Watch Pop Singer Yavin Challenge Queer Beauty Standards In New Music Video

This is an exclusive music video premiere, part of The ARTery's effort to highlight ascending New England musicians.

In the opening stills for Yavin’s latest single, “Hot,” the singer looks us directly in the eye and gracefully divulges his insecurities to a seemingly trusting audience. In between verses of lyrical vulnerability — “I want you to talk to me/ You can read it on my face/ I wanna take the lead/ But I’m a bit too scared to say” — we see an array of characters that are meant to ooze sex appeal despite their unconventional style.

Yavin, a queer pop singer hailing from Boston, opted for a more traditional look: a baby blue baseball cap, a striped shirt offset by a glistening chain, shorts and sneakers. But those who serve as potential love interests in the video represent an array of folks in the LGBTQ+ community. Androgynous men donning crop tops, shaved heads, faces full of makeup and pastel pink high waisted shorts don COVID-friendly face masks that all say the word ‘hot.’

Although on the surface, “Hot” seems like an attempt to seduce someone that catches his eye, Yavin reveals that there’s way more to the story. "'Hot' is a campy track about liking somebody that's way out of your league,” the singer says over email. “The video utilizes the song's story to tackle the rigid beauty standards within the queer community, specifically for queer men, by celebrating a variety of different queer people.” The singer’s timing couldn’t be more perfect; 2020 has been a year where conversations pertaining to social, political and economic inequity have risen to the nation’s consciousness in a palpable way.

“Hot” reiterates the fact that being attractive means different things to different people — and that they are all correct. “Beauty standards are weird and such an obvious construct that we’ve all been trained to feed into; especially for queer folk who already outcasted enough as is,” he adds. “Everyone deserves to feel hot, and I hope that this video can help people out with that.”

Yavin’s message is simple yet striking. By being yourself and fully living in your truth, your inherent beauty not only radiates but inspires other people. It is clear the artist is practicing what he preaches and has rightfully gained a following in the process.