By Emell Derra Adolph Rahsaan Patterson has no qualms when to sharg reasons for not wantg to be a gay mic in. "Why should I be? It
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- CHAKA KHAN SAYS THE GAYS ARE HER MOST LOYAL FANS"IF WEREN'T FOR THE CHILDREN, I WOULD NOT BE HERE." BY LAMAR DAWSONFEBARY 11, 2019/9:15 {HEIGHT:HER;DISPLAY:-WEBK-BOX;DISPLAY:-WEBK-FLEX;DISPLAY:-MS-FLEXBOX;DISPLAY:FLEX;POSN:RELATIVE;-WEBK-FLEX-WRAP:WRAP;-MS-FLEX-WRAP:WRAP;FLEX-WRAP:WRAP;-WEBK-ALIGN-EMS:CENTER;-WEBK-BOX-ALIGN:CENTER;-MS-FLEX-ALIGN:CENTER;ALIGN-EMS:CENTER;-WEBK-BOX-PACK:CENTER;-WEBK-JTIFY-NTENT:CENTER;-MS-FLEX-PACK:CENTER;JTIFY-NTENT:CENTER;-WEBK-TRANSFORM-ORIG:CENTER;-MS-TRANSFORM-ORIG:CENTER;TRANSFORM-ORIG:CENTER;} IMG{HEIGHT:100%;WIDTH:100%;OBJECT-F:VER;}{HEIGHT:4200PX;WIDTH:2973PX;}AXELLE/BER-GRIFF/FILMMAGICLOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 10: CHAKA KHAN ATTENDS THE 61ST ANNUAL GRAMMY AWARDS AT STAPL CENTER ON FEBARY 10, 2019 LOS ANGEL, CALIFORNIA. (PHOTO BY AXELLE/BER-GRIFF/FILMMAGIC)BY LAMAR DAWSONFEBARY 11, 2019 / 9:15 AM{"@NTEXT":","@TYPE":"NEWSARTICLE","HEADLE":"CHAKA KHAN SAYS THE GAYS ARE HER MOST LOYAL FANS","THUMBNAILURL":","DATEPUBLISHED":"2019-02-11T14:15:13.000+0000","DATEMODIFIED":"2019-02-11T14:15:13.000+0000","IMAGE":{"@NTEXT":","@TYPE":"IMAGEOBJECT","URL":","WIDTH":1920,"HEIGHT":1080},"URL":","THOR":{"@TYPE":"ORGANIZATN","NAME":"LOGO TV"},"MAENTYOFPAGE":{"@TYPE":"WEBPAGE","@ID":"},"PUBLISHER":{"@TYPE":"ORGANIZATN","@ID":","NAME":"LOGO TV","URL":","LOGO":{"@TYPE":"IMAGEOBJECT"}},"CREATOR":"LAMAR DAWSON"}{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}FROM DOLLY PARTON TO TONI BRAXTON, THE FEMALE INS WERE OUT AT THE GRAMMYS ON SUNDAY NIGHT (FEBARY 10). ONE MIC LEGEND TOOK THE TIME TO SPEAK TO GLAAD ABOUT HER ENDURG REER AND LOYAL LGBTQ {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;DISPLAY:-WEBK-BOX;DISPLAY:-WEBK-FLEX;DISPLAY:-MS-FLEXBOX;DISPLAY:FLEX;-WEBK-BOX-PACK:CENTER;-WEBK-JTIFY-NTENT:CENTER;-MS-FLEX-PACK:CENTER;JTIFY-NTENT:CENTER;POSN:RELATIVE;PADDG-BOTTOM:56.49999999999999%;} .TWTER-TWEET-RENRED, {M-WIDTH:65%;WIDTH:TO !IMPORTANT;} {WIDTH:100%;} {MARG-LEFT:TO !IMPORTANT;MARG-RIGHT:TO !IMPORTANT;} IMG{MAX-WIDTH:100%;WIDTH:100%;} > IAME{BORR:NONE;MAX-WIDTH:100%;} > *{MAX-WIDTH:NONE !IMPORTANT;POSN:ABSOLUTE;HEIGHT:100% !IMPORTANT;WIDTH:100% !IMPORTANT;}{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}"IF WEREN'T FOR THE CHILDREN, I WOULD NOT BE HERE," KHAN, 65, SAYS OF HER GAY FAN BASE. "[THEY'RE] THE MOST FAHFUL DIENCE I HAVE."{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}THE "A'T NOBODY" SGER ALSO OFFERED A FEW SIMPLE WORDS OF ADVICE TO THE {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}"PEOPLE WHO ARE TRIPPG ABOUT SOMETHG THAT SOMEONE ELSE IS DOG 'S BEE THEY HAVE A PROBLEM," SHE SAYS. "BE YOUR DAMN SELF. JT BE YOURSELF."{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}CAN I GET AN "AMEN?"{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;CLEAR:BOTH;}{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;MARG:0 TO;WIDTH:90%;M-WIDTH:288PX;MAX-WIDTH:1440PX;M-HEIGHT:194PX;}LATT NEWS
- THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985
- THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985
- THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985
- THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985
CHAKA KHAN SAYS THE GAYS ARE HER MOST LOYAL FANS"IF WEREN'T FOR THE CHILDREN, I WOULD NOT BE HERE." BY LAMAR DAWSONFEBARY 11, 2019/9:15 {HEIGHT:HER;DISPLAY:-WEBK-BOX;DISPLAY:-WEBK-FLEX;DISPLAY:-MS-FLEXBOX;DISPLAY:FLEX;POSN:RELATIVE;-WEBK-FLEX-WRAP:WRAP;-MS-FLEX-WRAP:WRAP;FLEX-WRAP:WRAP;-WEBK-ALIGN-EMS:CENTER;-WEBK-BOX-ALIGN:CENTER;-MS-FLEX-ALIGN:CENTER;ALIGN-EMS:CENTER;-WEBK-BOX-PACK:CENTER;-WEBK-JTIFY-NTENT:CENTER;-MS-FLEX-PACK:CENTER;JTIFY-NTENT:CENTER;-WEBK-TRANSFORM-ORIG:CENTER;-MS-TRANSFORM-ORIG:CENTER;TRANSFORM-ORIG:CENTER;} IMG{HEIGHT:100%;WIDTH:100%;OBJECT-F:VER;}{HEIGHT:4200PX;WIDTH:2973PX;}AXELLE/BER-GRIFF/FILMMAGICLOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 10: CHAKA KHAN ATTENDS THE 61ST ANNUAL GRAMMY AWARDS AT STAPL CENTER ON FEBARY 10, 2019 LOS ANGEL, CALIFORNIA. (PHOTO BY AXELLE/BER-GRIFF/FILMMAGIC)BY LAMAR DAWSONFEBARY 11, 2019 / 9:15 AM{"@NTEXT":","@TYPE":"NEWSARTICLE","HEADLE":"CHAKA KHAN SAYS THE GAYS ARE HER MOST LOYAL FANS","THUMBNAILURL":","DATEPUBLISHED":"2019-02-11T14:15:13.000+0000","DATEMODIFIED":"2019-02-11T14:15:13.000+0000","IMAGE":{"@NTEXT":","@TYPE":"IMAGEOBJECT","URL":","WIDTH":1920,"HEIGHT":1080},"URL":","THOR":{"@TYPE":"ORGANIZATN","NAME":"LOGO TV"},"MAENTYOFPAGE":{"@TYPE":"WEBPAGE","@ID":"},"PUBLISHER":{"@TYPE":"ORGANIZATN","@ID":","NAME":"LOGO TV","URL":","LOGO":{"@TYPE":"IMAGEOBJECT"}},"CREATOR":"LAMAR DAWSON"}{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}FROM DOLLY PARTON TO TONI BRAXTON, THE FEMALE INS WERE OUT AT THE GRAMMYS ON SUNDAY NIGHT (FEBARY 10). ONE MIC LEGEND TOOK THE TIME TO SPEAK TO GLAAD ABOUT HER ENDURG REER AND LOYAL LGBTQ {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;DISPLAY:-WEBK-BOX;DISPLAY:-WEBK-FLEX;DISPLAY:-MS-FLEXBOX;DISPLAY:FLEX;-WEBK-BOX-PACK:CENTER;-WEBK-JTIFY-NTENT:CENTER;-MS-FLEX-PACK:CENTER;JTIFY-NTENT:CENTER;POSN:RELATIVE;PADDG-BOTTOM:56.49999999999999%;} .TWTER-TWEET-RENRED, {M-WIDTH:65%;WIDTH:TO !IMPORTANT;} {WIDTH:100%;} {MARG-LEFT:TO !IMPORTANT;MARG-RIGHT:TO !IMPORTANT;} IMG{MAX-WIDTH:100%;WIDTH:100%;} > IAME{BORR:NONE;MAX-WIDTH:100%;} > *{MAX-WIDTH:NONE !IMPORTANT;POSN:ABSOLUTE;HEIGHT:100% !IMPORTANT;WIDTH:100% !IMPORTANT;}{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}"IF WEREN'T FOR THE CHILDREN, I WOULD NOT BE HERE," KHAN, 65, SAYS OF HER GAY FAN BASE. "[THEY'RE] THE MOST FAHFUL DIENCE I HAVE."{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}THE "A'T NOBODY" SGER ALSO OFFERED A FEW SIMPLE WORDS OF ADVICE TO THE {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}"PEOPLE WHO ARE TRIPPG ABOUT SOMETHG THAT SOMEONE ELSE IS DOG 'S BEE THEY HAVE A PROBLEM," SHE SAYS. "BE YOUR DAMN SELF. JT BE YOURSELF."{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}CAN I GET AN "AMEN?"{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;CLEAR:BOTH;}{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;MARG:0 TO;WIDTH:90%;M-WIDTH:288PX;MAX-WIDTH:1440PX;M-HEIGHT:194PX;}LATT NEWS
"If weren't for the children, I would not be here, " Khan, 65, says of her gay fan base. Rahsaan Patterson has no qualms when to sharg reasons for not wantg to be a gay mic in.
It’s the passg of gay muny stereotyp as mic artistry that gets him hot wh tratn.
THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985
Consir the evince of his childhood stardom: Before gay mic ins Beyonce, Brney and Christa walked the “Star Search” stage, a young Patterson won over judg wh a voice that seemed before his time.
THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985
OK, I know that I am gay.
But not everyone is ready to have that nversatn, and there’s a lot of gay people who are not ready to have the nversatn eher. And they are the kgs of beg gay. Even the Village People shied away om their queer origs when they h big wh their licly gay anthem “YMCA.
Whney was already grdg toward her reer, but take that off the table and you have a teenage girl experiencg a same-sex romance right at the onset of AIDS, an epimic that would be met not jt wh blatant homophobia disguised as moral panic but msagg rooted shame. Now we have Frank Ocean, Kehlani and Janelle Monáe progrsg R&B wh their sounds while centerg their sexualy; Lil Nas X was able to bee the first gay rapper to top the pop charts; shows like “Empire” and “Pose” and queer creators like Lena Wahe and Ja Mock have shifted the way Black queer characters are reprented film and on televisn.
THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985
Black queer artists lived openly, even as they risked persecutn for engagg homosexual acts. Her protégé, and mored paramour, Bsie Smh, sang about sexual eedom much to the ire of her abive hband and beme the hight-paid Black entertaer of her time; Gladys Bentley gaed populary for her cross-drsg performanc before later claimg to be “cured” of her homosexualy; 1935, Lucille Bogan rerd “B. The liberatn they found their bodi and their embracement of queer fans ma them all gay ins at a time when even allyship om mastream artists was nsired risky.
THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985
The tolerance extend to queer artists was still few and far between, as pop mic was rife wh homophobic gatekeepers. The chatter ma s way to prt journalists, who eventually started askg every terview, Is Whney gay? But there was also a flippant nial: “Anyway, whose bs is if you’re gay or like dogs?
” Surely Whney didn’t tend on lkg homosexualy wh btialy Time magaze or to downplay her clost iend as the help or the years of aggrsive nials that were sometim wrapped bigoted language.
This isn’t to exonerate the harm that me wh the bigoted thgs she said, but Whney was a young woman, a Black one, risg to the top durg a time when state-sanctned homophobia was the norm. She didn’t see herself as gay, and we didn’t talk about sexual fluidy wh the ease we do now. This was very much a time when you were gay if you had sex wh the same sex, perd.