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“In My Life”: Loving Queerly and Singing Across Generations by Dr. Casey Mecija

“In My Life”: Loving Queerly and Singing Across Generations by Dr. Casey Mecija

A headshot of Professor Casey Mecija
Dr. Casey Mecija

LA&PS Dr. Casey Mecija​ recently published an article in a academic online publication called Sounding Out! The article “In My Life”: Loving Queerly and Singing Across Generations examines the queer inheritances and intimate plotlines made possible by popular music. “In My Life” by The Beatles holds unique familial meaning for Mecija. As a soundtrack to her parents' struggles as new immigrants to Toronto from the Philippines, then as a source of melodic comfort during her pregnancy, and finally as a song performed alongside her 4-year-old son, Asa, at a holiday performance celebrating queer joy and chosen family, “In My Life” maps out multiple diasporic meanings and queer affiliations across time and space. Alexandra T. Vazquez (2022) writes: “The popular…leaves so much room for engagement with sound artists (musicians without the gallery). None of them need theorists to argue for them, to argue for their mattering because to so many, they already do. How do they instead invite theorists to take part in something alongside them?” (12). As Vasquez suggests, songs are invitations, not scholarly conquests. In this short article, Mecija listens closely alongside the music to attune to its transportive and connective properties. The song takes her across history and geography and forges a memorable encounter with her son on stage. The video recording of Dr. Casey Mecija and her son, Asa Cy Dyer-Mecija, singing “In My Life” together is shared at the end of the article.