User:AriBerry501/Gay icon

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A gay icon is a public figure who is regarded as a cultural icon of some members of the LGBT community.

The most widely recognized gay icons are often celebrities who garnered large LGBT fanbases. However, the term is also applied to politicians, authors, and other historical figures deemed relatable to LGBT causes.

Many gay icons are celebrities in the entertainment industry, but the label has also been applied to figures in politics, history, sports, literature, and other mediums. Prominent entertainers considered to be gay icons often incorporate themes of acceptance, self-love, and sexuality in their work. Gay icons of all orientations within the LGBTQ+ community have acknowledged the role that their gay fans have played in their success.

Cher
Cher has been ranked in diverse listicles of the most prominent gay icons.

Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey has demonstrated allyship since the early beginnings of her career. She has shown her love for her LGBTQ+ fans numerous times, including a 2003 performance at G-A-Y in London. Furthermore, Carey also won a GLAAD award for Allyship.

Madonna
Pop musician Madonna has become a preeminent gay icon. The Advocate's Steve Gdula commented that "back in the 1980s and even the early 1990s, the release of a new Madonna video or single was akin to a national holiday, at least among her gay fans." Gdula also stated that during this period, concurrent with the rise of the AIDS epidemic, "when other artists tried to distance themselves from the very audience that helped their stars to rise, Madonna only turned the light back on her gay fans and made it burn all the brighter."

Janet Jackson


Janet Jackson garnered a substantial LGBT following during the 1990s with her sixth studio album The Velvet Rope (1997). The album was honored by the National Black Lesbian and Gay Leadership Forum and received the award for Outstanding Music Album at the 9th Annual GLAAD Media Awards in 1998 for its songs that dealt with sexual orientation and homophobia. On April 26, 2008, she received the Vanguard Award—a media award from the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation—to honor her work in the entertainment industry in promoting equality for LGBT people. GLAAD President Neil G. Giuliano commented, "Ms. Jackson has a tremendous following inside the LGBT community and out, and having her stand with us against the defamation that LGBT people still face in our country is extremely significant."

Ellen DeGeneres
Ellen DeGeneres is considered to be a gay icon for coming out publicly in a time when American culture was not as accepting, facing setbacks to her career and persevering to have an extremely successful daytime talk show.

Lady Gaga
Lady Gaga, who herself is bisexual, fought as an LGBT rights activist from the beginning of her career and has a large LGBT following. She is often referred as one of the biggest contemporary gay icons and fought against LGBT-related phobias, for marriage and adoption equality, the repeal of the Don't Ask Don't Tell law, the protection of transgender people.

Katy Perry
Out described Katy Perry as a gay icon. Perry dedicated the music video for Firework to the It Gets Better Project. Perry was additionally awarded the National Equality Award by the Human Rights Campaign.

Judy Garland
Late singer and actress Judy Garland was immensely popular among gay men due to her camp sensibilities, and is considered "the quintessential pre-Stonewall gay icon".

In the 1950s, the phrase "friend of Dorothy" became used as a slang term for homosexuals. This term is attributed both to well-known author and fellow gay icon Dorothy Parker, and to Garland's prominent role as Dorothy Gale in The Wizard of Oz.

Kylie Minogue
Kylie Minogue, known for her disco-infused dance music and camp style, is held in high esteem by her gays fans. She remarks that her gay fans have been with her through thick and thin, yet was never specifically marketed to a gay audience early in her career. Singer songwriter Rufus Wainwright described Kylie as 'the gay shorthand for joy'. She has performed at the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Party in 1994, 1998 and 2012.

Lil Nas X
Montero Lamar Hill, better known by his stage name Lil Nas X, is an up-and-coming American rapper and singer who is seen as a gay icon. After having publicly come out of the closet June 2019, he is considered "a proud proponent of the 'gay agenda.'" Not only was he named one of GQ's Men of the Year in 2021, but he has also gone on to win awards not limited to BMI Pop awards, Billboard Music awards, and Grammy awards since 2019.

Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John, famously known as Elton John, is perhaps one of the most famous, publicly queer musicians of all time. During 1976, he announced publicly that he was bisexual and remained open about his sexuality to present day, happily married to his husband David Furnish since 2014. Aside from his musical career, he is also the founder of the Elton John AIDS Foundation which was created to give support and aide to those in need as well as to "prevent infections, fight stigma and provide treatment with love, compassion and dignity for the most vulnerable groups affected by HIV around the world".

Jim Parsons
Jim Parsons is an actor famously known for his role as Sheldon Cooper from The Big Bang Theory who's gone on to win four Emmy awards during his career. In 2017, Parsons went on to marry Todd Spiewak, an art director, film designer, and graphic designer, in 2017 towards the end of The Big Bang Theory.

References (Added)

Lil Nas X

https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/nbc-out-proud/lil-nas-x-wants-open-doors-queer-people-simply-exist-rcna28802

https://www.gq.com/story/lil-nas-x-musician-of-the-year-2021

List of awards and nominations received by Lil Nas X

Elton John

David Furnish

Elton John AIDS Foundation

https://www.eltonjohnaidsfoundation.org/

Jim Parsons

The Big Bang Theory