Get ready for a Hot Queer Summer.
Indie music star serpentwithfeet is starring in a new LGBTQ+ centric ad campaign for Orbitz titled "Travel As You Are." According to a release, the campaign is "documenting uninhibited young LGBTQ+ travelers at their freeist," and includes a new cover of the song "You Don't Own Me," by the musician.
The campaign was created by queer photographer and director Cass Bird, who has worked with Saint Laurent, Dior, and celebrities like The Obamas, Jay-Z, and Gigi Hadid.
"What I love about this is that we'll be expressing this freedom in a way that hasn't really been done before around travel," Bird said of the campaign in a release. "Being citizens who experience the same freedom and safety as our heteronormative counterparts. The connection between a subject's independence and energy has been explored through media to varying degrees, but without much context. This concept provides a beautiful perspective on this relationship."
She added that she hopes the campaign will broaden travel possibilities for queer people who see it. "I've limited my travel destinations to places that I feel are inviting to my community and to me as a lesbian," she said. "I really hope that this piece of work allows people to see love in a non-threatening way and clear way that feels exactly what it is; adults loving themselves, being comfortable in who they are, feeling a part of this world and having the permission to take up space."
Other models in the campaign include Cameron Lee Phan, Ahmad Kanu, and Rahquise Bowen.
The full campaign will debut on Orbitz's Pride microsite on April 6th and will come with a new recording of queer singer Lesley Gore's classic song "You Don't Own Me," as covered by serpentwithfeet.
"Having Serpent redo that song is so magical because it's such a transcendent voice," Bird said. "Having a man sing to that storyline felt really irreverent, and also so transcendent to how culturally men are allowed to express themselves."
Serpentwithfeet recently released his second album, titled Deacon. The album is getting rave reviews and is being praised for its expansive style and lush R&B sounds. He released his first EP Blisters in 2016, and his first studio album soil in 2018.
RELATED: SERPENTWITHFEET: Josiah Wise's Mystical, Gospel-Inflected R&B Is Anything But Grounded
