Gay icon

(1922–1969) is cited as the quintessential gay icon]] A gay icon is a public figure (historical or current) who is embraced by many within :lesbian, :gay, :bisexual and :transgender (LGBT) communities. Dykon, a portmanteau of the words "dyke" and "icon", has recently entered common lexicon to describe figures particularly iconic to lesbians.

Qualities of a gay icon often include glamour, flamboyance, strength through adversity, and androgyny in presentation. Such icons may be of any sexuality or gender; they may also be closeted or open with their sexual orientation and gender identity. Although most gay icons have given their support to LGBT social movements, some have expressed opposition – advocating against a perceived "homosexual agenda".

Historical icons are typically elevated to such status because their sexual orientation remains a topic of great debate among historians. Modern gay icons, who are predominantly female entertainers, commonly garner a large following within LGBT communities over the course of their careers. The majority of gay icons fall into one of two categories: the tragic, sometimes martyred figure or the prominent pop culture idol.

Historical examples

– history's first recorded gay icon]]

Plausibly the earliest gay icon was Saint Sebastian, a Christian saint and martyr, whose strong and shirtless physique, symbolic arrow-pierced flesh, and rapturous look of pain combined have intrigued artists, both gay and straight, for centuries and began the first explicitly gay cult in the nineteenth century. Due to Saint Sebastian's status as gay icon, Tennessee Williams chose to use that name for the martyred character Sebastian in his play, Suddenly, Last Summer. The name was also used by Oscar Wilde – as Sebastian Melmoth – when in exile after his release from prison. Wilde, an Irish writer and poet, was about as "out of the closet" as was possible for the late nineteenth century, and is himself considered to be a gay icon.

Marie Antoinette was an early lesbian icon. Rumors about her relationships with women circulated in pornographic detail by anti-royalist pamphlets before the French Revolution. In Victorian England, biographers who idealized the Ancien Régime made a point of denying the rumours, but at the same time romanticised Marie Antoinette's "sisterly" friendship with the Princesse de Lamballe as – in the words of an 1858 biography – one of the "rare and great loves that Providence unites in death." She had crossover appeal as a gay icon as well, at least for Jean Genet, who was fascinated by her story. He included a reenactment of her execution in his 1947 play The Maids.

Modern examples

in 1948]] Modern gay icons in entertainment include both film stars and musicians, most of whom have strong, distinctive personalities, and many of whom died young or under tragic circumstances. The glamorous Greek-American opera singer Maria Callas—who reached her peak in the 1950s—became a gay icon, for example, because the uniquely compelling qualities of her stage performances were allied to a tempestuous private life, a sequence of unhappy love affairs, and a lonely, premature death in Paris after her voice had deserted her.

Gay icons may be homosexual or heterosexual, closeted or out, and male or female. The women most commonly portrayed by drag queens are usually gay icons.

Lesbian icons are most often powerful women who are, or are rumored to be, lesbian or bisexual. who, along with Marlon Brando, influenced the butch look and self-image in the 1950s and after. One critic has argued for Johnny Cash as a minor lesbian icon, attributing his appeal to "lesbian identification with troubled and suffering masculinity." Science fiction author Forrest J Ackerman was dubbed an "honorary lesbian" for his help during the early days of the Daughters of Bilitis. He also wrote lesbian-themed fiction under the pseudonym Laurajean Ermayne.

in 2008]]

The definition of what it means to be a "gay icon" has come under criticism in recent years for a lack of substance, as Paul Flynn of The Guardian comments "the concept of gay icon is a cheap ticket...[and] the idea of gay iconography itself is currently replaceable with the idea of popularity and the ability to carry a strong, identifiable, signature look". Author Michael Thomas Ford depicts a similar attitude in his work of fiction, Last Summer.

Though the term "gay icon" is most commonly seen in the United States, the concept is to be found in other cultures, as well. Dalida, the Egyptian singer of Italian origin, had a career-long gay following that extended out of Paris and well into the Middle East. In the years since her death, her iconic status has not diminished. Likewise, Bollywood actor Abhishek Bachchan was recently declared to be a gay icon in a national poll in India. Though homosexuality still carries a stigma in India, he was quoted as saying that "Appreciation and love from any quarter is welcome," and that, though he is straight himself, he was comfortable with having a large fan base among gay men. In the Netherlands, Willeke Alberti is widely embraced as a gay icon, due to a combination of her song repertoire, her durability, and her performances in support of manifold gay causes. Spanish actress Carmen Maura, Italian singer Mina, Scottish pop singer Jimmy Somerville, German singer-songwriter Marianne Rosenberg and English singer Dusty Springfield are also considered to be gay icons. Latin American figures have also gained reputations as gay icons. Alaska y Dinarama is one example, with their single ¿A quién le importa? (Covered in 2002 by Thalía) which was a hit for 1980s Spanish band, becoming a Gay Anthem by the Spanish language-speaking LGBT community (Both Alaska's and Thalía's version of the song, but most notably Alaska's version). Gloria Trevi is considered a gay icon especially after her release of Todos Me Miran ("They all watch me") featuring a rejected gay man turned drag queen, but had been popular with the gay and lesbian community in Mexico since the beginnings of her career for being a controversial and powerful singer. Paulina Rubio, has been a gay icon for Latin America after supporting gay marriage and publicly stating she wants to have sex with Madonna.

In entertainment

1930s–1940s

The 1930s saw a number of writers, political activists, and celebrities garner reputations as gay icons. Poet and satirical writer Dorothy Parker reportedly had a large gay following. Though the phrase "friend of Dorothy" was made popular in later years by Judy Garland's role in the The Wizard Of Oz, some speculate it originated with Parker. in the 1939 film Dark Victory]] Actress Bette Davis' performance in Dark Victory (1939), was dubbed by Queer theorist Eve Sedgwick as "the epistemology of the closet". Davis' portrayal of the melodramatic Judith Traherne made her talent for playing someone with a secret revered and her "camp-worthy" dialog reflexive of the "flamboyant gay queen of the dramatic arts". In Rio de Janeiro, Althaus-Reid discovered a statue of Dietrich dressed as Nossa Senhora de Aparecida in a gay bar in Copacabana beach. Carmen Miranda, Lena Horne, Josephine Baker, Ethel Merman, Greta Garbo, Katharine Hepburn, Mae West, Ginger Rogers, Tallulah Bankhead, Edith Piaf, and Noel Coward.

1950s–1960s

(1922–1969), arguably the most famous gay icon, as "Dorothy Gale" in The Wizard of Oz (1939).]] An archetypal gay icon is Judy Garland. Michael Bronski, author of Culture Clash: The Making of Gay Sensibility, describes Garland as "the quintessential pre-Stonewall gay icon". So revered is she as a gay icon that her best known film role, that of Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, became used as code among homosexuals in the 1950s. The expression, "Is he a friend of Dorothy?" was slang for, "Is he gay?" In Joan Crawford: The Essential Biography, author Lawrence J. Quirk explains that Crawford appealed to gay men because they sympathized with her struggle for success; in both the entertainment industry and in her personal life. Though Crawford had been a notable film star during the 1930s and 1940s, according to David Bret, author of Joan Crawford: Hollywood Martyr, it was not until her 1953 film Torch Song that she was seen as a "complete gay icon, primarily because it was shot in color". Bret further explains that seeing the actress' red hair, dark eyes and 'Victory Red' lips linked her to "gaydom's other sirens: Dietrich, Garland, Bankhead, Piaf, and new recruits Marilyn Monroe and Maria Callas". Ball was told of the adoration she received from gay men, as a bar in West Hollywood was known for routinely playing episodes of her television series I Love Lucy every weekend. Other icons from this time include Liberace, Shirley Bassey, Debbie Reynolds, Barbara Cook, Rock Hudson, Eartha Kitt, Clara Ward, Marilyn Monroe, Gloria Swanson, Elizabeth Taylor and Audrey Hepburn. However, Summer became immersed in controversy when, after becoming a born-again Christian during the 1980s at the dawn of the AIDS crisis, she was reported as saying homophobic remarks, including that "AIDS was God's punishment to homosexuals".

During the mid-1980s, many statements denying these circulating rumors were issued by Summer's publicist and she was supported by some within the recording industry and the gay community. Summer, however, never issued any statements herself until several years later. has been described as a "perfect" gay icon]]

Singer Cass Elliot became known as a gay icon, both during her solo career and as a member of The Mamas and the Papas. Both through her camp fashion and lyrics praising individuality (such as "Make Your Own Kind of Music" and "Different") and free love, her musical impact became known. Her music was later featured in the 1996 acclaimed gay film Beautiful Thing, adapted from the play of the same name.

Singer/actress Bette Midler also became recognized as a gay icon in the 1970s. After performing on Broadway, Bette began performing at the Continental Baths, a gay bathhouse in the city, where she became close to her piano accompanist, Barry Manilow, who produced her first major album, The Divine Miss M, in 1973.

Other artists particularly embraced by the gay community during the '70s and '80s included Diana Ross, Grace Jones, Charo, Elaine Paige, and Dolly Parton. Two gay Britons, writer Quentin Crisp and singer Freddie Mercury of Queen also became popular icons, as well as a bisexual Briton, David Bowie. Elton John also became a gay icon in his own right during this decade, a status strengthened during the 1990s (see below).

performing on her in 2004]]

Disco and icon pop music singer and actress Goddess of Pop, Cher became notable in the gay community not only for her music, but for her portrayal of a lesbian in Silkwood, for which she received an Academy Award nomination. In later years, her daughter Chastity Bono came out as gay at the age of seventeen, much to her mother's initial feelings of "guilt, fear and pain". Cher emerged not only as an icon among LGBT people, but also a role model for straight parents who have gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender children. William J. Mann, author of Gay Pride: A Celebration of All Things Gay and Lesbian, comments "[w]e'll be dancing to a ninety-year old Cher when we're sixty. Just watch". The Advocate's Steve Gdula commented "[b]ack in the 1980s and even the early 1990s, the release of a new Madonna video or single was akin to a national holiday, at least among her gay fans". Guilbert dictates that gay icons "usually belong to one or the other of two types of female stars: either the very vulnerable or suicidal star, or the strong idol whom nobody or nothing resists, like Madonna".

performed in a rainbow dress at the closing ceremonies of Gay Games VII (2006)]]

Other superstar recording artists, such as Cyndi Lauper followed. Lauper and Madonna were seen as trailblazers of women's sexual liberation. Lauper's 1983 debut album She's So Unusual generated a large following of fans responding to the "gay-friendly camp and lesbian-friendly womyn power epitomized in [her] femme anthem "Girls Just Want to Have Fun". Lauper explained that growing up during the 1960s influenced her dedication to fair and equal treatment of all people, noting that the music of the 1960s "helped to open the world’s point of view to change". According to Lauper "It wasn’t until my sister came out in the early ’70s that I became more aware of the bigoted slurs and the violence against a community of people...who were gay". by Yale sociologist Joshua Gamson, the tabloid talk show genre, popularized by Oprah Winfrey and Phil Donahue, did more to make gays mainstream and socially acceptable than any other development of the 20th century by providing decades of high-impact media visibility for sexual nonconformists. Ellen DeGeneres cast Winfrey to play the therapist she comes out of the closet to on the controversial episode of her Ellen sitcom. Though Winfrey abandoned her tabloid talk show format in the mid 1990s as the genre became flooded by more extreme clones like Ricki Lake, Jenny Jones and Jerry Springer, she continued to broadcast shows that were perceived as gay-friendly. Her show Oprah's Big Give was the first reality TV show with an openly gay host, Nate Berkus. Her own show has been nominated several times for GLAAD Media Awards, winning one in 2007 and another in 2010 for an interview with Ellen DeGeneres and her wife Portia de Rossi. Oprah Winfrey also co-produced the Oscar-winning film , which was honored by GLAAD for portraying a lesbian couple as heroines.

in 2004]] Winfrey's iconic status among gay males has entered the popular culture. One of the stars of the reality TV show The Benefactor was a gay African American man named Kevin who was so obsessed with Winfrey that he would ask "What would Oprah do?" before making any strategic decision. Adam Lambert is another high profile gay man who has described himself as a fan of Winfrey.

Other icons from this decade include the cast of The Golden Girls, Joan Collins, Annie Lennox, and Liza Minnelli. The album was honored by the National Black Lesbian and Gay Leadership Forum and received the award for Outstanding Music Album at the 9th Annual GLAAD Media Awards in 1998 for its songs that dealt with sexual orientation and homophobia. On April 26, 2008, she received the Vanguard Award—a media award from the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation—to honor her work in the entertainment industry in promoting equality for LGBT people. In 2001 Kylie and the British singer Geri Halliwell, other gay icon, kissed on a TV show to end prejudice. As a result of her role playing Karen Walker on Will & Grace, Megan Mullally emerged as a gay icon. One commentator wrote that the show "won the actress an impressive gay following, both with men and women, who want to be her and with her". Love's own life struggles with drug addictions, her troubled childhood, depression, and general chauvinistic adversity from the public are all factors that likely explain her regard as a gay icon; Love spent a significant portion of her teenage and early-adult years befriending gay men and drag queens. Love's devoted gay fanbase was later written about in a New York Press article when Hole released their fourth album in 2010.

In December 2002 Christina Aguilera released her song Beautiful, which would instantly become a gay anthem and would later be recognized as "the most empowering song of the decade for lesbian, gay and bisexual people of the decade". The accompanying video featured people who can feel ostracised from society, including a same-sex couple and a transvestite man. Additionally, the song was sung by gay character Damian in the 2005 film Mean Girls.

2010s–present

Celebrities such as Ellen DeGeneres, Rosie O'Donnell, and T.R. Knight and the Spice Girls, as well as actress Meryl Streep, especially her character of Miranda Priestly in the film The Devil Wears Prada. On April 20, 2011, Christina Aguilera was honored with the very first spot on The Abbey's Gay Walk of Fame for her contributions to gay culture., re-inforcing the title of Gay Icon she had earned a decade ago with her anthem "Beautiful".

By the late first decade of the 21st century, several entertainers were dubbed as members of a new generation of gay icons. These include: A-F Christina Aguilera Tori Amos Tina Arena Lance Bass Edith Bouvier Beale Beyoncé Kate Bush Mariah Carey Moria Casan Kim Cattrall Margaret Cho Kurt Cobain Emily Blunt Sophie Ellis-Bextor

Mylène Farmer

Fey

Tina Fey Harvey Fierstein Susana Gimenez Girls Aloud Kathy Griffin

Alison Goldfrapp

Jake Gyllenhaal Rob Halford Van Hansis Debbie Harry Anne Hathaway Paris Hilton Jennifer Hudson La Toya Jackson Kent James Kazaky Johnny Knoxville in 2010.]] L-P Lady Gaga Adam Lambert Mirtha Legrand Courtney Love Valeria Lynch Ricky Martin Mika Reba McEntire McFly George Michael Dannii Minogue Kylie Minogue

Nicole Richie

Mónica Naranjo

Stevie Nicks Yoko Ono Sarah Jessica Parker P!nk Ellen Pompeo Prince Isabella Rossellini

Paulina Rubio

Pet Shop Boys Kate Ryan Chloë Sevigny Shakira

Mary J. Blige

Britney Spears Tori Spelling Spice Girls Gwen Stefani Howard Stern Mink Stole Barbra Streisand George Takei V-Z Village People Rufus Wainwright Hande Yener

In sports

Martina Navratilova, David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo are seen as gay icons.

In politics

(1927–2006)]]

In the political arena, gay icons are represented by, among others, Princess Diana, George Moscone, Coretta Scott King, Abraham Lincoln, Winnie Mandela, Hillary Clinton, Eva Peron, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Imelda Marcos and Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir, the world's first openly bisexual head of government of the modern era. Roger Casement, an Irish civil rights activist, became a gay icon of the early 20th century. Civil rights activist Coretta Scott King was held in high regard among members of the gay community for her involvement in the Gay Rights Movement. The portrayal of those efforts in the critically acclaimed film Milk earned Sean Penn an Oscar and comparisons to the contemporary battle over the anti-gay ballot initiative Proposition 8 raging in California at the time of its release in 2008.

While most of these individuals have been lionized for their strength, style, compassion, or work for equal rights, an ironic icon is Anita Bryant, who worked to oppose homosexuality. During the 1970s, Bryant led a national campaign, "Save Our Children", which conflated homosexuality and child molestation and insisted that because homosexuals cannot reproduce they must "recruit" or "convert" people to their lifestyle. California State Senator John V. Briggs applauded Bryant's work as a "national, religious crusade [and] courageous stand to protect American children from blatant homosexuality". The 30th anniversary of Bryant's campaign against LGBT rights has been commemorated at the Stonewall Library & Archives, with executive director Jack Rutland dubbing her "The Mother of Gay Rights". Cartoon characters SpongeBob SquarePants and Patrick Star have additionally become gay icons, due to their sometimes double entendre dialogues in their (cult) TV cartoon show.

The term has also extended to comic book characters. Homosexual interpretations of Batman and the original Robin, Dick Grayson, have been an interest in cultural and academic study, due primarily to psychologist Fredric Wertham's Seduction of the Innocent (1954). In the mid-1950s, Werthman led a national campaign against comic books, convincing Americans that they were responsible for corrupting children and encouraging them to engage in acts of sex and violence. In Containing America: Cultural Production and Consumption in Fifties America, authors Nathan Abrams and Julie Hughes point out that homosexual interpretations of Batman and Robin existed prior to Wertham's Seduction of the Innocent. Wertham claimed his book was, in fact, prompted by the earlier research of a Californian psychiatrist. Superman has also become a gay icon.

One of the TV series that appeals most to LGBT culture is the 1960s sitcom Bewitched. Aside from the campy characterizations, it contained three gay cast members (Dick Sargent, Paul Lynde and – allegedly – Agnes Morehead). Star Elizabeth Montgomery and Sargent were grand marshals of a Los Angeles gay pride parade in the early 1990s. Other examples are the supernatural drama Buffy the Vampire Slayer (in which one of the female characters came out and began a lesbian relationship) and All My Children's Bianca Montgomery.

Responses

(1942–2007), from televangelist to gay icon]]

Many celebrities have responded positively to being regarded as gay icons. Several have noted the loyalty of their gay fans; Eartha Kitt and Cher credited gay fans with keeping them going at times when their careers had faltered. Kylie Minogue has acknowledged the perception of her as a gay icon and has performed at such events as the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras. Asked to explain the reason for her large gay fanbase, Minogue replied, "It's always difficult for me to give the definitive answer because I don't have it. My gay audience has been with me from the beginning... they kind of adopted me." She noted that she differed from many gay icons who were seen as tragic figures, with the comment, "I've had a lot of tragic hairdos and outfits. I think that makes up for it!"

Tammy Faye Messner, (ex-wife of fellow controversial televangelist Jim Bakker and mother of pastor Jay Bakker ) who has been benevolently referred to as "the ultimate drag queen" — said in her last interview with Larry King that, "When I went — when we lost everything, it was the gay people that came to my rescue, and I will always love them for that."

Others have been more ambivalent. Mae West, a gay icon from the early days of her career, supported gay rights but bristled when her performance style was referred to as camp. Judy Garland gained iconic status in part by acknowledging gay fans' existence at a time when few would, but her attitude toward her gay following was ambiguous.

Madonna has acknowledged and embraced her gay following throughout her career, she even made several references to the gay community in her songs or performances, and performed at several gay clubs. She has declared in interviews that some of her best friends are gay and that she adores gays and refers to herself as "the biggest gay icon of all times." She also has been quoted in television interviews in the early 1990s as declaring the "big problem in America at the time was homophobia."

Turkish electronic pop singer Hande Yener describes the her relationship with gay audience as "There is a strong bond between us." She states that she tries new styles in her career and her stand against prejudices is best understood by gay audience. She also mentioned that she often goes to gay clubs. She starred as herself, a gay icon in a gay themed movie Kraliçe Fabrikada. She is one of the few Turkish singers who will perform in a gay club. She has participated to the İstanbul Gay Pride 2009.

See also

LGBT culture

New Queer Cinema

Queer Theory

Cher as a gay icon

Judy Garland as gay icon

Janet Jackson as gay icon

Madonna as gay icon

References

; Books

Frightening the Horses: Gay Icons of the Cinema, Eric Braun (2002). ISBN 1-903111-10-2

20th Century Icons-Gay, Graham Norton (2001). ISBN 1-899791-77-9

Gay histories and cultures, George E. Haggerty (2000). ISBN 0-8153-1880-4

The Culture of Queers, Richard Dyer (2002). ISBN 0-415-22376-8

External links

GLBT Historical Society

Gay men and women should just be themselves

Christina up close

Sophie Morris. From the tragic to the bland // New Statesman, August 1, 2005

"Pink doesn't mean fluffy" John Howard. The Independent, (UK), August 4, 2005

Category:Popular culture Category:LGBT culture