A look to the history of how past gay anthems were born
Contents:
- WHY I'M NOT PROUD OF BEG GAY
- I’M 43 – BUT I’M MA TO FEEL LIKE A DOSR BY YOUNGER GAY MEN
- IN A FIRST FOR THE NFL, JAGUARS ACH OUT AS GAY
- WHAT MAK A SONG A GAY ANTHEM?
WHY I'M NOT PROUD OF BEG GAY
‘In gay years, you’re rather past your sell-by date, aren’t you?’ the person ont of me said, raisg an eyebrow. * cut to the feeling gay pride *
*extreme Kathare McPhee voice* Hi my gay boys (and gals and really every human regardls of how you intify) are the facts: It's Pri Month, you serve nice thgs, and Carly Rae Jepsen's songs are bops that make happy.
Wh two gay ins on one song, “No More Tears” opens wh Streisand croong “It’s rag, ’s pourg/ My love life is borg me to tears.
I’M 43 – BUT I’M MA TO FEEL LIKE A DOSR BY YOUNGER GAY MEN
This song, wh lyrics like “this is the life that we choose” and “e out, e out if you dare, ” add sparks to mors that Clarkson uld be gay. Bh, the song took on a bigger meang after Prop 8 — an anti-gay marriage state nstutnal amendment — was passed California.
For her sophomore album, Mariah Carey enlisted the help of Robert Clivill and David Cole (the lears of C+C Mic Factory) who -wrote and -produced the gospel fluenced dance track “Make It Happen. While the four members of Sister Sledge are actual sisters, the song took on a eper meang wh the gay muny beg one big fay.
While her one-two punch of her femme-bashg “Ur So Gay” and her exhibnist fx-lbian “I Kissed A Girl” haven’t aged well, Perry has bee more progrsive and would be hard to fd a Pri para not playg this boomg (pun tend) anthem. The drag-centric mil took home six Tonys, cludg bt mil; bt sre (wh mic and lyrics by gay in Cyndi Lper); and outstandg actor a mil, for out-and-proud Billy Porter’s eback performance as Lola, a drag queen. Aguilera was given a GLAAD Media Award for the song’s acpanyg mic vio, which featured movg portrayals of a gay uple and a transgenr person.
IN A FIRST FOR THE NFL, JAGUARS ACH OUT AS GAY
Will (Eric McCormack) is sgg the song the mirror while shavg, to which Grace (Debra Msg) quips, “We’re jt like 50 men and a mirrored ball away om beg a gay dis. In what appeared to be a rponse to the Brish ernment’s damng Sectn 28 act (which crimalized the promotn of homosexualy, rultg the closg of lbian, gay and bisexual support groups across Brish schools and lleg), the song qutns “What relign or reason uld drive a man to forsake his lover? Not only is Frozen’s Elsa the first Disney prcs whout a love tert, which has ved terpretatns of her beg gay or ace/aro, Elsa’s experience of isolatn and rejectn and her inty stggl are all too relatable to the movie’s queer dienc.
Datg back to at least World War II — when homosexual acts were illegal — the term “iend of Dorothy” was unrground slang for a gay man. While vtigatg homosexualy Chigo, the Naval Crimal Invtigative Service disvered that gay men ed this term to refer to themselv. Lil Nas X’s flamen-spired “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” was a cultural ret – never had a gay hip-hop star so ostentatly mercialized his queerns and sexualy to such succs.
The uber-fabulo Sylvter was so beloved by the San Francis gay muny that they gave him a standg ovatn at the 1988 Castro Street Fair that lasted more than 10 mut. Controversy asi, this song’s stayg power is unniable: RuPl sent two queens packg on the same episo of RuPl’s Drag Race for not dog jtice to a lip sync of the gay staple.
WHAT MAK A SONG A GAY ANTHEM?
Even at s nceptn, this song was a gay anthem: After seeg three drag queens impersonate Ross at a New York distheque, Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards were spired to wre somethg for her gay fandom. ” She followed through, wh lyrics like, “No matter gay, straight or bi / Lbian, transgenred life / I’m on the right track, baby / I was born to survive.
Whether we were gettg over a bad breakup ourselv or lookg for spiratn to stand up to the bigots and homophob, the lyrics of “Stronger” and Spears’ nvictn liverg them really h home. Who would have thought that Swedish pop star Robyn, whose 1997 h “Show Me Love” me out when she was jt 18, would bee a gay in a ltle more than a later.
However, s stat as an LGBTQ anthem was solidified by out gay dancer Mark Kanemura, who you may regnize om his time on So You Thk You Can Dance or as a backup dancer for Lady Gaga. And Jepsen was on too, brgg Kanemura up on stage wh her at numero ncerts when she performed “Cut to the Feelg” so he uld brg his Gay Pri to life ont of live dienc.