Although liberating, irreverent, and undeniably fun, the LGBTQ+ dating scene can well be a minefield of insecurities, internalised homophobia, and uncertainty. The experience is only amplified for trans folk, who are often not afforded the common decency of honesty and upfrontness given to their cisgendered peers when dating. Freddie Lewis, a Bristol-based singer-songwriter, takes aim at the fetishisation of trans people on his latest cut “Prettiest Secret”.
The track delves into Lewis’ relationships with people who are DL (“down low”), who outwardly present as straight whilst harbouring conflicting feelings. As Lewis describes, they “don’t want to admit their attraction to you publically,” and leave you with a myriad of conflicting emotions to sit with, mainly feeling like a dirty secret.
Accompanied by a lilting synth-pop line that is the sonic translation of an ambient stroll down the street, the track’s production buoyantly shades the sarcasm palpable in its lyrics, opening “don’t look me in the eye / don’t ask about my evening.” Layered with two meanings, it could be argued that Lewis is both recounting the behaviours of his usual hook-ups, or telling them not to bother with the niceties that will take up time before the main event, as part of him enjoys being treated like this.
The track’s title “Prettiest Secret” is a similar oxymoronic wink to Lewis’ paradoxical thoughts: both loving, and loathing, the situation as it unfolds. “It’s specifically about sleeping with straight women when I was younger, and I guess about sleeping with straight men now,” he explains, “about being a fetish or a phase, about both loving and hating that, about people being confused by me but deciding not to onboard their confusion and just having fun. There’s a definite underlying sadness for me in this track, its total joy vibe is sort of ironic once you listen to the lyrics / off the back of the second verse. I guess it’s about nuance!”
