Troye Sivan discusses music industry double standards

Musician Troye Sivan has addressed perceived double standards in the music industry, noting that queer and female artists face significantly more scrutiny than straight male artists. During an appearance on the podcast ‘Las Culturistas’ with hosts Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, Sivan discussed the concept of the ‘Khia Asylum.’

In internet slang, the ‘Khia Asylum’ refers to a metaphorical space for artists who have experienced a commercial decline or ‘flopped’ before attempting a comeback. Sivan observed that while female pop artists like Bebe Rexha, Ava Max, Rita Ora, and Zara Larsson are frequently subjected to this intense online scrutiny, straight male artists often escape similar criticism or are permitted to release music that would result in harsher backlash for queer or female performers.

Sivan described the expectations placed on women in the industry to constantly reinvent themselves as ‘insane’ and positioned his own experience as a gay man as being situated between these two extremes.