Bloodhound Gang, I Wish I Was Queer So I Could Get Chicks | Controversial Songs

In the 23rd edition of Controversial Songs (2025), we explore the controversy behind “I Wish I Was Queer So I Could Get Chicks” by Bloodhound Gang.

Bring on the controversy! Controversial Songs is a column that provides background information and insight into songs that raised eyebrows, stirred the pot, or were banned. The more censorship censor$hit, the better! The records that grace Controversial Songs are old and new alike, with all genres of music welcome.  In the 23^rd edition of Controversial Songs (2025), we explore the controversy behind “I Wish I Was Queer So I Could Get Chicks” by Bloodhound Gang.

“If your ass is a Chinese restaurant, I’ll have the Poo Poo Platter.” Oh, Jimmy Pop 😏! We see what you did there pooping up the pu pu platter. When it comes to Bloodhound Gang, depth, let alone anything higher level or transcendent, is not the modus operandi. That joke in the intro was shit… literally.  Anyways, the band has always been bold, thriving on dumb humor, being offensive, and shock value.  On their 1996 album, One Fierce Beer Coaster, Jimmy and company dipped their toes into the LGBTQ+ community, specifically the Q as in queer.  That’s right, Mr. Pop asserts in the fourth track from the LP, “I Wish I Was Queer So I Could Get Chicks”. My, my, my! It shouldn’t come as a shock that Jimmy wrote and produced it.

“I Wish I Was Queer So I Could Get Chicks” features outlandish lyrics that play on gay stereotypes.  This is where the controversy, or problematic nature of the song, comes into play. The best starting place is the chorus: “Chicks dig guys that are / Queer guys that don’t dig / Chicks that don’t dig guys like me / See, I’m not queer, I’m too ugly.” There is a lot to unpack.  First, the word queer, which the LGBTQ+ community has reclaimed, is not synonymous with gay. In this context, Jimmy Pop seems to think of the terms as interchangeable while queer has more nuance.  But, even if we give Jimmy a pass there, the assertion that all queer/gay guys are beautiful is false.  Yes, many beautiful, fine, gorgeous, and handsome men identify as queer or gay, but, not all men that identify as such are. While I can’t speak from a woman’s perspective, it would also be a stereotype that they desire gay guys, etc. Yes, it happens, but Jimmy is pushing buttons.

Beyond the chorus, Jimmy Pop serves up plenty of intriguing, questionable lyrics.  In the first verse, he has to prove his masculinity, following a kiss from his friend, Jerry, and getting his ass kicked by jarheads. Oh, high school! But, after bro-ing it up, he states his faux-queer intentions 😏… Things get more pseudo homo in the second verse, where he desires queerness to attain a supermodel. See as her GBF, “I’d be a good listener so she’d treat me like a sister and soon I’d become / That trusted friend that cares that rubs her back and braids her hair / No, it wouldn’t take a week before I’m in her underwear.” Damn, Jimmy! It doesn’t end there, either. Matters of the peen enter the picture… Jimmy makes it clear, “The only smoked meat, the only sausage I would eat is made by Jimmy Dean / See, I’m not too keen on the smell of Vaseline.”  Vaseline as lube for anal sex… yikes! WE LISTEN AND WE DO JUDGE, JIMMY! Besides that, we get the male hairdresser stereotype, as well as wearing mom’s lingerie, a love of Broadway, Depeche Mode, and ballet. But, confirming he’s not queer, once again, “And I don’t shave my heiny…” Ultimately, “I Wish I Was Queer So I Could Get Chicks” is best taken with a grain of salt. Is it ultra-controversial? No.  Is it problematic? Yes, though I don’t believe Jimmy Pop or Bloodhound Gang meant any harm. Being brash and saying off-the-wall, out of pocket things is what they have done throughout their career.  But, it is important that beyond the enthusiastic instrumental with its filthy, driving guitars, and the wacky lyrics sung by Jimmy Pop that stereotypes are misleading.