8 Lame Reasons Why People Think Shawn Mendes Is Not Straight

This is not a post about proving Shawn Mendes is gay rather this is why people think he is when he has not come out. This undying issue has caused Shawn, 20, stress for the last five years according to his recent interview with Rolling Stone when he addressed this issue once again.

“Even though in my heart I know that it’s not a bad thing. There’s still a piece of me that thinks that. And I hate that side of me.”. That is what he told RS which is kind of sad. But really what makes people think he is closeted?

1. His accent and gestures

For many of us queer men, the accent is like a dead giveaway. Let alone gestures and other body movements. It’s like gaydar alarms are coming off loudly because of these signs. Let’s get this out of the way. It should never be an insult to be attributed to “gayness” and many said that Shawn sounds so gay, so as Simon Cowell and Ryan Seacrest so I dunno. And by the way, according to research, there is no “gay” voice.

2. He’s never seen in public dating a woman

“In the back of my heart, I feel like I need to go be seen with someone — like a girl — in public, to prove to people that I’m not gay,”. That’s quoted from his Rolling Stone interview. In a world where someone of his age, getting all that money, it’s hard to see Shawn not fooling around women when he can even get them easily. Maybe he does not want to get them “easy” ones. Anyways, even if he showed himself in public that he is dating a beautiful woman, people are still going to speculate that the woman is his beard. It’s a never-ending process.

3. He seems to be a flimsy “white-knight” in his songs

When I hear Shawn Mendes’ name, there’s this one song that comes to my mind “Treat You Better” which basically an ode for telling someone that your guy sucks and I’ll serve you like you’re my queen and some shit. It has become stereotypical for some other straight guys to be tough like “I’m gonna treat you like a queen and at the same time, use my smack the ones who’s gonna fuck with us.” kind of men. Shawn’s songs make him sort of this nice guy who is worthy for you to introduce to your mom. Or maybe I have not listened to some of his other songs. Nevertheless, some people find this characteristic a bit weak for a guy who wants to be your “knight in shining armor” which kinda brings us to our 4th reason.

4. He is the least masculine among his contemporaries (based on peoples’ standard for masculinity)

Charlie Puth, Ed Sheeran, Harry Styles are just some men in the music scene who Shawn may have been sharing audiences with. Charlie and Ed have evolved from this romantic cutie heartthrobs into full-grown men ready to take down whoever flirts with their women. So as Harry Styles since he parted ways with One Direction. He is now marketing this rock and roll/alternative vibe which is a huge departure from 1D’s discography. And Shawn is still stuck into making songs about him being nice or the nicer guy than your ex. He may be talking about adult stuff in his recent works but still, his contemporaries’ “manliness” overshadow his.

5. His favorite ‘superhero’ is Beyonce

“My favorite superhero is Beyonce ’cause she is fabolous”

“I wish Beyonce would follow me on Twitter.”

The way he expresses love to Beyonce just like how some gay men treats Beyonce as their queen and saviour.

6. He is good-looking and could make a very handsome twink

So as per a fan fiction, many gay men are wishing him to be sleeping with Nick Jonas (which could be a spectacle). This is because he’s always have this look like he has a soft spot and as per gay men’s wishful sexual fantasies, Shawn’s face would be glowing if Nick Jonas was inside him. He really has this look of a typical beautiful bottom.

7. His visible friendships and collaborations with other artists

Taylor Swift is known for being good friends with a lot of women (her Taylor squad) and an ally for the queer community (making friends with Troye Sivan, Hayley Kiyoko). People also have this perception that when Taylor is tight friends with a man, that could mean that he is Taylor’s man. Just like her friendship with Ed Sheeran when people speculated that her song “Dress” was about the ginger lad until Ed got engaged to his girlfriend then the issue died. So whenever they see Shawn not having “a thing” for Taylor but a good friendship, you know where this is leading up to.

And sorry for bringing this up but we all know how male-dominated the hip-hop community is (thanks to Nicki Minaj for making it a bit gayer), it looks like Shawn has not been tapped to collaborate with tough rappers and hip-hop artists yet (Khalid does not count) which gives this two, Charli Puth (with Lil Wayne and Wiz Khalifa) and Ed Sheeran (with Eminem, Macklemore, and Lupe Fiasco) extra roughness to their persona and angst to their discographies.

8. And finally, he addresses the situation thoroughly ‘over and over again’

Whenever he is being asked about the issue, Shawn tends to be expounding deeply with how he addresses the subject. Aside from that, he gives “hint-like” statements about it when it’s unnecessary, prompting people to doubt that maybe his statement is a brave one to cover-up his homosexuality. Like in this interview where he gladly says that he puts make-up on his face.

Yes, we know that make-up on people who always appear on public could be a neccessity but some people would find his explanation about putting make up very keen and emphasized just to respond to a question about his flawless skin. He even said he could not believe he is “talking about it“.

Now going back to his defense, it’s very commendable that he’s trying to dismiss all these issues about him being gay in the most honest and the most respectful way so he would not offend the gay community. But the problem is these nosy people who Shawn still gives a damn about. Shawn does not own anyone an explanation. The more he explains everything incisively and tells people how acute he feels about it rather than simply dismissing it just make worse.

And even if it turns out that he was gay, at the end of the day, it is still his journey and his coming out decision is nobody’s business. Give the young guy a break and let’s just enjoy his generosity for giving us all the shirtless photos we know we need.