The ‘secret’ LGBTQ+ meaning behind Chappell Roan’s iconic sapphic bop Pink Pony Club
Chappell Roan’s “Pink Pony Club” is always on repeat. (Steve Jennings/Getty)
“Midwest Princess” Chappell Roan’s meteoric rise to fame has left many fans with a burning question: What’s the LGBTQ+ meaning behind her huge hit “Pink Pony Club?”
The 26-year-old iconic lesbian popstar‘s chart-topping music has had us all dancing. Her track “Pink Pony Club” was released in 2020. Roan then re-released the track as part of her 2023 debut album, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess.
With the re-release, the track began to climb the charts in June 2024.
The sleeper hit has peaked at number 26 on the Billboard 100 and is still in the chart after 10 weeks – a massive feat considering the track is two years old.
“Pink Pony Club” joins 6 other Roan tracks on the chart including “Good Luck, Babe!” which peaked at 6th and has been on the list for an incredible 20 weeks.
With all her music, Roan writes for the girls, gays and theys but it is “Pink Pony Club” that has left many asking if the term is actually a secret code for the queer community.
What inspired “Pink Pony Club”?
Chappell Roan has been open about inspiration behind the track: a famous gay bar in LA.
In an interview with The Daily Shuffle in 2020, upon the sapphic song’s initial release, Roan is asked: “Tell us about your single “Pink Pony Club” – what’s the story behind the track?”
“I went to a gay bar called The Abbey in West Hollywood and was completely changed by the entire experience,” she said.
“I was enthralled by the go-go dancers and thought about how amazing it would be to be one, so I wrote a song about it.
“The pink pony part was inspired by a strip club that was painted hot pink in my hometown.”
The Abbey is one of the most famous and popular gay bars in Los Angeles, a core part of the Californian city’s LGBTQ+ culture.
In 2021, Roan opened up more about how LA inspired her songwriting, she told Headliner Magazine that her first night in The Abbey was transformative.
“All of a sudden I realized I could truly be any way I wanted to be, and no one would bat an eye,” she explained.
“It was so different from home where I always had such a hard time being myself and felt like I’d be judged for being different or being creative.
“I just felt overwhelmed with complete love and acceptance, and from then on I started writing songs as the real me.”
What else could “Pink Pony Club” mean?
However, as with any work of art, many fans have read even more deeply into the title’s meaning – beyond the literal meaning explained above.
“It’s just about the fantasy of queer joy and making it a reality,” one Reddit user commented.
“The pink pony club is a metaphor for a desired space to safely exist authentically and to have that celebrated in community with others who are like you.”
“The narrator is wanting to dance at the Pink Pony Club, which could be a strip club? Or just a gay club,” another commenter explains.
“I also interpret this as being about queerness in general. You feel a deep calling to [be] a certain person.
“Your parents or others might not approve or understand but she did it anyway to stay true to herself. It’s such an empowering song.”
Summarising these ideas, you could argue that, the Pink Pony Club is a metaphor for a safe, queer space where you are free to be exactly who you are.
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