Tag Archives: Danielle LoPresti

Danielle LoPresti’s ‘Holy’ Proves That Sexuality Enhances Religion

Then there’s you, the holiest thing I could do.

Danielle LoPresti’s much-hyped single Holy has finally been released in visual form. The song takes you inside the mind of someone grappling with both religion and homosexuality. Is it a sin to be gay, or is loving someone the ultimate expression of religious faith?

The song is decades in the making. To write it, LoPresti drew on her own traumatizing experiences in the Catholic Church. Although LoPresti identified with the Church’s teachings, the congregants’ bigoted attitudes  toward homosexuality left her feeling ostracized.

On the song’s website, www.HolyMusicVideo.com, LoPresti discusses her relationship between her sexuality and her church:

This most pure act, choosing someone completely because of who they were on the INSIDE – ironically ended up pitting me opposite the most religious people in my community. Here I was loving someone for all the reasons I’d learned that God wanted us to choose our mate, and I was now hated by religious people near and far for it.

LoPresti’s pain became almost unbearable in 2008 when California voted on Proposition 8, a state constitutional amendment that banned gay marriage. Watching her neighbors support the homophobic bill, LoPresti struggled to comprehend how “such vitriolic rhetoric could be cast upon something so honest, so pure.”

LoPresti turned her testimony into the song Holy. The song is dedicated as much to her spouse as it is to every queer person who has been cast out of the church.

The video opens with LoPresti in the role of a well-meaning Christian ministering to several homosexual couples. She insists that although she loves the couples, they are living in sin. Over the course of the video, each couple speaks out about their experiences and why they believe that their sexuality epitomizes God’s love.

Eventually, as her voice scrapes the back of her throat and tears prick her eyes, LoPresti sings:

Then there’s you, the holiest thing I could do
They may not see it but I do
The holiest thing I could do is to love you

Watch the video below.

First Xmas Article Alert (But Its Worth It) | This Christmas Video Will Get Your Lesbian Holiday Spirit Going

Yes, we know it’s a little early for Christmas music, but I think you’ll agree that this music video is certainly an exception to the rule.

Featuring real-life couple and recording artists, Danielle LoPresti and Alicia Champion (along with their cute four-year-old son Xander), this video gives us a fresh spin on the classic Christmas tune I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus.

santa 03

Shared LoPresti:

As a multi-racial, same-sex, foster-adoptive family, Alicia and I are always seeking out examples in the media of other families like ours to share with our child. We looked online and per usual, didn’t find a single video of a family that resembled ours… so we thought that since we have access to the resources, we could have some fun helping to fill that void.”

santa

The video is also a beacon for the LGBTQ community, a love letter to those who are also in “non-traditonal” structures which really have no representation in the familiar spotlights, especially for the holidays. Champion and her family feel that by creating the video, it gives others the opportunity to look at their own relationships and connect.

We wanted to normalize our family experience for the mainstream and show that queer families are no different than any others. As parents… we all miss our private intimate time. Our family life is quite similar, indeed…except that we don’t actually live in a 1950’s Technicolor dreamland, and that Alicia is nowhere near that fem on a regular basis. We do have a lot of fun everyday, and especially after we came so close to losing Danielle two years ago, we try really hard to practice constant gratitude for every moment; we laugh and play a lot.”

I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus is the first single off LoPresti’s upcoming album, Winter’s Light.

For more information check out danielleandthemasses.com.