How The Neighbourhood’s song Sweater Weather became a bisexual anthem on TikTok
The Neighbourhood released Sweater Weather in 2013. (Getty)
The Neighbourhood’s “Sweater Weather” first came out in 2013 but in recent years, it’s had a resurgence as a a bisexual anthem. But why is it resonating with bisexuals?
The internet has its own language, especially when it comes to LGBTQ+ communities, and while anyone can identify as LGBTQ+ regardless of what music they listen to, it’s clear that some identities associate themselves with certain songs more than others.
For example, listening to “Girl in Red” is has become code for being a lesbian simply because the artist is a lesbian herself and her lyrics are very clearly about lesbian relationships.
And “Sweater Weather” has been linked to being bisexual, even though no one in The Neighbourhood is LGBTQ+ nor are the lyrics openly referencing being bisexual or having relationships with multiple genders.
However, influencers like Nessa Barrett, Anna Shumate and James Wright used “Sweater Weather” to come out as bisexual on TikTok back in 2020, cementing the song as a ‘bi anthem’ years after it was first released.
There are currently over 400,000 videos on TikTok using “Sweater Weather“, with over half of them being used to come out as bisexual or express an aspect of being bisexual.
Unpublished Zine, an online publication for emerging writers, writes that the song evokes a sense of nostalgia for Tumblr in 2010s where it was widely recognised for its grunge aesthetic. It was around the same time that Lana Del Rey, The 1975, and Arctic Monkeys’ AM album were also very popular on the social media site.
Back before Tumblr brought in a ban on “NSFW content”, it was a place where people could explore their sexualities and identities safely – including being bisexual.
“There’s a likelihood that many of the people with nostalgia for the song that use Tumblr associate it with their emerging queer identity,” Unpublished Zine wrote.
Additionally, the lyrics are very ambiguous and could refer to either a man or a woman or someone of a different gender – as it does not use pronouns, therefore it can be applied to a relationship of any gender.
Reddit agrees: “It’s a song about simple, HUMAN love.”
One Redditor said that it could be because sweaters and the “high waisted shorts” referenced are staples of many bisexual people’s wardrobes while another said that their “heart and soul” tells them it’s a bi anthem, and they’re sticking to that even if they don’t really have any evidence for it.
Unpublished Zine analyses the lyrics about wearing a sweater and finding warmth and intimacy within a relationship as a contrast to the “cold” and “goosebumps” outside, which is “a distinctly queer narrative”, referring to biphobia and homophobia on the outside world and the safe space of being inside with the person you love (whomever they may be).
So, there you have it. While “Sweater Weather” was not, as far as we know, written for and with bisexuals in mind, it’s clearly speaking to the bi community in a unique way.
