GBLT Celebrities

[clumber]

Just an idea I had. Basically, build up a list of all the celebrities that we can think of who are GBLT.

 

These are the ones I can think of just off the top of my head:

 

 

Graham Norton - TV Show host... famous for being camp (but he is funny, to be fair).

 

John Barrowman - Actor (In Dr Who and its spin-off, Torchwood) and also hosts a few quiz shows and keeps appearing as a judge on the various "Talent" (ie Karaoke) Shows that you get everywhere.

 

Sue Perkins - Comedienne

 

Matt Lucas - Actor/Comedian, I suppose.... He's the fat one from Little Britain (says martin, insensitively)

 

 

Thats all I can think of just now... who can you lot think of to add to the list?

 

Martin

Edited May 19, 2008 by clumber

[SonoLuminus]

Sticking with those who are/were publicly out:

 

Andy Bell- Erasure lead singer

Jimmy Somerville- singer, formerly of Bronski Beat and the Communards

Marc Almond -singer, formerly of Soft Cell

Ola Salo- singer, The Ark (bisexual)

Freddie Mercury -singer, Queen

Melissa Etheridge -singer

Melissa Ferrick -singer

Rudy Galindo -figure skater

John Curry -figure skater

Rudolf Nureyev -dancer, Kirov, then the Royal Ballet

Erik Bruhn-dancer, Royal Danish Ballet (had a longterm relationship w/Nureyev)

Robert LaFosse- dancer, American Ballet Theatre, and then New York City Ballet

Rex Harrington -dancer, National Ballet of Canada

Mark Morris- choreographer/director Mark Morris Dance Group

Matthew Bourne- choreographer/director Adventures in Motion Pictures, most known for his all-male version of Swan Lake

[old bob]

Just one more list of well-known Gay & Lesbian Personalities (taken from the site http://www.outyouth.org, under the responsability of the site owners !) :

Quentin Crisp English writer & actor

Martina Navratilova US tennis player

k.d. lang US singer, musician

Andy Warhol US artist

Ellen DeGeneres comedienne, actress

Keith Haring US artist

Barbara Jordan US legislator from Texas

Glen Maxey Texas State Representative

Morrissey English singer (The Smiths)

David Bowie English singer, musician, actor

Sandra Bernhardt US comedienne

Barney Frank US Congressman

Boy George English singer (Culture Club)

Elton John English singer, musician

Roddy Bottum musician (Faith No More, Imperial Teen)

Rita Mae Brown author, (Ruby Fruit Jungle)

Wilson Cruz actor

William Burroughs US author

Gerry Studds US Congressman

Fanny Flagg writer, actor

John Waters filmmaker

Yves St. Laurent designer

Perry Ellis designer

RuPau drag performer, talk show host

Melissa Etheridge singer, musician

Julie Cypher filmmaker

Stephen Merritt musician (Magnetic Fields)

Greg Louganis Olympic diver

Candace Gingrich activist, Newt's sister

David Geffen entertainment mogul, Geffen Records

Harvey Fierstein actor

Neil Tennant & Chris Lowe (Pet Shop Boys)

Amanda Bearse actress

George Michael singer

Ed Flanagan Vermont State Auditor

Rupert Everett English actor & author

Michael Stipe singer (R.E.M.)

Lily Tomlin comedienne, actress

Dan Savage advice columnist

Divine female impersonator, actor

Todd Oldham designer

Kevin Williamson filmmaker (Scream, Dawson's Creek)

James Whale film director

David Sedaris author

Anne Heche actress

Todd Haynes film director

James Hormel US ambassador

Alan Cumming actor

Gus Van Sant film director

Sir Ian McKellen actor

Bob Mould musician (Sugar, Husker Du)

Rufus Wainwright singer, musician

Ani DiFranco singer

Pansy Division punk band

Bret Easton Ellis author (Less Than Zero)

Jean Paul Gaultier designer

Andy Bell singer (Erasure)

Phranc folksinger

Scott Thompson comedian (Kids in the Hall)

Herman Melville US author

Walt Whitman US author, poet

Alexander the Great Macedonian leader

Plato Greek philosopher

Julius Caesar Roman emperor

Richard II English king

Leonardo da Vinci Italian artist & inventor

Michaelangelo Italian artist

Edward II English king

Montezuma II Aztec ruler

Francis Bacon English statesman & author

Queen Christina Swedish monarch

Peter the Great Russian Czar

Frederick the Great Prussian king

Madame de Stael French writer

Lord Byron English poet

Hans Christian Andersen Danish author

Margaret Fuller US writer, educator

Horatio Alger, Jr. US author, founder of orphanages

Peter Tchaikovsky Russian composer

Oscar Wilde Irish poet & playwright

Marcel Proust French author

Willa Cather US author

Gertrude Stein US author

E.M. Forster English author

Virginia Woolf English author

John Maynard Keynes English economist

Federico Garcia Lorca Spanish poet, dramatist

Bessie Smith US blues singer

Cole Porter US songwriter

Eleanor Roosevelt US First Lady & diplomat

Tennessee Williams US playwright

Harvey Milk San Francisco politician & activist

And this list is just one of many many more.

I have another list of famous gay personalities, Europeans and alive

But I'm not sure it will interest a lot of our readers.

If you want I could go on, but only "on demand".

"We are not alone" should be the motto of this topic

Old Bob

[Procyon]

Is it possible that you all missed Jodie Foster? Maybe I just didn't see her on the lists.

 

And Colm T

[Tiger]

Is it possible that you all missed Jodie Foster? Maybe I just didn't see her on the lists.

 

And Colm T

[Procyon]

As far as I know Jodie Foster's relationship with her girlfriend (wife?) is official. I'm pretty sure they live together, didn't check though.

[Tiff]

Isn't David Bowie married to Iman, or whatever her name is? Some African model.

 

That doesn't mean he can't be gay, but I have never heard anything about him until I read that long list posted by old Bob.

[Tiger]

Isn't David Bowie married to Iman, or whatever her name is? Some African model.

 

That doesn't mean he can't be gay, but I have never heard anything about him until I read that long list posted by old Bob.

David Bowie is a bisexual. Okay, I think I have one that was not on the list. He is one of my favorite singers and he was the lead singer of Savage Garden. Darren Hayes is gay, and he got married to a man. I love listening to his songs considering that they're about man on man love.

[Benji]

I do not think Jodi Foster is officially out. However, she is probably a lesbian. I had no idea about Lily Tomlin. That was a surprising one.

 

 

.......Jodie is out, did it a couple weeks ago, but how did anyone not mention Rock Hudson sadly, if I remember right, he was outed just before he died.

[Dravenn]

Has no one mentioned Derren Brown yet? Amazing bloke, even if he is a bit spooky with all that psychological mind control stuff .

I didn't know about Plato, I wonder if that's worth a few extra points when I write my essay on the Death of Socrates?

[AFriendlyFace]

I do not think Jodi Foster is officially out. However, she is probably a lesbian. I had no idea about Lily Tomlin. That was a surprising one.

.......Jodie is out, did it a couple weeks ago, but how did anyone not mention Rock Hudson sadly, if I remember right, he was outed just before he died.

Exactly, she only recently officially came out. Actually I was quite shocked...that it wasn't already official that is, when I heard the news.

 

Not that I mean to dis Jodie (she's a fine actress and I like her work), but that's one of those cases that really annoys me. When a celebrity is so obvious, and most everyone knows or assumes anyway (and in my case even assumed she was out) and it takes them that long to actually to do it!

[Benji]

Exactly, she only recently officially came out. Actually I was quite shocked...that it wasn't already official that is, when I heard the news.

 

Not that I mean to dis Jodie (she's a fine actress and I like her work), but that's one of those cases that really annoys me. When a celebrity is so obvious, and most everyone knows or assumes anyway (and in my case even assumed she was out) and it takes them that long to actually to do it!

 

 

.......You know it doesn't annoy me, to each his own, if a celeb likes/wants his/her privacy, why not. It is no ones business but their own. Now I can't remember his name (Doogie Howser?) but he came out I think because some rag was going to out him. (That is dead wrong to out someone without their permission) but I admire him for stepping forward to throw water on the flames.

[AFriendlyFace]

.......You know it doesn't annoy me, to each his own, if a celeb likes/wants his/her privacy, why not. It is no ones business but their own. Now I can't remember his name (Doogie Howser?) but he came out I think because some rag was going to out him. (That is dead wrong to out someone without their permission) but I admire him for stepping forward to throw water on the flames.

I definitely agree that's it wrong to out someone against their will, and I will respect someone's wishes to remain private about it, but I have to admit it really irks me when people who are so obvious, and so not fooling anyone, do that. This very much ties in with the discussion we've been having in the "Coming out as a Bisexual" thread. If people are in the position to come out without it seriously and negatively affecting them (and the assumption is that they are in that position if they're already pretty obvious to everyone and nothing is happening), then I really think the right thing to do is to come out. Celebrities and other well-known figures have this responsibility to an even greater degree in my opinion because they are so much more visible and because they can and do send a more powerful message.

 

To use your example when Neil Patrick Harris came out it had a very positive impact on the gay community and meant a lot to young, closeted gay people (I know this because I've heard and read the evidence). He wasn't even one of the 'worst' examples, because for the most part everyone, or most people, weren't already assuming he was gay, so theoretically his life could have changed significantly after he came out. Lance Bass is another example of this, he's been lauded by the gay community and it seems he's had a very positive impact on a lot of people, especially a lot of vulnerable people.

 

In my opinion the only thing that's really likely to change for people who are just kind of insulting everyone's intelligence about it is that people will respect them more for finally telling the truth. Personally speaking I even have more trouble respecting and taking seriously people who are just THAT obvious and still openly deny it. It's one thing if they just adamantly refuse to comment either way (like Mika for example). I still think society and the GLBT community would likely benefit by them coming out, but I can respect that a lot more. Indeed, I can actually see that as doing some good because it's sending the message, "this shouldn't be an issue and I refuse to make it one by confirming or denying it". Those people don't really bother me at all, it's the people who spend all this time openly denying it and getting angry about it that irritate me. They're sending a very bad message by doing that in my opinion. They're saying that being gay is not only something shameful which must be hidden, but something to get angry and defensive about if someone even speculates if you might be.

 

Conversely there are a lot of straight celebrities out there about whom such rumours occasionally circulate and I really like and respect it when they react with something along the lines of, "Well I'd certainly be fine with it and admit it if I were, but I'm not." I may be wrong but I think Richard Gere, Oprah, Paul Newman, and Brad Pitt fall into this category (as I said I could be wrong though). That sends a great message IMO.

 

Further, when these obviously gay celebrities finally do come out, I admit that I personally tend to be so frustrated with them that I'm lukewarm about it. It's like, "Oh, so you're finally telling us something we've known and you've been denying for years, and now you want a big a hug and pat on the back about it"

 

A good example of this is Clay Aiken (these are all just my opinions and speculation about him, nothing I mean to indicate as having been substantiated). He's just a big joke to me on the whole issue now, and I don't think anything he could do would really satisfy me. Even if he came out now and started waving a big pride flag I'd still consider him a hypocrite and a coward and it would take years for me to respect any positive impact he makes or any good work he might do. Rosie O'Donnell is another good example of this IMO. At least to me it was painfully obvious that she was a lesbian for years before she finally came out, there was a ton of speculation, and as I remember (forgive me if I'm wrong) she kept denying it. As a result it's only been in the last couple of years that she's gotten 'on my good side' (she is now though) for all her outspoken, activism nowadays. Conversely, I don't remember a great deal of speculation about Ellen and I don't remember her publicly denying it, so when she came out (like Harris and Bass) I respected and approved and reacted in a supportive way right away. *

 

I readily admit this isn't a very nice or supportive way of thinking, and as I said, I do respect the wishes of those who want to remain in the closet - in the end it's definitely their decision and no one else's. I just tend to feel in the way I explained above about it, particularly when it comes to celebrities.

 

 

-Kevin

 

*I was quite young when Rosie and Ellen came out and in the time period immediately preceding and following it, so forgive me if I've messed up the details or misremembered.

 

Edited to add:

 

This opinion is in regard to contemporary celebrities (and to that same lesser extent contemporary gay people). I know, accept, respect, and empathize with the fact that it was much more difficult and dangerous to be gay, say, before the late 80s/early 90s. To that extent even older celebrities who are still denying it have more sympathy from me and less a lot less contempt. It's primarily the younger generation, the ones who came of age, and gained notoriety in in the 90s and 00's that I'm primarily referring to in my posts.

Edited May 20, 2008 by AFriendlyFace

[clumber]

Kevin, I would have to disagree with you on your thing about "a responsibility to come out". I see no reason why we should be telling people that they must inform us of their private lives just to help push forward what is, in truth, a political agenda. Why do we need gay celebrities to promote this? Are straight ones inferior? Making such an issue out of whether or not celebs are gay is dangerous to any sort of equal rights movement for GBLT people. We're are at risk of turning ourselves into a show and a joke if we are not careful, and I would rather not be compared with a load of celebrities simply because they happen to share the same sexuality as me.

 

 

Also, when straight people get annoyed at people saying they are gay, I think that is entirely justified. If people persistently said that an out gay person was secretly straight, I have no doubt that they would also get annoyed. Just because someone is annoyed at being called gay all the time doesn't mean they show no support, or that they think that there is anything wrong with being gay. Oh, and about the people who say "I am not gay, but think it would be fine if I was" are actually just the ones with enough brains to avoid kicking up a fuss. Congratulations for them knowing how to keep themselves safe but I don't think we should be praising them as brilliant 'supporters' or anything. That'd be like constantly giving my dog treats for not have a crap in the kitchen.

 

 

I, personally, don't see the big issue over gay celebrities. I thought it'd be cool to have a list of out GBLT celebs just to see if there were any I had heard of but never knew that about, and because it surprised me that one hadn't been made already. However, I don't think it is such a big deal that we should start seriously criticising people for not coming out. Saying its a "responsibility to society" is basically saying that these people don't deserve the same levels of freedom as the rest of us because of some perceived threat to our political movement. In many cases it has no impact on their careers, and I don't see why it should impact our admiration of their talents.

 

A good example would be Sue Perkins. She was outed by her ex-girlfriend when her ex was in I'm a celebrity and the knowledge that Sue is lesbian has absolutely no impact of my view on her whatsoever. Before I found out about that incident (never saw it myself, so couldn't say much about the nature of the outing) I thought she was funny. After I found out, I still think she's funny. Finding out was more mild interest than anything else. Now, Rhona Cameron, who outed her, does stuff for LGBT Scotland and Pride London, so she is clearly more active in supporting our community. However, she also thinks its acceptable to out an ex-girlfriend on live TV. In my opinion the fact that she thinks its ok to out people in that manner is not made up for by the fact that she happens to have herself listed as "a patron" to a couple of societies/organisations or whatever. Also, I've never seen Rhona do stand-up (apparently she's a comedienne) so I can't comment on her talents.

 

Martin

 

 

EDIT: Again my inability to actually structure a post is demonstrated wonderuflly, but hopefully you can still make out what I;m trying to say anyway.

Edited May 21, 2008 by clumber

[JamesSavik]

Frankly there are a number of gay celebs that are complete and utter doush-bags and I wish they would crawl back into the closet.

George Michael and Boy George: are you a-holes listening???

 

If you are going to come out, please don't make an effort to personally reinforce all of the worst stereotypes about gay people.

 

 

Martin- I agree with you about coming out/not coming out and gay celebs. If a person who is widely regarded as a jackass comes out, it does nothing to help our cause.

 

Hermann Goring was a freaky, nazi cum pig who had other nazi bigwigs shot so he would have first dibs on the best Aryan meat. That DOES NOT mean we want Hermann Goring as a gay icon.

[AFriendlyFace]

Well, Martin, that's your opinion and you're certainly entitled to it; I just happen to disagree.

 

Also, I said nothing about the celebrities not having the same rights or freedoms or protection under the law as anyone else. Nor did I support or praise, in fact I specifically condemned, people who out other people. It is their own business and no one else's and no one else has the right to out them. Nevertheless, my opinion is that when they can come out safely and comfortably it's the socially responsible thing to do. They may not like it, but the fact is that with fame comes the greater potential for doing good, and with great potential comes great responsibility (I feel like I'm quoting Spiderman here!). IF they decide not to do anything about it then fine, that's their prerogative, but it's also my prerogative to disapprove of their decision and even to not support people who easily could, but don't, support (and often times harm) a cause that's important to me.

 

I never meant to marginalize straight celebrities who support the gay cause. Indeed, I have the utmost respect for celebrities like Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie who not only support GLBT rights, but really go the extra mile when it comes to humanitarian efforts in general. I think Christina Aguilera and Pink rock because they've made music, and official statements in support of social acceptance. I think it's wonderful how Oprah (and many other talk show hosts) have used their power of media to support peace and justice (for all, not just GLBT people). This list goes on and on. Believe me, I didn't mean to downplay their support and ability at all, but the truth is in most of these cases apart from the fact that they're human beings and such causes should be important to all human beings, it really isn't directly their fight. I appreciate it them fighting it on our behalf, but what does it say when our own people won't stand up for themselves and for us when they easily could?

 

Being a 'celebrity' is practically tantamount for being liked as a 'personality'. Isn't it my prerogative to decide I don't like 'personalities' that exhibit the characteristics these closeted celebrities exhibit? Isn't it might right to not aid in their fame, success, and wealth if I don't approve of the way they conduct themselves? The 'family values' people certainly haveno problem boycotting affirming celebrities, media, and corporations. Nor is their any lack of people ready to condemn a celebrity for drinking too much and showing a little skin. The anti-war celebrities have taken heat. So have the gun toting celebrities. There's really no shortage of people ready to condemn and 'black list' celebrities because their behaviour isn't in line with said person's personal morals and values. It's ashame, but I guess I'm just another amongst this group.

 

Anyway, when you get right down to it I really don't do much except castigate them for their lack of courage and, in my opinion, responsibility...but I suppose that says something about my own laziness and hypocrisy.

 

Anyway, they're welcome to parade around and, again in my opinion, make jokes of us all with their insults to our intelligence and sheer 'obviousness'. They're welcome to react as though being gay is unimaginable to them and get irritated at the mere suggestion (and remember I'm talking about celebrities who really are gay getting annoyed at this, not straight celebs). They're welcome to ignore our cause and generally bury their heads in the sand about what's going on. They're welcome to do all these things and more...but I'm also welcome to turn them off, tune them out, and generally view them as pathetic.

 

-Kevin

Edited May 21, 2008 by AFriendlyFace

[glomph]

Applying the term "gay" to historical persons is tricky. For example, in a society where straight men had boy lovers, is everybody gay? Do you count everybody who fooled around with other guys when they were young? Do you take into account Kinsey's notion of a scale? Or what?

 

Oh, and don't forget Alan Turing.

[old bob]

Applying the term "gay" to historical persons is tricky. For example, in a society where straight men had boy lovers, is everybody gay.....Do you take into account Kinsey's notion of a scale? Or what?

Oh, and don't forget Alan Turing.

I supposed this topic was just for fun

But if you want to go deeper in this "study", you have to introduce the diverses cultural aspects, for instance the age of the younger partner :wacko: .

In your post , you are refering to pederasty in Ancient Greece.

Then : Visit Greek antiquity

The difference between "gayness" and "paederasty" (literally 'boy-love') which refers to an erotic relationship, sexually expressed or not, between an adolescent boy and an adult male outside his immediate family could perhaps be the subject of a separate topic, but taking care of the age of our youngster members ?

Pederasty has existed from earliest times through a variety of customs and practices within different cultures. Though frequently criminalized in the past, currently it is legal in most nations if the boy has reached the local age of consent.

IMO, the differences between a "gay",as we use this word here, and a "boy-lover" have not only a practical aspect (the age of the partners) but much more ethical and moral aspects.

A very good example of the problems of "boy-love (insisting on the word "love") is the story "Here's Looking at you Kid", by Douglas. You can find it at Awesomedude or in the forum "the Story Cafe" in a topic from last December.

BTW, the reason why this topic was for me just "fun" and nothing more is simple to explain : Why should I be interested who among celebrities is gay or not ? As we say in French : "ce n'est pas ma tasse de th

[Benji]

But it seems that I was alone with my opinion, with all these "serious" posts .

Old bob

 

 

.........No your not alone, I couldn't give a damn about "celebs" and if they are gay or not as I stated above.

[JamesSavik]

Like you two I couldn't possibly care less if a celeb is gay.

 

I just wish they would keep it to themselves if they are going to be an embarrassment.

[glomph]

with all these "serious" posts

 

I was just pointing out some anachronisms and didn't mean to get too serious. Folks can get so carried away claiming that people were gay, especially the smart and the talented, that it becomes even more meaningless.

[clumber]

Actually, it did just start as a fun/mildly interesting topic (I find the whole thing with gay celebs 'mildly interesting'... as in, if I hear that a celeb I admire is GBLT then I think "well, fancy that" and thats pretty much it) but then Kevin made his post and I felt compelled to reply. Meh, there we go.