What makes a female performer a gay icon?

Roseanne?

Nope.

No one person among the names you listed have flawless talent.

This is actually a great question. Many divergent aspects contribute imo. I would have thought some baseline of pain or drama but some of the above don't truly represent that. Would have thought a bitchy, give no fucks attitude but again not all of the above. Got me thinking here OP.

But now I am thinking maybe female gay icons are more like a Greek pantheon of goddesses -- different icons for different, valued traits. Thus, some can be pure talent. Some pure beauty. Some strength. Some fighters. Some humorous. Hmmmm. As I write this though it feels like I am ascribing to Camille Pagia's theory in Sexual Personnae though. Ouch.

Trauma. overly dramatic, neurotic, hopeless...but a survivor...

This

I would add Shirley Basset and Lauren Bacall to that list.

[quote] No one person among the names you listed have flawless talent.

Who does then, in your opinion?

A deep, manly voice.

Bassey not Basset!

Handsome, tragic.

Ella , Roseanne , Billie , Maggie Nope.

Beauty

Glamour

Talent

Personality

Ambition

Style

Madonna is the ultimate gay icon. She’s a gay man trapped in a woman’s body.

Kim Kardashian just other day said she's a gay icon and that gay guys love her.

So there's that.

Mary Tyler Moore is no gay icon, but Valerie Harper as Rhoda is.

Jackie Kennedy and her sister Lee are definitely gay icons.

DL is obsessed with those two.

Lady Gaga (who's amazing live) and Whitney.

Genuine talent. Drama. A sense of humor. Delusional fabulosity. Sometimes, a sexiness that's expired and curdled. More than anything else, longevity, a sense that they're aging alongside us, but they're still there, doing their damndest to embody our images of them. A crushed romanticism that refuses to give up.

Don't forget Mariah Carey.

R20 nobody remembers her

How could we, R20?

Kris Jenner

Kylie Jenner

Kim Kardashian

Kendall Jenner

Kourtney Kardashian

Khloe Kardashian

Gay men love them, want their lifestyles, $$$ and the men they get with.

And did I mention the $$$$$$.

Edith Prickly, Lola Heatherton and Dusty Town.

The sparkle American princess girl. Hasn't she became a gay icon? DL really seem to love her.

I mean, there's like 1 Trillion threads on her on this one site.

R23 With the possible exception of embarrassingly stupid, shallow twinks, gay men do NOT care for the K-family. They've neither the talent nor the humor, let alone the personality to be gay icons.

Barbara Walters for sure. A legendary diva in her own right.

Jennifer Lopez falls into this exclusive club too.

R24 for the win.

Agree with R19.

Basically speaking, they are basically different than everyday basic women in their basic society

Madonna has no talent, unless it's for self-advertisement.

A beautifully tortured sense of self, wrapped up in a freeze-dried sexuality, projecting everything they've got to give in a hard-luck world.......

Ella Fitzgerald a gay icon???

There are a lot on that list that are not "Gay Icons".

For a female entertainer to be a gay icon, she has to approach being a woman, at least when in the public eye or performing, the way a drag queen does, With drama, and over exaggeration. Perfect example is Joan Crawford or Madonna. The image is calculated, and over the top. There is NOTHING natural or instinctual about their womanhood. All of it is studied and curated.

They had style they had grace...and gave good face

I believe that one factor in the anointment of a gay icon is the performer's steadfast willingness to accept, love and protect her flock of gay fans.

One example, at a time (around 1977) when it was extremely difficult for Country Music artists to make positive public pronouncements about LGBT issues and expect career survival, Dolly Parton spoke lovingly and publicly about her gay fans. "If I hadn't been born a woman, I would have surely been a drag queen" - it's only one of many sweet & sincere quips that Dolly has offered in support of the LGBT community through the years.

Call it business savvy or acknowledgements of mutual admiration, but Dolly's always been front and center, marching with us, toward equality.

Of course, it is Dolly's somewhat extreme, over-the-top persona, along with her actual talent that caused her to be noticed and embraced by those who glitter, too - but it was her unconditional love and devotion to us, throughout her career, that kept us equally as loyal to her, in return.

Charisma Uniqueness Nerve Talent

She's a delusion cunt R15.

[quote]As I write this though it feels like I am ascribing to Camille Pagia's theory in Sexual Personnae though.

What’s wrong with that?

40 responses and no Cher?

R41 I was going to mention cher earlier and got distracted.

Seriously I was.

Did Joan Crawford know she was a gay icon? I know she was besties with William Haines. But did she understand that gay men loved her.

The same with Bette Davis.

Gay men's yearnings to be female makes female gay icons.

The biggest outlier is of course Julie Andrews.

Almost no drama in her personal life, no sexuality to speak of (she always seems sexless, even as Victoria), no embitterment or imperiousness or bad behavior... and yet she is unquestionably a major gay icon and has been since the Sixties. Why?

Because she is mousy and gets the handsome guy. Mousy gays want to be her.

I think Julie was destined to be an icon based on enunciation alone.

She did have the 'drama' of losing out on her big role to Hepburn. And even though she had a great comeback as an underdog and the most clean-cut but androgynous Maria possible that initial setback with her dream role was always enough to make up for any lack of difficulty with pills or heterosexual husbands.

Julie has a great voice. She can't act.