Cultural Awakening Through Years & Years

A personal essay shows how Olly Alexander and Years & Years helped a reader accept bisexual identity across cultures.

Cultural Awakening Through Years & Years

An anonymous Guardian reader recalls discovering Olly Alexander and Years & Years during a BBC Glastonbury roundup. The writer describes growing up on the west coast of Ireland where homophobia lingered, and how the artist’s open queer presentation helped them acknowledge their attraction to men. The essay traces how listening to Communion on repeat and later Years & Years songs such as King and Shine coincided with a turning point in the writer’s life, including moments in taekwondo practice that felt like a bridge between masculine and feminine energies. The narrative ends with the music becoming a soundtrack for both desire and love and a sense of bisexual identity finding a place in pop culture.

The piece treats the moment as a cultural milestone and invites readers to consider how art can shape self understanding. It also highlights cross cultural differences in reception, from Ireland to Korea, and underscores the ongoing work of representation in music. The essay asks readers to reflect on their own awakenings triggered by songs and performances.

The piece demonstrates how pop stars can act as cultural mirrors, giving readers a vocabulary for feelings that might otherwise stay private. Representation in music can empower people to live more openly and craft new personal narratives.

The essay also raises the tension between sharing intimate details for visibility and protecting privacy, especially across cultures with different norms. It suggests art can spark empathy and challenge as communities reckon with sexuality.

Highlights

Art helps us become who we are meant to be