Kelly Clarkson gave a new interview to Pride Source and while none of the quotes are going to cause a commotion, it’s still an interesting piece. Kelly is promoting her new album, obviously, and as we’ve seen before, she’s definitely pandering a little bit to the Motherhood Industrial Complex. With Kelly, though, it seems genuine. I buy that she’s genuinely thrilled beyond belief to be a mom and she thinks River Rose is the most perfect baby ever. Pride Source even asks her what her reaction would be if River Rose came out to her, and Kelly’s reaction is really cool. You can read the full interview here. Some highlights:

Whether she’s a gay icon: “I guess it’s hard to fathom you can be an icon in general. I don’t consider myself an icon at all, but no – I have a lot of gay and lesbian friends and they like my stuff, so I guess it’s not so hard for me to think (the gay community) might like my music. But I don’t know … I’m not an icon. I’ve only been doing this for 13 years. You’ve gotta be doing it for a good 20 to gain that status.

She’s always been different: “I’ve always been different. I’ve never been the girl that has to feel like she has to get all dolled up every day. I’ve always been kind of a tomboy. I’ve always been very outspoken, and, you know, my mom is too. I don’t know any other way to be. It’s just my personality.”

Raised as a Southern Baptist: “At my church, whenever I did attend Sunday service, that was never talked about. I know that is what the doctrine of Southern Baptist is, but they also said don’t drink and dance, but we drank and danced! (Laughs) I don’t think I grew up in some hardcore community where people were like that. I grew up in a very accepting household. I was taught to accept everybody how they are, and I admire my mom for that. She’s never taught me hate.

What would happen if River Rose was a lesbian: “Oh, I don’t care. I mean, here’s what I hope for her: I just hope she finds love. It took me a while, man. And there was a lot of heartache throughout those years. You know, as long as she’s happy, I don’t care either way, and neither does my husband. And we have two other kids as well, and we don’t care either way for all of them.

Pop stars selling sex: “There’s a reason why women have been revered as long as we have been – even back in the day most statues are of us; most paintings are of us – (and it’s because) we’re a beautiful form, and I get it. I get that that is sexy and I’m so in support of that. I love a sexy video. I don’t even mind raciness. I don’t mind that at all. I just mind when people use that as the entire basis of their career. The only reason that I say that is because I feel those people are short-sighting themselves. I’m like, “You’re far more talented than that.” Yes, you can be sexy and risque, but some of these women have these amazing voices and these amazing ideals, and they have more to offer than just that.

Gay rights & the way forward: “I think it’s silly that we’re still talking about gay rights. I just live in this world where people are accepted, so it’s very hard for me to even realize that that still exists. It’s hard for me to wrap my brain around it. That (gay couple) was a no-brainer, and I didn’t even think, “Oh, I’m making a statement for gay rights.” I was making a statement for the loss of love and the hope that you can still find it, regardless of what form that comes in. It wasn’t a purposeful thing. Love is love in whatever relationship it may be in.

[From Pride Source]

Yeah, I don’t think of Kelly as a gay icon either, but she has the potential to be, for sure, if her career continues for another decade. I think it’s great that she’s so accepting and “love is love” about LGBTQ issues in general, and specifically about her family. Her words reminded me of what Brad Pitt has always said about his kids too – that he’s considered what would happen if one of them came out and he would be completely fine with it. That’s what we want from this new generation of parents, isn’t it?

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet and Kelly’s Instagram.