Young Miko Says This Queer Movie Scene ‘Changed My Brain Chemistry’
The rapper also shared which musician’s coming out shifted her mother’s opinion on her sexuality.
In the four years since she released her debut EP, Young Miko has become a queer role model in her own right. Now the Puerto Rican rapper is shouting out the early sapphic influences that made a difference in her own life.
In a new interview with Dazed, Miko recalled one of the first times she ever saw lesbian characters on screen in the 2007 anthology After Sex.
“I remember the movie, After Sex, with Mila Kunis and Zoe Saldaña. There’s one scene where they’re in the library…” she said, politely cutting herself short before describing the sex scene between the two. “I remember going insane when I saw that. Then there was John Tucker Must Die. There’s a bit where the girls kiss in the car. That changed my brain chemistry.”
It’s a reminder of how important visible queerness is, both in terms of representation in stories and out and proud celebrities for young people to look up to. That truth became even more pronounced in Miko’s own life due to her mother initially struggling to accept her daughter’s sexuality. Miko actually credits Puerto Rican musician Kany Garcia’s coming out in 2016 as something that helped shift her mother’s perspective.
“She was the first queer woman I remember really looking up to,” she told Dazed. The two actually wound up collaborating on a song in 2024, “En Esta Boca,” about falling head over heels for a woman who has a boyfriend. The music video has racked up over 53 million views on YouTube.
Miko’s experiences have shaped her perspective on her own responsibilities as a role model to others now that her career has taken flight.
“I think about the young queer people that look up to me and I try to be careful with what I say,” she said, “because I know they take it to heart.”
