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Blog Post

Hayley Kiyoko: 2025 Joy Rebel of the Year

Dec 11, 2025

By Jay, Bekah, and the Youth Voices Class of 2025

Discovering Hayley Kiyoko feels like finally seeing yourself reflected in full color.

For so many queer youth, especially queer girls and queer youth of color, her music creates a sense of belonging in a world that too often overlooks our stories. Fans have affectionately given her the nickname  “Lesbian Jesus,” and it’s not hard to see why. From child actor to lesbian pop star, Hayley has evolved into a queer icon who uses music as a storytelling platform we can see ourselves reflected in.

Photo by YK.

Songs like “Girls Like Girls,” “Sleepover,” “Curious,” and “What I Need” place queer love at the center instead of hiding it behind metaphors. She writes openly about first crushes, heartbreak, desire, and confusion, and makes it feel okay to have those conversations. However, even more important than the narratives she discusses is how they are framed. In “Girls Like Girls,” when she sings “girls like girls like boys do, nothing new,” she isn’t trying to shock anyone. That’s what makes her work feel so different from so much of what we grew up with. Hayley creates queer anthems that show pride without turning LGBTQ+ identities into a gimmick.

And she doesn’t stop at music. With her bestselling young adult novels Girls Like Girls and Where There’s Room for Us, Hayley has created even more space for queer teens to see ourselves as main characters whose stories are worth telling and never something to be erased or toned down.

Hayley Kiyoko is a joy rebel because she refuses to soften or sideline her identity for anyone. Even now, when queer representation is still treated as niche or risky, she insists on showing queer life without hesitation. She shows us that queerness can be the source of our joy and not something we must rise above to be happy. Her openness at a time when a lot of us are still figuring out how to be fully ourselves reminds us that we are not alone, that our identities deserve celebration, and that our joy can stand on its own.