What is a Pink Pony Girl?
A Pink Pony Girl is a queer person who can express their queerness. The concept of a Pink Pony Girl was coined by pop singer Chappell Roan in her song “Pink Pony Club,” in which she described her experience as a Pink Pony Girl “dancing at the Pink Pony Club.” In the song, a Pink Pony Girl seems to be a stand-in for a queer person who dances at the club, wholeheartedly embracing their sexuality and personality rather than hiding or running away from it. Also, it's crucial that they’re in a space (i.e., the Pink Pony Club) where their identity and self-expression are being appreciated, celebrated, and respected. Rutkowski says, “‘Pink Pony Girl’ [isn’t] a label that young queer people have commonly adopted, [but it] is a way of describing those who feel at home at the Pink Pony Club; people who identify as queer, openly express it, and are othered by the rest of society. Chappell describes the Pink Pony Girl to ‘belong’ at the Pink Pony Club.” Rutkowski continues, “The line of the song that refers to Chappell being a ‘Pink Pony Girl’ (God, what have you done? You're a pink pony girl, And you dance at the club...) is about her mother's reaction (here, her mother can also be a representation of the values and norms of her hometown) to Roan's unconventional identity.” Meet the wikiHow Experts Gia Rutkowski is a content creator, speaker, and consultant based in Chicago, Illinois. She specializes in spotting rising trends and cultural shifts before they go mainstream, and then explaining them to her 130k+ social media followers. Andrea Stolpe is a songwriting instructor and artist development coach based in Los Angeles, CA. She has over 20 years of experience in the music industry.
What is the Pink Pony Club?
The Pink Pony Club is a fictional queer club sung about by Chappell Roan. In her track “Pink Pony Club,” Roan sings about a fictional experience where she runs away from home to the Pink Pony Club, a queer club in LA, “where boys and girls can all be queens every single day.” Rutkowski says, “Chappell's imagery in 'Pink Pony Club' was inspired by her first experience at a gay bar in West Hollywood [called The Abbey] where she was enthralled by the sense of unapologetic freedom of those there.” At the Pink Pony Club, queer people of all walks of life are free to be themselves, congregate, and dance without being judged. In an interview with Headliner, Roan discussed The Abbey, stating “I just felt like I belonged there,” said Roan, “and that really changed my life.” Rutkowski continues, “In her song, she describes the club as pink, not because it actually was, but because there was a strip club in her hometown that was painted hot pink. In interviews, she reports being intrigued by the bright pink strip club and wanting to go in, which is just further symbolism of Roan craving something different, something out of the ordinary compared to the norm of her hometown.” Roan also said that she wanted the song to be a departure from slower, more ballad-like songs: “I needed to be myself and I wanted to feel theatrical; I wanted it to feel like a show for people. That's what I feel like Pink Pony Club is doing and what my other music that will come out will do as well.”
Is the Pink Pony Club real?
The Pink Pony Club isn’t real, but it’s based on a real gay bar in L.A. Rutkowski says The Pink Pony Club “serves as a symbolic representation of where she finally felt she belonged as a queer woman.” In an interview with The Daily Shuffle, Roan talked about how she was inspired to write “Pink Pony Club” after visiting The Abbey in West Hollywood, California. This was the first gay bar she had ever attended, and Roan “was completely changed by the entire experience,” she said in the interview. The bar was filled with go-go dancers and other queer folk, exposing Roan to a new side of life. The Abbey is one of the most famous gay bars in Los Angeles. “[The Pink Pony Club] appears to be a total contrast to the town she grew up in—‘a special place’ where ‘boys and girls can all be queens every single day,’” Rutkowski says. “Queens, of course, is a common word used in the queer community, often used in reference to visibly LGBTQ+ individuals who express themselves in an extravagant manner.” Rutkowski notes, “While neither the Pink Pony Club nor the Pink Pony Girl is necessarily a real thing or place, they are both representative of identities and spaces that act as havens for queer people who have been left out of our conventional society. They are inspired by Roan's different experiences that offered solace or hope for her.”
How “Pink Pony Club” Was Created
After visiting The Abbey, Roan was inspired and wrote “Pink Pony Club.” This transformative experience pushed Roan to collaborate with fellow songwriter Dan Nigro, with the two co-writing the track in two days. Roan usually takes weeks or months to write songs, so the quick turnaround really reflected the emotions poured into this song. Although the subject of the song was inspired by The Abbey in West Hollywood, the pink pony was inspired by a strip club in Roan’s hometown of Willard, Missouri, that was painted hot pink.
Roan shied away from others while recording the vulnerable track. The passion behind the song was accentuated with strong vocal performances, which Roan hadn’t performed since her middle school theatre days. Since she had to dig into her vocal bag to hit those notes, she didn’t want anyone to look at her out of embarrassment. Despite this embarrassment, she walked into the booth and did her thing! Commenting on the recording process for Pink Pony Club, Roan shared, “Even recording the vocals for that–I couldn't have anyone looking at me because I felt so out of place. But I knew I needed to do it. It was just uncomfortable, but I'm so glad that I pushed myself because this is exactly where I want to be.”
Roan originally released the song in 2020, but re-released it in 2023. When Roan was originally signed with Atlantic Records in 2020, she released “Pink Pony Club” under them. It didn’t see much success then, and she soon left Atlantic. When she left, she retained most of the rights to her tracks, including “Pink Pony Club,” which was later included on her debut album, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess, in 2023. When the track was rereleased, it saw commercial success among fans, helping fuel Roan’s career resurgence.
How Chappell Roan Creates an LGBTQ+ Safe Space
She helps normalize LGBTQ+-centered music. Roan’s music centers around the acceptance of her LGBTQ+ identity, expressing said identity and the experiences that come with that, all with ear-soothing vocals on classic pop soundscapes, combining pop with themes of LGBTQ expression and acceptance. This helps normalize the expression of those experiences on pop tracks, giving LGBTQ+ listeners a safe space in her music. Artist development coach Andrea Stolpe says Chappell Roan pushes the envelope in their genre by having one foot out of the norm. Her songwriting is outside of the box, giving her an edge and helping her push the pop genre.
She allows all sorts of expression at her concerts. In an interview with Beat Route Media, Roan has talked about how she strives to create safe spaces for self-expression, especially in the wake of drag bans. “I want to make concerts where people can dress up and feel safe,” Roan said in the interview, but she also acknowledged that it’s up to the fans to be accepting and gentle with one another. Roan’s determination to create a safe space spreads down to her fans, as her shows are filled with listeners who aren’t afraid to paint their bodies and nails, dye their hair, and dress in whatever clothing they please.
Roan regularly advocates for the LGBTQ+ community. When members of the LGBTQ+ community are berated, assaulted, or treated poorly by others, Roan is often quick to speak out against the abuses they face. For example, when she attended the Grammys in 2025, Roan spoke out for the trans community, saying, “It’s brutal right now, but trans people have always existed and they will forever exist, and they will never, no matter what happens, take trans joy away.”
Final Takeaways
The term “pink pony girl” comes from a celebratory queer anthem by Chappell Roan. In her song “Pink Pony Club,” Roan sings about being a “pink pony girl” where she belongs (at a gay club in West Hollywood). So, while “pink pony girl” has no official definition, it’s interpreted to mean a LGBTQIA+ person who feels accepted and is able to fully embrace their identity in an affirming community. While the Pink Pony Club isn’t a real place, it’s representative of safe spaces that exist for queer people and the joy and freedom they can find there.
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