The adoptn of female stars as ins by gay men isn’t a new phenomenon. Many exampl sprg to md, such as Judy Garland and Barbra Streisand. But what’s the reason for their gay in stat? And…
Contents:
- A LOOK AT JOAN CRAWFORD AND THE GAY IN PHENOMENON
- WHY IS JUDY GARLAND THE ULTIMATE GAY IN?
- REMEMBERG GAY IN, JOAN CRAWFORD ON HER BIRTHDAY
- A LOOK AT JOAN CRAWFORD AND THE GAY IN PHENOMENON
- A MAN’S MAN: TSELTOWN’S GAY STAR LIV AGA ‘TAMG THE LN’
- GAY INS: BETTE DAVIS AND JOAN CRAWFORD
A LOOK AT JOAN CRAWFORD AND THE GAY IN PHENOMENON
* joan crawford gay *
This say was origally published by Much Ado About Cema on May 10, adoptn of female stars as ins by gay men isn’t a new phenomenon. But what’s the reason for their gay in stat?
Why is Joan Crawford, like so many others, emed a gay in and why, the AlterHéros “100 Bt Thgs about Beg Gay? ” list, do she s at №46 bee gay men “viscerally unrstand” her?
In The Death of Camp: Gay Men and Hollywood Diva Worship, om Reverence to Ridicule thor Daniel Harris wr that “film provid a vehicle for exprsg alienatn om our surroundgs and lkg up wh the utopic homosexual muny of our dreams, a sophistited ‘artistic’ society habed by Norma Dmonds and Holly Golightli who, while breakfastg at Tiffany’s, spoke a type of English heard only the back lots of MGM and Twentieth-Century Fox. ”And was film that solidified Crawford’s gay in stat; nothg more so than the cult classic Mommie Deart ( which she was portrayed by Faye Dunaway).
WHY IS JUDY GARLAND THE ULTIMATE GAY IN?
The adoptn of female stars as ins by gay men isn’t a new phenomenon. Many exampl sprg to md, such as Judy Garland and Barbra Streisand. But what’s the reason for their gay in stat? And why is this only btowed on a select few? Why is Joan Crawford, like so many others, emed a… * joan crawford gay *
What stuck gay men’s mds wasn’t the abe, was the image of Dunaway, drsed black, ld cream on her face, wh a slash of red lipstick as she held a wire at hanger the air. This imagery solidified the film’s stat as one of the mpit movi of all time and a pnacle of drag-queen is a popular term gay male culture, and synonymo wh flamboyant exaggeratn. ), or placed rol f for someone younger than themselv, like 60-year-old Crawford wearg fish tights, fishg for a younger man than half the gay men Crawford’s fan club will tell you that the aforementned films were their troductn to the star, wh Mommie Deart beg mentned most equently.
And ’s no surprise that bee of the film her populary began to rise once more, as she began to be referenced gay pop culture; televisn shows like Will & Grace and Fd: Bette and Joan (about the actors’ hostile relatnship), and films like Heathers (where the murr of two football jocks is disguised as a gay double homici wh the e of such “homosexual artifacts” as a Joan Crawford postrd). However, as you explore Crawford’s filmography, be clear that her image as a gay in was velopment long before Faye Dunaway’s Crawford forba the e of wire at 1945, Crawford won an Osr for her role as the termed, rourceful tle character Michael Curtiz’s Mildred Pierce. Mildred Pierce changed the public’s perceptn of her, and her transn om flapper to shop girl to this more plex and flawed character gave gay fans someone to root for who paralleled their own liv and appealed to them.
What gay dienc loved about Crawford was her termatn; an unrdog who overme the odds.
REMEMBERG GAY IN, JOAN CRAWFORD ON HER BIRTHDAY
Mildred’s stggl, not jt as a woman, but also as a parent is a reflectn of the gay male experience. Emotns all too faiar to their own there is nothg gay men love more than their ins’ figuraly.
The film tips the sl of genr-bendg as Crawford alternat between mascule and feme stume throughout the film, which n be a butch and femme reflectn to gay dienc. The gay subtext don’t end there, as the relatnship between Crawford’s Vienna and Merces McCambridge’s Emma emanat nothg but sexual tensn throughout the film, but bee this is the 1950s, ’s downplayed by the relatnship between Crawford and Sterlg Hayn’s Johnny. And why gay men have an affy to certa female celebri is bee, like them, they have faced adversy, but the women rema equally vulnerable and strong the face of .
A LOOK AT JOAN CRAWFORD AND THE GAY IN PHENOMENON
Like many gay ins, Crawford was an outst who overme odds, somethg her fans who spent time the closet n relate to. Crawford’s flapper image fad quickly, but her evolvg style, nstant reventn, and obssn wh glamour have mmerized her gay fans for s, as they live by her motto: “I never go outsi unls I look like Joan Crawford the movie star. However, if there’s one thg that her gay fans will tell you they admire most about Crawford, was her love and support of gay men was iends wh many gay men, such as actor Car Romero, director Gee Cor, and stume signer Adrian.
A MAN’S MAN: TSELTOWN’S GAY STAR LIV AGA ‘TAMG THE LN’
He was open about his sexualy, and this eventually led to him havg to choose between beg himself or pursug his he qu actg, Crawford stood by him, sayg: “He had never kept a secret that he was homosexual. And ’s her gay male fans that ma her to an in. The women given the tle of “gay in” are chosen bee they are relatable; they are survivors.
Acrdg to thor Daniel Harris, worshippg the women helps members of the gay male muny get touch wh their masculy the way sports do for straight men.
Gay men saw the women participate a sport where their feme quali triumphed over the mascule, and as Harris wrote, “beneath all those layers of smetic bety li the kd of te gr John Wayne never knew. “The Biggt Mother of Them All”But at what pot did the gay muny embrace Mommie Deart and why? Well, for starters, the gay muny has always loved the glamoro female stars of old Hollywood.
GAY INS: BETTE DAVIS AND JOAN CRAWFORD
Paramount PicturBut when the subject of gay fans’ affectn beme entwed wh this over-the-top mp portrayal, was jt too hard for them to rist . ” And among those first moviegoers to partake the mp theatrics were gay dienc.
It beme a gay culture stutn and touchstone. Subsequently, the DVD mentary tracks for the film have clud gay filmmaker John Waters and drag legends like Hedda Lettuce. A way of lettg each other know we’re the same movie Giv Joan a 21st Century Boost World of WonrMommie Deart might have stayed a pop culture artifact for gays of “a certa age only” if weren’t for RuPl’s Drag Race.
Over the past , the realy petn show has troduced Mommie Deart to Millennial and Gen-Z gays. Paramount PicturAnd this is where thgs morph to somethg even more fascatg for Mommie Deart’s gay fans. And she’s even attend screengs of the film San Francis’s Castro Theater, where gay dienc howled at the proceedgs on screen.