Gay Icons

Martina Navratilova is one of them, for me.

She came out early in her career - one of the few public personages to have done so at that time, actually (1981.) Even though she paid a high price in lost endorsements, she never backed down and just kept being who she was.

She has continued that through the years, and has given her time, energy, and money to help the cause of civil rights all along.

I know this is cliche, but I consider Lady Gaga a gay icon to me because she helped me come out. I'm 16.

To me, she is the queen of liberation. While Madonna is the queen of sexuality.

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CSonBroadway, I don't think considering Lady Gaga as a gay icon is cliche at all. Perhaps a touch premature, but she's definitely well on her way to becoming one...if not THE one of this generation.

If her flamboyance and pop music wasn't enough for candidacy, then her vocal support for the gay community, equality and liberation in general surely is.

Quentin Quisp.

Always was exactly who he was, with no apologies. I suppose some might argue that he really didn't have a choice - he was pretty 'obvious' - but how he responded was a choice. And it was always with his head held high and a sly remark on his lips.

And all in a time that was . . . well, dangerous, really.

Joan Jett--Written off as a gimmick only to fire up her own label, become hugely successful and one of the best ladies to ever grace rock n roll. Plus, she's a total butch with a tip of the hat to femme beauty. Class.

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HARRY HAY! HARRY HAY! HARRY HAY!


Henry "Harry" Hay, Jr. (April 7, 1912 – October 24, 2002) was a teacher, labor advocate, and early leader in the American LGBT rights movement. Drawing on his background in the Communist Party USA, Hay co-founded the Mattachine Society, the first enduring LGBT rights organization in the United States, in 1950. Following his ouster from Mattachine leadership in 1953, Hay largely withdrew from organized LGBT activism until the late 1970s, although he continued to participate in the movement informally and following the 1969 Stonewall riots, became involved in a local Gay Liberation Front chapter. In 1979, Hay and his longtime companion, inventor John Burnside, founded the Radical Faeries. Hay and Burnside remained together for almost 40 years, from 1963 until Hay's death.

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Just curious, Q, what was your take on this situation?

http://www.queerty.com/is-martina-navratilova-actually-bad-for-gay-rights-20090630/

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Greg Louganis, then...













...and now...








...and forever...

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Updated On: 9/7/10 at 06:47 PM

Mr. M - I had to think about this for awhile.

I guess, in the end, I see it as a private personal choice that is only made public because of her celebrity. A little disclosure - I had the chance to see Martina in her personal life when I lived in Aspen. It was right after the ugly split from Judy Nelson, and she was seeing a ski instructor. Frankly, she wasn't very pleasant. And there are many tales of her that paint a less than flattering picture.

Much like John Denver, another Aspen resident, the private and public persona diverged so much at times to be almost irreconcilable. Does that make the public persona nothing but a lie? What about the work they do under that 'guise'?

I tend to look at what they present to the world, and let their private selves remain just that. In the end, I don't think we can ever really know exactly what's going on with people and their actions - especially if all we see is filtered through the media.

I guess, when things are made public, their reaction to that and how it's dealt with become part of the public persona. But in our celebrity mad times, that kind of distinction has become almost a moot point.

Updated On: 9/8/10 at 02:33 AM

Oddly, it makes the unfairness and inequity more visible by showcasing the 'loophole'.