn't in it; she's just using it to get her places, so she sinks to crass, craven depths." Slant Magazine agreed, saying the song "isn't problematic because it promotes homosexuality, but because its appropriation of the gay lifestyle exists for the sole purpose of garnering attention — both from Perry's boyfriend and her audience."
  Adam Holz of PluggedinOnline, a division of Focus on the Family, wrote an article entitled "A Tale of Two Katys" about the singer's image transformation from a Contemporary Christian music artist to one of the "girls gone wild". He criticizes the song for being the latest, "high-profile message to young women and men that our sexuality is a malleable commodity that can be reshaped at will." Holz also argues that Perry's message carries with it "no need to worry about who might get used or objectified in the process," causing Perry to live "down to a damaging, demeaning stereotype". After numerous reports that Perry's religious parents were against her music and career, she stated in August 2008 "They love and support me."
  Though the Toronto Star describes it as "a lesbian-friendly tune", whether homophobia fuels negative reactions to the song or the song itself appears to divide critics. Slant and other critics suggest that Perry may be homophobic, especially given her single "Ur So Gay", which makes "I Kissed a Girl" seem like "a classic example of the 'Guys kissing is gross, girls kissing is hot' line of thought," which promotes hypersexualization of queer women and demonization of queer men. MomLogic.com writer Vuv-A-Licious agrees, asking "What's the big deal?..... When this tune is playing and my son and daughter are dancing, I will be trying to dance along, or trying to acknowledge that they may one day dance to the beat of a different drummer than me."
  When asked about her own sexuality, Perry told Santa Barbara magazine "I like to kiss boys, but there is no doubt in my mind if Angelina Jolie or Gisele Bündchen came a callin', who wouldn't pucker up?" Perry told The New Gay she had never actually kissed a girl and is heterosexual. She is quoted as saying "Yeah, it's fantasy, it's a song about curiosity." However, in a separate interview in 2010, Perry stated to a female interviewer that she has kissed several girls. Perry later admitted to Vanity Fair in early May 2011 that the reason she did not discuss it honestly at first was because a couple of "sleazy" male journalists made her uncomfortable, she stated: "So I said no, I hadn't experienced it, even though I had, because I didn't like where the guys were taking the interviews."
  In February 2009, Márcio Barros, a substitute English language teacher in a Distrito Federal, Brazil public school was fired after he used the song in a class activity among students aged 12 to 14. He was accused of promoting "homosexualism" and alcoholic beverages through the lyrics. The Secretary of Education supported the decision of the head of the school.
  
  In a February 2018 online Glamour article, Perry expressed the following about her song:
  "We've really changed, conversationally, in the past 10 years. We've come a long way. Bisexuality wasn't as talked about back then, or any type of fluidity. If I had to write that song again, I probably would make an edit on it. Lyrically, it has a couple of stereotypes in it. Your mind changes so much in 10 years, and you grow so much. What's true for you can evolve."
caption: Perry performing "I Kissed a Girl" at her Hello Katy Tour in March 2009
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