Iconic Representation in Music 2022: Lil Nas X, Dove Cameron, and More!

The LGBTQ community must be raving right now! 2022 was an amazing year for Pride, and here are some of the most iconic Pride moments that went down this year.

From fundraising to setting records to Internet catfights-2022 has seen its fair share of iconic moments that will forever be cemented in Pride history.

Remember when Beyonce paid homage to Black queer culture with the release of her highly-anticipated album, "Renaissance"?

The "Single Ladies" singer dedicated the album to her late Uncle Johhny, who happened to be gay, as well as "all of the fallen angels whose contributions have gone unrecognized for far too long."

According to Billboard, Beyonce featured several underground queer music acts who shaped house music like Moi Renee, MikeQ, Kevin Jz Prodigy, and Kevin Aviance.

Aviance explained to Billboard just how special the album meant to her: "The thought that she spent this whole time during COVID crafting this love letter - she heard us. I'm just so appreciative of this album, it does a number on me."

Just like Beyonce, another artist decided to take it upon herself to make a stand for the community and talk about the harmful stereotypes that surround it.

Maren Morris got into a particularly nasty virtual catfight with Jason Aldean's wife, Brittany Aldean, after the country star's wife posted misinformation about the transgender community on Instagram.

Morris, along with Cassadee Pope, called out Aldean, through Twitter. "You'd think celebs with beauty brands would see the positives in including LGBTQ+ people in their messaging," wrote Pope.

"I will say we can handle this s**t. We've dealt with idiots, you know, for years saying insanely stupid stuff [to] us," said Morris.

"I'm just so sick of looking at absolute horses**t on the internet and people getting away with it, much less being celebrated for it."

Because of this catfight, Morris opted out of attending this year's CMA Awards because the Aldeans were in attendance.

Meanwhile, in a less dramatic turn of events, Lil Nas X reportedly raised almost half a million dollars for HIV/AIDS research.

To show his thanks for all the love he's received after the release of his debut album, "Montero," the singer decided to give back to the community by launching the "baby registry."

The Georgia native donated to 16 organizations, with 14 of those organizations working to address the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the Southern portion of the country, where he hails from.

Although Dove Cameron did not do any fundraising this year, she did, however, surprise everyone by coming out as queer.

Given that being queer is a big part of her identity, the "Boyfriend" singer decided to make a stand and represent the community-something she never thought she would do, as she had come from the kids' channel, Disney.

"It felt like something that I could never talk about," she revealed. "I feel like the industry has changed a lot in terms of having room for people with platforms to be human and not to be picked apart.

"I was really nervous to come out, and one day, I dropped it because I was behaving like somebody who was out and I realized I wasn't."

Tags

LGBTQ, Dove Cameron, Beyonce