From YMCA to Bloom: chartg the evolutn of the gay anthem | Mic | The Guardian

Contents:

• BT GAY ANTHEM: 'TE COLORS' OR 'OVER THE RABOW'? | THE TYLT
• WHY IS JUDY GARLAND THE ULTIMATE GAY IN?
• THE 50 BT GAY SONGS TO CELEBRATE PRI ALL YEAR LONG
• SOMEWHERE OVER THE RABOWA HISTORY OF THE LGBTQ PRI SYMBOLNATHAN ALLEN·FOLLOWPUBLISHED FRAME OF REFERENCE·4 M READ·OCT 26, 2020--1SHAREPHOTO BY JOSè MARIA SAVA ON UNSPLASHWHEN I WAS YOUNGER, I VIVIDLY REMEMBER SOMEONE REMARKG THAT GAY PEOPLE STOLE THE RABOW OM GOD. I THOUGHT THAT WAS AN ODD THG TO SAY — EVEN BEFORE I ME TO MY OWN INTY.OVER THE NEXT , I JT ACCEPTED WHOUT QUTN THAT THE RABOW WAS THE FIVE SYMBOL OF ALL THGS GAY.AS I DUG TO , I LEARNED ABOUT AN TERTG HISTORY, ONE STEEPED STGGLE. WHAT STARTED AS A TRIANGLE WH A SISTER BACKGROUND GREW TO A BETIFUL LORFUL SYMBOL OF EEDOM.THE PK TRIANGLE
• FROM YMCA TO BLOOM: CHARTG THE EVOLUTN OF THE GAY ANTHEM

BT GAY ANTHEM: 'TE COLORS' OR 'OVER THE RABOW'? | THE TYLT

After rearchg gay in Judy Garland’s versn of “Over the Rabow, ” I was stunned to disver the song (which first buted 1939) was wrten by Yip Harbug, the son of a Rsian-Jewish immigrant. The latt episo of Billboard Explas div to what mak a gay pri anthem, and discs the hs that have ntributed to the LGBTQ+ muny over the years.

Members of the LGBTQ+ muny have a vast soundtrack of songs at their disposal to play every year when Pri Month around, but what exactly mak a songs a gay pri anthem? Much like the LGBTQ+ muny self, gay pri anthems are credibly diverse and span a variety of genr and are performed by a range of micians who spire the urage to be your most thentic self.

WHY IS JUDY GARLAND THE ULTIMATE GAY IN?

Of urse, morn-day divas like Mariah Carey, Madonna, Brney Spears and Christa Aguilera are gay ins, but isn’t jt pop sgers who soundtrack Pri Month — even Disney movi like Ennto and Frozen provi spiratn, as unnventnal of a choice as may seem.

” Havg seen The Wizard of Oz as a child, Ross was further drawn towards Judy Garland his late teens, around the same time he me out as gay. ”More like this- Film’s most shockg moments- How Friends changed our ia of fay- The bt films of 2019 so farRoss is far om the only gay man to feel such strong affy wh Garland’s work and life.

Gay magaze The Advote once lled her the “Elvis of homosexuals”, and a 1967 review of Garland's ncert at New York Cy’s Palace Theatre, Time Magaze observed that a “disproportnate part of her nightly claque” was gay. Two years earlier, Garland herself had been asked if at a San Francis prs nference if she md havg such a large gay followg, to which she rpond: “I uldn’t re ls. The buzz surroundg the release, partnered wh the 2018 remake of A Star is Born – the inic showbiz drama that earned Garland an Amy Award nomatn 1954 – has brought her distctly gay legacy back to bpic Judy, Renée Zellweger plays Garland – and is a favoure for next year’s Osrs (Cred: David Hdley/ LD Entertament / Roadsi Attractns)To many gay men, Garland is the mother of all ins.

THE 50 BT GAY SONGS TO CELEBRATE PRI ALL YEAR LONG

Analysg her story, om upbrgg to ath, helps unrstand how and why some gay men look to famo women to help them navigate the town to Tseltown In 1922, Garland was born Franc Ethel Gumm – named after her parents Frank and Ethel – Grand Rapids, Mnota. One is not brought up gay – Richard DyerThis perd Garland’s life, which mirrored closely the story of Dorothy, has ntributed signifintly to her stat as a gay in.

In his book, Heavenly Bodi: Film Stars and Society, profsor Richard Dyer observ some gay men intify wh Garland’s rejectn of the ordars that she seemed sted for as a child.

SOMEWHERE OVER THE RABOWA HISTORY OF THE LGBTQ PRI SYMBOLNATHAN ALLEN·FOLLOWPUBLISHED FRAME OF REFERENCE·4 M READ·OCT 26, 2020--1SHAREPHOTO BY JOSè MARIA SAVA ON UNSPLASHWHEN I WAS YOUNGER, I VIVIDLY REMEMBER SOMEONE REMARKG THAT GAY PEOPLE STOLE THE RABOW OM GOD. I THOUGHT THAT WAS AN ODD THG TO SAY — EVEN BEFORE I ME TO MY OWN INTY.OVER THE NEXT , I JT ACCEPTED WHOUT QUTN THAT THE RABOW WAS THE FIVE SYMBOL OF ALL THGS GAY.AS I DUG TO , I LEARNED ABOUT AN TERTG HISTORY, ONE STEEPED STGGLE. WHAT STARTED AS A TRIANGLE WH A SISTER BACKGROUND GREW TO A BETIFUL LORFUL SYMBOL OF EEDOM.THE PK TRIANGLE

He theoris that turng out to be abnormal after beg “saturated wh the valu or ordars” is a pot where Garland and Dorothy’s stori align wh the experience of some gay men, enuragg those who perceive themselv as ‘different’ to gravate towards troubleGarland’s arrival as a major Hollywood star was plited by a seri of disastro personal relatnships, most notably wh herself. ” This physil secury is somethg that many gay men n intify wh, particular, as a mographic more likely to battle body dysmorphia, harm their bodi, attempt suici and suffer om eatg disorrs. In the book, Changg Gay Male Inti, Dr Andrew Cooper suggts that the body n be a plex battleground for many gay men: that the body be a key se for projectg a “succsful” sense of self to gay peers, but also for embodyg succs the ey of wir society.

But the Osr end up gog to Grace Kelly, signallg that Garland’s Hollywood star was not gog to be reigned after this pot, the motif of Garland as a ‘survivor’ be central to her gay appeal. A Star is Born further blurred the le between her work and life, wh Richard Dyer intifyg this as the moment where Garland’s image of beg “damaged goods” be an sential part of her star persona and gay in stat.

”Some gay men fd more affy straight female stars than they do those om their own muny, a procs that queer amic José Muñoz lls “disintifitn”. As an example, Muñoz suggts that when a gay man “intified” wh Garland, he was “wrg his way to the mastream culture which his own story uld never be told.

FROM YMCA TO BLOOM: CHARTG THE EVOLUTN OF THE GAY ANTHEM

”Gay men often reject gay cultural figur that they perceive as geared towards straight people – such as the st members of Netflix’s Queer EyeBut ntrastgly, the book How to be Gay, queer historian David Halper scrib a tensn wh the “mastream” that leads gay men to be “highly cril, if not ntemptuo, of their own artists, wrers and filmmakers”. He says that gay men often fail to warm to gay characters and celebri bee they “don’t often like the reprentatns of gay men that gay men produce. He draws a key distctn between gay culture – where “nventnal” whe gay men are domant – and gay subculture – where women, drag queens, queer people of lour and trans people are more visible.

This some gay men to reject gay cultural figur that they perceive as geared towards straight people – such as, to e two very current exampl, the st members of Netflix’s Queer Eye and gay Democratic printial ndidate Pete Buttigeig. Instead many embrace subcultural – and their ey, more subversive – female narrativ like Garland’ seen the new film Judy, Garland found a new niche as a live sger towards the end of her life (Cred: David Hdley / LD Entertament/ Roadsi Attractns)So, pendg on which way you look at , “disintifyg” wh Garland is eher gay men’s way of feelg aligned to mastream culture – or, fact, rejectg in athIt is an unavoidable tth that Garland’s tragic and untimely ath has also ntributed to her stat as a gay in, makg her a timels figure.