Account icon An icon in the shape of a person's head and shoulders. It often indicates a user profile. One obvious answer is that Del Rey is “everything straight men idolize about the sultry sex queen tradition of the American Pacific, a sweet sad California golden sunburnt lover wrapped in an American flag who tastes like cigarettes and broken dreams.” Also, it doesn’t hurt that she looks like this: Lana Del Rey in Hollywood California, February 2012 (Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic/Getty) And that’s absolutely fine. If a woman wants to live a life that, for some, may be seen as traditional, that’s completely her choice, and it’s nobody’s place to say otherwise. However, the point at which it becomes a little more complicated is when abusive notions, much like many women who were forced to take up such roles without the luxury of choice, are exercised under the guise of romanticism. Del Rey’s penchant for glorifying abusive spaces has been widely discussed, and the singer has routinely defended herself, but if we teach more women that being a victim is something to celebrate, doesn’t it perpetuate harm? Hillsong has long been associated with anti-abortion and anti-LGBTQ views. A report from NPR described it as "an ultra-conservative church with a dark past," including connections to pedophilia.

Between Lana Del Rey's press shots, her dalliances in professionally-filmed First Lady roleplay sessions, and her recurring, bombastic invocations of tried-but-true 'Murrican tropes, the singer practically bleeds red, white, and blue. And yet, ever since last year's presidential election, Del Rey can't help but look at her longtime muse—the American flag—a bit differently. At least, that’s what I thought, until listening to the song with my fifteen-year-old, who informed me that Del Rey had a boyfriend who got engaged to another woman while they were together. Alas, that story seems to be one of those too perfect internet rumors, easily rebutted by the fact that the couple wasn’t especially camera shy. On the other hand, she did put up only one billboard for Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel. It was in the former lover’s hometown — so maybe Reddit posters had a point and she’s speaking for herself rather than a group, which would be normal for the singer. Lately this has proven particularly true. Ahead of releasing ‘Lust For Life’ in 2017, she stated her intention to retire stars and stripes from her live shows. “I’m not going to have the American flag waving while I’m singing ‘Born to Die’,” she told Pitchfork . ”It’s not going to happen. I’d rather have static.” Del Rey herself also causes people, specifically men, to ask questions, and not just about life, love and tunnels. One of those questions, put forth by a young heretic, was not so existential, but instead a plea for understanding, specifically about Lana’s appeal. It read, “It is once again time for me to ask that heterosexual conservative men please explain lana del ray to me.” That heartbreak, those moments of raw honesty that center on herself instead of an identity group, are her appeal. Women want to be her. Men want to be with her. She is the spirit of American possibility, independence, resilience. She is the pin-up singer who is most definitely still a woman in an age when people struggle to define what a woman is.

‘Fuck It I Love You’

Lana Del Rey has always had her foot on the cultural pulse, embracing 1950s nostalgia and the nihilism of Russian poets, much to the delight of sad girls everywhere since Born To Die. The mood of every album dictates a new aesthetic, so expertly honed that it feels knowingly cultivated, but so effortlessly carried off it still feels relevant. But Del Rey’s affinity for old-school Americana, fevered patriotism, and the American dream endure through every moment of self-reinvention.

No this was not intended-these are my best friends, since you are asking today," she wrote — although it was written as a standalone comment, not a reply to anyone in particular.Many who think of her almost immediately think of the American flag next. On top of that, she’s been closely associated with Republican values for a long time, even once being accused of voting for Donald Trump. She stands as a charming yet confidently assertive homage to an era when aspirations leaned towards meritocracy and progressed into triumph rather than conceding to withdrawal.

As it happens when it comes to my amazing friends and this cover, yes, there are people of color on this record's picture and that's all I'll say about that," she wrote. "We are all a beautiful mix of everything - some more than others, which is visible and celebrated in everything I do." In a new interview with Pitchfork, the singer discussed the impact of Trump's presidency on her all-American oeuvre: In other words, you can kiss those dramatic, waving-flag tour visuals goodbye. "It's not going to happen," she said. "I'd rather have static. It's a transitional period, and I'm super aware of that. I think it would be inappropriate to be in France with an American flag. It would feel weird to me now—it didn't feel weird in 2013."Del Rey then lashed out at 'larger magazines' for 'taking my well-intentioned and believe it or not liberal comments out of context' Red, white and blue flags flapping in a balmy breeze, a star-spangled Hollywood walk of fame, a jagged New York skyline and gaudy neon on palm-tree fringed boulevards – from the moment that Lana Del Rey released the video for her breakthrough single ‘Video Games’ larger-than-life America has felt like the biggest presence in her work. OK complex not that our 10 year relationship matters I guess," she tweeted. "Thanks for the cool soundbite taken out of context, I said that the bigger problem is Sociopathy-so whether he meant to incite a riot is less important than the larger issue in America at hand -the problem of sociopathy." However, some fans of Del Rey have defended "Judah Smith Interlude" as satirical or "ironic." As Coleman Spilde wrote for the Daily Beast, "Del Rey is exactly the type of person who would attend a celebrity-studded mega-church, both for a cleansing of the soul and to lambaste its intrinsic flamboyance with her friends." This has become an entire subculture in itself, with many on social media platforms like TikTok showing off their ‘Lolita aesthetics’ to the familiar sounds of Del Rey hits. Society has always had paedophilic undertones, but this movement has become a powerful contributor to its reign. What’s more, Hollywood has washed over Nabokov’s initial sentiment, rendering it lost in a mosaic of visually pleasing images, catering to a cultural infatuation with young girls.