Music / Pansy Division

"'What did he say?'
He said, 'that's so gay'!
Uhm, guess what?
That's not Okay!
And if you say it again
There'll be hell to pay!"

—"That's So Gay", 2009

Pansy Division is a San Francisco Punk Rock band founded in 1991 by Jon Ginoli, and is probably the best known example of the Queercore sub-genre, being one of the few to gain any mainstream recognition. After their 2009 album That's So Gay, they took a long hiatus from issuing new material, although they put out two net-only archival releases and continued to play live, usually in the Bay Area. The silence was finally broken in 2016, when they announced that Quite Contrary, their first new album in seven years, was due out that summer.

Discography:

• Undressed, 1993
• Deflowered, 1994
• Pile Up, 1995
• Wish I'd Taken Pictures, 1996
• More Lovin' From Our Oven, 1997
• Absurd Pop Song Romance, 1998
• Total Entertainment!, 2003
• The Essential Pansy Division, 2006
• That's So Gay, 2009
• Lost Gems & Rare Tracks, 2010 (iTunes release only)
• Pansy Division Live 1992-2003, 2010 (iTunes release only)
• Quite Contrary (2016)

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Tropes appearing in Pansy Division songs:

• Anti-Love Song: "Luv Luv Luv", about the unrealistic expectations people get about 'absurd pop song romance'
• Berserk Button: "That's So Gay" is an entire song upbraiding a straight teen for casually using that phrase without thinking about who it might hurt in real life.
• Bigger Is Better in Bed: "Dick of Death". The subject pops up in several other songs as well.
• Christmas Songs: The wonderfully obscene "Homo Christmas."
• The Cover Changes the Gender: Averted with "Son of a Preacher Man", for obvious reasons.
• The Cover Changes the Meaning: most notably "Smells Like Queer Spirit" and "Son of a Preacher Man".
• Gayngst:
  • "Deep Water", about the pressures of being an openly gay teen in a hostile social environment.
  • Conversely, "Happiness is the Best Revenge" exhorts the listener to overcome their angst and use joy as a defense against social mistreatment.
• Gym Bunny: "Musclehead", "Who Treats You Right"
• Obligatory Bondage Song: "James Bondage". The converse appears in the song "Vanilla", however, where the protagonist is explaining that he is not interested in kink.
• Queer Romance: A frequent theme in their songs:
  • "Bill & Ted's Homosexual Adventure"
  • "Boyfriend Wanted"
  • "Fem in a Black Leather Jacket"
  • "Sweet Insecurity"
• Refuge in Audacity: several, especially "Anthem", "Loose", "I'm Gonna Be a Slut", and "Cocksuckers' Club".
• Religion Rant Song: "Blame The Bible" is one of these, specifically on how the Bible is often used to justify homophobia.
• STD Immunity: Understandably, this is soundly averted.
  • "No Protection", about refusing to have unprotected sex even when your partner insists on it.
  • "Denny", about an AIDS victim coping with the results of not having practiced safe sex until it was too late.

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