A Rhetorical Analysis Of Same Love By Macklemore

The song, “Same Love” written by a hip-hop artist named Macklemore, is a song about gay rights and the gay community in general. His lyrics are mostly about the struggles that members of the homosexual community go through in today’s society. The artist, “Macklemore” or more known as Ben Haggerty, is straight; However, he tells how he thought he was homosexual when he was in third grade. Macklemore thought this because his uncle was homosexual and he was organized and artistic like him. He had a purpose and a message behind it, he wrote it in support of his godfather and uncle who are both gay. Through the use of strong literary devices, such as metaphors and allusions, “Same Love’, written by hip-hop artist Macklemore, is a social commentary

on the issue of marriage equality in society and the way society is accepting the LGBT community.
In a recent interview about his song, macklemore says, “ I knew I wanted to write a song about gay rights and homophobia within the Hip-Hop community and the world” (Matheson 1).

Marriage equality has become a tremendous topic in society due to the increasing number of gay marriages. Studies have shown that although gay marriage is now legal nationwide, LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) still do not have the same rights, and they are still looked down upon and not considered “people”. A study has shown that thirty percent of the non-LGBT community does feel uncomfortable when they see homosexual individuals holding hands or hugging. The Catholic Church does not necessarily think gay marriage and homosexuality is a sin, rather a temptation toward sin. According to the Holy Bible, all sin is considered the same; for example, they tell the gay community that they should not be gay, but murder is

contrary.
The LGBT community is often bullied and looked down upon. According to Samantha Allen, from long road article states that “Twenty-one young transgender women of color, were murdered in the United States last year-the highest recorded number in history”(Allen 3). The LGBT community is backlashed constantly and at all times. Straight have come up with slang and names such as “gay, queer and faggot”. Macklemore gives a biblical allusion saying, “ God loves all of his children is some how is forgotten. But we paraphrase a book written thirty five hundred years ago”. This statement is relevant in today’s world; the bible does state that God loves all of his children, however people still want to think other wise. The LGBT community is almost shunned from “normal” society because they love differently than every one else. He uses this quote because although being homosexual may be a sin, God does not judge and we should not either.
One verse that really stood out to me, “The right wing conservatives think it’s a decision and you can be cured with some treatment and religion,” this verse is very powerful and explains exactly what is going on with individuals in our nation today.

People are claiming that the homosexual individuals were not born homosexual and that it is a choice. They believe the homosexual people can change back if they had faith and believed in God. The gay community is the minority in this situation. They love the same as everyone else. Macklemore quotes “Love is patient, Love is kind”. This quote is often used at wedding ceremonies to symbolize what love should be like as a

whole.
Macklemore uses many metaphors in his song. One metaphor that I thought was interesting is, “ Man, that's gay, gets dropped on the daily, we become numb to what we are saying”. You physically cannot become numb to the words you are saying, however what Macklemore is trying to say is that we do not realize what we are saying and we have become accustomed to saying these things to people or about people. The words we are saying can hurt someone and make them feel less of a person. The article by Samantha Allen quotes, “Lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth are four times more likely to commit suicide than those who are straight (Allen 1).” Suicide is a very strong topic today, not only in the straight society, but even worse in the gay community. The bullying is not just name calling, but physical and mental harm as well. There is a fear of acceptance in the homosexual community, which leads to suicides.
In closing, Americans do not have the right to take away the freedom of same sex marriage. Individuals who want to commit to relationship and marry someone who they love should not have to be bullied and judged. Society has come a long way from prejudice and hate against minorities, narrow-mindedness are still heavily present amongst the gay community.