If you were just sitting around thinking that we don’t have enough sexuality definitions yet, you’ll be pleased to hear there’s another to add to your vocabulary. Matt Healy, singer of The 1975, has spoken about how he identifies as an “aesthete”.

Which is, “a person who is appreciative of and sensitive to art and beauty.”

In an interview with Attitude, he said, “I don’t really talk about my sexuality that explicitly because I don’t really have to, and all things are subject to change”.

“I see things as objectively beautiful, so men can be objectively beautiful. Sometimes, I see men and I’m like, ‘Fuck me, he’s peng!’” he continued.

OK, so pardon my ignorance, but isn’t that just a shallow bisexual?

If pansexual is the sexuality of those who see past the exterior and are attracted to person (and not their gender), an aesthete is the opposite in the sense that they are attracted predominantly to what’s on the outside. As you tell, it’s a very woke concept.

But the term got further confusing when Healy said: “Then sexuality gets changed for me because I would, and have, kissed beautiful men, but I don’t want to fuck them. It stops for me when it comes to [sex].”

So if it stops at sex, why is there the need to redefine your sexuality? I understand that a ‘straight man who sometimes kisses men’ is a bit of a mouthful, but isn’t it more accurate? Loads of straight men kiss other straight men for banter, so I’m assuming the differentiating factor is that he kisses men in an amorous way, but again, if you’re never going to fuck a man what’s the big deal?

Since the article, Healy tweeted his disapproval of Queerty’s headline claiming he “came out”.

https://twitter.com/Truman_Black/status/1203076789574283264?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1203076789574283264&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fmetro.co.uk%2F2019%2F12%2F07%2Fmatt-healy-hits-back-uncomfortable-claims-came-aesthete-11406850%2F

Stating, “I didn’t come out as anything this a weird thing to say. I did an interview with a Queer publication and was asked about my sexuality. I’m not playing a game and trying to take up queer spaces I’m simply trying to be an ally and this headline makes me uncomfortable.”

Change the headline however you want, but his desire to redefine his sexuality based on some gay kisses are quoted above…

Healy may not have “come out”, but he did identify as something other than straight (that includes some form of attraction to other men), which effectively is ‘queer’. But in striving to be an “ally”, Healy implies that he’s not part of the community; so why even mention it? Why identify as anything other than straight?

Messy, messy PR.

I’m extremely open to new terms and feel we should be sensitive to ensuring people feel included, but is “aesthetism”, a sexuality based on people’s outward beauty really something that needs to be included when the concept itself isn’t?