Bette Midler
The Divine Miss M – American singer, actress and comedienne, began singing in the Continental Baths, a gay bathhouse in the city, where she became close to her piano accompanist, Barry Manilow. cover of Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy became first #1 Adult Contemporary hit. In 1979, Midler made her first motion picture, starring in the 1960s-era rock and roll tragedy The Rose, as a drug-addicted rock star modeled after Janis Joplin.
barbara streisand
American singer, songwriter, film maker and actress. She performed this in a duet on The Judy Garland Show. Garland referred to her on the air as one of the last great belters. They also sang There’s No Business Like Show Business with Ethel Merman joining them.BAmerican singer, actress and comedienne
Continental Baths
1968, Steve Ostrow opened the Continental Baths in the basement of the Ansonia Hotel in New York City. Continental Baths was advertised as reminiscent of “the glory of ancient Rome.” disco dance floor, a cabaret lounge, sauna rooms, an “Olympia blue” swimming pool, and could serve nearly 1,000 men, 24 hours a day. In February 1969 the Continental Baths was raided by the New York City Police. Twenty-two patrons were arrested,
“Four-on-the-Floor”
musical rhythm pattern used in disco and electronic dance music, characterized by a steady, uniformly accented beat played on the bass drum in 4/4 time. This was popularized in the disco music of the 1970s. [1] The original term four-on-the-floor was widely used in the disco era and referred to the fact that the bass drum sat directly on the floor and the drummer stamped on a pedal with his/her foot in order to play it.
Studio 54
Studio 54 was a world-famous disco in the 70s and early 80s. Studio 54 originally was a New York City Broadway theater, then it became a discotheque located at 254 West 54th Street in Manhattan. lots of celebrities visiting,
Voguing
Vogue is a form of modern dance characterized by photo model like poses taken from Vogue (magazine) integrated with angular, linear and rigid arm, leg and body movements. The style of dance arose from the Harlem ballrooms back in the early 1930s, which was then called “performance” and evolved into the more intricate and illusory form that is now called “vogue”. Madonna music video popularized
Klaus Nomi –
German countertenor noted for his wide vocal range and an unusual, otherworldly stage persona. Nomi was known for his bizarrely theatrical live performances, heavy make-up, unusual costumes, and a highly stylized signature hairdo which flaunted a receding hairline. one of the first celebrities to contract and die of AIDS
Women’s Music Festival
international feminist music festival created in 1976. feminist alternative, and a niche for lesbians in the music scene. It continues to create an annual place for living out lesbian feminist politics and lesbian-identified women form a large portion of the 3,000-10,000 women who attend each year.
Phranc
American singer-songwriter, important influence on the Queercore movement, began her performing career in the late 1970s and early 1980s punk scene in Los Angeles.
Grace Jones
Jamaican-American singer, model, and actress, contralto vocalist. Grace Jones’s striking appearance, height (5’10?” or 1.79 m), and manner influenced the cross-dressing movement of the 1980s, such as Annie Lennox. She would also exemplify the “Flat Top” hairstyle in many of her concerts in the 1970s, which would become popular among black men in the 1980s. Parallel to her musical shift was an equally dramatic visual makeover, created in partnership with stylist Jean-Paul Goude, with whom she had a son. Jones adopted a severe, androgynous look, with square-cut hair and angular, padded clothes.
Liquid Sky
independent American film produced in 1983 with a budget of $500,000, deals with sexual and drug use topics, controversial
HI-NRG
high energy – high-tempo disco music (often with electronic instrumentation), as well as a more specific, derivative genre of electronic dance music that achieved mainstream popularity in the mid to late 1980s. In 1977, Donna Summer was interviewed about her single “I Feel Love”, which was a mostly electronic, relatively high-tempo disco song without a strong funk component. In the interview, she said “this song became a hit because it has a high-energy vibe”. 125 to 127 BPM. From 1979 to 1988, Hi-NRG was especially popular among LGBT communities in U.S. coastal cities such as New York and San Francisco.
Diamanda Galas
Greek- American-born avant-garde performance artist, vocalist, keyboardist, and composer. Plague Mass was a live rendition of excerpts from her Masque Of The Red Death trilogy which began as a response to and indictment of the effects of AIDS on the “silent class”. After production of the trilogy’s first volume began, Galas’ brother, playwright Philip-Dimitri Galas, contracted HIV, which inspired the artist to redouble her efforts, resulting in the development of the aforementioned performance. During the period of these recordings, Galas had we are all HIV+ tattooed upon her knuckles. Known for her expert piano as well as her distinctive, operatic voice, which has a three and a half octave range, Galas has been described as “capable of the most unnerving vocal terror”[1]. Galas often shrieks, howls, and seems to imitate glossolalia in her performances.
Angels in America
Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes is a play in two parts by Americanplaywright Tony Kushner. It has been made into both a television miniseries and an opera by Peter Eotvos. about relationships, AIDS
GRID
Gay-related immune deficiency was the 1982 name first proposed to describe what is now known as AIDS,[1] after public health scientists noticed clusters of Kaposi’s sarcoma and Pneumocystis pneumonia among gay males in San Francisco and New York City.[2] The term AIDS (for acquired immune deficiency syndrome) was proposed in 1982[4] by researchers concerned with the accuracy of the disease’s name. In this new name, scientists were supported by political figures who realized that the term “gay-related” did not accurately describe the demographic that the disease affected.
Zero Patience
1993 Canadian musical film written and directed by John Greyson. The film examines and refutes the urban legend of the alleged introduction of HIV to North America by a single individual, Gaetan Dugas. “further subvert[ing] the ways we might expect to be ‘entertained’ by such serious matters as AIDS, media representation, and the legacy of moralism and sexuality.” “an effective critique of the silly sensationalism used in much reportage of AIDS science [that] fights melodrama and tabloid journalism — with melodrama and tabloid journalism.”
Queer Nation
Queer Nation was an organization founded in March 1990 in New York City, USA by AIDS activists from ACT UP.[1] The four founders were outraged at the escalation of anti-gay and lesbian violence on the streets and prejudice in the arts and media. The group is known for its confrontational tactics, its slogans, and for the practice of outing. The goal of the unnamed organization was the elimination of homophobia, and the increase of gay, lesbian and bisexual visibility through a variety of tactics. Queer Nation is credited with starting the process of reclaiming the word queer,
Lesbian Avengers
The Lesbian Avengers began in New York City in 1992 as “a direct action group focused on issues vital to lesbian survival and visibility.” [1][2][dead link] Dozens of other chapters quickly emerged worldwide, a few expanding their mission to include questions of gender, race, and class. Though some groups continue to hold demonstrations on an irregular basis (San Francisco Avengers demonstrated against Proposition 8), one of the Lesbian Avengers’ most enduring legacy may be the annual Dyke March. stronger images…
The targets of the Lesbian Avengers changed often. They’ve taken on homophobic school boards, misogyny in the gay community, anti-gay referendums, and lately, Proposition 8.
ACT UP
AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power – is an international direct action advocacy group working to impact the lives of people with AIDS (PWAs) and the AIDS pandemic to bring about legislation, medical research and treatment and policies to ultimately bring an end to the disease by mitigating loss of health and lives.[1] ACT UP was effectively formed in March, 1987 at the Lesbian and Gay Community Services Center in New York. Larry Kramer was asked to speak as part of a rotating speaker series, and his well-attended speech focused on action to fight AIDS. Kramer spoke out against the Gay Men’s Health Crisis (GMHC), which he perceived as politically impotent. Kramer had co-founded the GMHC but had resigned from its board of directors in 1983. According to Douglas Crimp, Kramer posed a question to the audience: “Do we want to start a new organization devoted to political action?” The answer was “a resounding yes.” Approximately 300 people met two days later to form ACT UP.[2]
Womyn’s Music
is the music by women, for women, and about women (Garofalo 1992:242). The genre emerged as a musical expression of the second-wave feminist movement (Peraino 2001:693) as well as the labor, civil rights, and peace movements (Mosbacher 2002). The movement was started by lesbians such as Cris Williamson, Meg Christian and Margie Adam, African-American women activists such as Bernice Johnson Reagon and her group Sweet Honey in the Rock, and peace activist Holly Near (Mosbacher 2002).
Lesbian Feminism
most popular in the 1970s and early 1980s (primarily in North America and Western Europe), that questions the position of lesbians and women in society. “Lesbian feminism” is a related movement that came together in the early 1970s out of dissatisfaction with second-wave feminism and the gay liberation movement.[1][2] lesbians were and always have been at the heart of the women’s movement, while their issues were invisible in the same movement.[4] “Womyn” along with “wimin”, “womin” were terms produced by parts of the lesbian feminist movement to distinguish it from men and masculine (or “phallogocentric”) language. The term “women” was seen as derivative of men and ultimately symbolised the prescriptive nature of women’s oppression.
Sheila Jeffreys defines lesbian feminism as having seven key themes:
? An emphasis on women’s love for one another
? Separatist organizations
? Community and ideas
? Idea that lesbianism is about choice and resistance
? Idea that the personal is the political
? A rejection of hierarchy
? A critique of male-supremacy (which eroticises inequality)[6]
Stonewall Riots
The Stonewall riots were a series of spontaneous, violent demonstrations against a police raid that took place in the early morning hours of June 28, 1969, at the Stonewall Inn, in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City. They are frequently cited as the first instance in American history when people in the homosexual community fought back against a government-sponsored system that persecuted sexual minorities, and they have become the defining event that marked the start of the gay rights movement in the United States and around the world.
Disco
is a genre of dance music that had its roots in clubs that catered to African American,psychedelic and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Disco was a reaction primarily among New York City gays against both the domination of rock music and the demonetization of dance music by the counterculture during this period.[12] While disco was a form of black commercial pop music and a craze among black gay especially,[12] it did not catch mainstream attention until it was picked up by the predominantly white gay clubs of New York. Latinosand women embraced disco as well, and the music eventually expanded to several other popular groups of the time.[13][14][15][16][10][17][18] In what is considered a forerunner to disco style clubs, in February 1970, the New York City DJ David Mancuso opened The Loft, a members-only private dance club set in his own home.[19][20] Most agree that the first disco songs were released in 1973, though some claimManu Dibango’s 1972 Soul Makossa to be the first disco record.[6] The first article about disco was written in September 1973 by Vince Aletti for Rolling Stone Magazine.[21][22] In 1974 New York City’sWPIX-FM premiered the first disco radio show.[23]
SoHo
The Revuebar closed on 10 June 2004 and became a gay bar and cabaret venue called Too2Much, designed by Anarchitect. In November 2006, it changed its name to Soho Revue Bar. The launch party included performances by Boy George, Antony Costa and Marcella Detroit.[25] On 29 January 2009, the Soho Revue Bar closed. sex shops, London gay village
(Philadelphia) Soul
sometimes called the Philadelphia Sound or Sweet Philly, is a style of soul music characterized by funk influences and lush instrumental arrangements, often featuring sweeping strings and piercing horns. The subtle sound of a glockenspiel can often be heard in the background of Philly soul songs. The genre laid the groundwork for disco and what are now consideredQuiet Storm and smooth jazz by fusing the R&B rhythm sections of the 1960s with the Pop Vocal tradition, and featuring a slightly more pronounced jazz influence in its melodic structures and arrangements.
Gospel influence
is music that is written to express either personal or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as (in terms of the varying music styles) to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music. Urban contemporary gospel is a form of Christian music and a subgenre of gospel music. Gospel artists began to perform more than minister; they started to add more genres to gospel music. Disco Music, funk,jazz and many mainstream genres became apart of gospel music.
Eurodisco style
is a term that was first used during the 1970s to describe a variety of non UK-based European disco pop music[citation needed]. Euro-disco songs, like other related genres such as Euro-pop and Euro-dance are usually lightweight, slickly produced, catchy songs with bouncy dance beats, and English-language vocals over a contrasting verse-chorus song form and later, synthesizer-based accompaniment[citation needed]. is a term that was first used during the 1970s to describe a variety of non UK-based European disco pop music[citation needed]. Euro-disco songs, like other related genres such as Euro-pop and Euro-dance are usually lightweight, slickly produced, catchy songs with bouncy dance beats, and English-language vocals over a contrasting verse-chorus song form and later, synthesizer-based accompaniment[citation needed].
Cultural Feminism
developed from radical feminism. It is an ideology of a “female nature” or “female essence” that attempts to revalidate what cultural feminists consider undervalued female attributes. [1] It is also a theory that commends the difference of women from men.[2]Its critics assert that because it is based on an essentialist view of the differences between women and men and advocates independence and institution building, it has led feminists to retreat from practicing public politics to a focus upon individual “life-style”.[3] Alice Echols (a feminist historian and cultural theorist), credits Redstockings member Brooke Williams with introducing the term cultural feminism in 1975 to describe the depoliticisation of radical feminism[3] Cultural feminism commends the positive aspects of what is seen as the female character or femininepersonality. It is also a feminist theory of difference that praises the positive aspect of women. Early theorists like Jane Addams and Charlotte Perkins Gilman argued that in governing the state, cooperation, caring, and nonviolence in the settlement of conflicts society seem to be what was needed from women’s virtues.[4] Alcoff makes the point that “the cultural feminist reappraisal construes woman’s passivity as her peacefulness, her sentimentality as her proclivity to nurture, her subjectiveness as her advanced self-awareness”.[1]
Post-Disco
The term post-disco (or simply boogie)[1][3][8] has multiple meanings. Sometime after 1990,[9] anAllmusic editorial contributor used “post-disco” in an attempt to isolate a dance music genre in the era between the indistinct “end” of disco music and the equally indistinct emergence of house music.[1]”Post-disco” was used in 1984 by Cadence Magazine when defining post-disco soul as disco without the loud bass-drum thump.[10] In 1985, New York Magazine referenced post-disco in relation toelectronic funk.[11] Other authors emphasize “post-” (meaning “after”)[12]) to indicate a greater disconnect from the disco era and disco-influenced music. Billboard Magazine, for example, mentioned the word twice: in 1982, when dividing post-disco movements into another category called “post-disco pop”, citing Knack, Barbra Streisand, Kenny Rogers, and Christopher Cross as new wave and adult contemporary artists who figured in this kind of music,[13] and in 1994, when the word was used in relation to reggae song “Pass The Dutchie” by Musical Youth.[14]
The Allmusic author provides few specifics other than implying post-disco follows from the DJ- and producer-driven, increasingly electronic side of disco; and singling out “boogie” (“midtempo tracks steeped in funk”), early Italo-disco (“electronic tracks with heavy traces of Giorgio Moroder”) and “the beginnings of alternative dance” as forms of the post-disco “genre”.[1] In 2006, however, another author explicitly referenced both house music and techno as forms of post-disco.[15] Likewise, George E. Haggerty, in his 2000 book Gay Histories and Cultures, says house is a form of post-disco dance music that has been popular in Chicago clubs,[16] and Michael Campbell, in his 2008 book Popular Music in America defined techno as post-disco dance music.[17]
New Wave
is a genre of music that emerged in in the middle to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, and disco and 1960’s pop music, as well as much of the original punk rock sound and ethos, such as an emphasis on short and punchy songs.[1][2] During the 1980s in the United States New Wave became a catch-all term that applied to new music acts in general and synthpop and British acts in particular. The 1990s and 2000s have seen revivals, and a number of acts that have been influenced by a variety of New Wave styles.
Athens, Georgia music scene
The music of Athens, Georgia, includes a wide variety of popular music and was an important part of the early evolution of alternative rock and New Wave. The city is well known as the home of chart-topping bands likeR.E.M. and the B-52’s, and several long-time indie rock groups.
1980s Lesbian “Sex Wars”
The Feminist Sex Wars and Lesbian Sex Wars, or simply the Sex Wars or Porn Wars, were the acrimonious debates within the feministmovement and lesbian community in the late 1970s through the 1980s around the issues of feminist strategies regarding sexuality, sexual representation, pornography, sadomasochism, the role of transwomen in the lesbian community, and other sexual issues. The debate pitted anti-pornography feminism against sex-positive feminism, and the feminist movement ended up deeply divided as a result.[1][2][3][4][5]
The Feminist Sex Wars are sometimes viewed as part of the division that helped end the second-wave feminist era.
Culture Club/Boy George
British pop group that formed in the early 1980s. boy George an English singer-songwriter who was part of the English New Romantic movement which emerged in the early 1980s. He helped giveandrogyny an international stage with the success of Culture Club during the 1980s. His music is often classified as blue-eyed soul, which is influenced by rhythm and blues and reggae. His 1990s and 2000s-era solo music has glam influences such as David Bowie and Iggy Pop. He also founded and was lead singer of Jesus Loves You during the period 1989–1992. Being involved in many activities (among them songwriting, DJing, writing books, designing clothes and photography), he has released fewer music recordings in the last decade. When George was with Culture Club, much was made of his androgynous appearance, and there was speculation about his sexuality. When asked in interviews, George gave various answers. At times, such as when interviewed by Barbara Walters, he stated he was bisexual[citation needed]. He gave a famous, often quoted response to an interviewer that he preferred “a nice cup of tea” to sex.[20]
Eurhythmics
are a British musical duo, formed in 1980 by Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart. The pair have achieved significant global, commercial and critical success, selling 75 million records worldwide,[1] winning numerous awards,[2] and have undertaken several successful world tours. They are Britain’s biggest selling duo, and are noted for their songs that showcase Lennox’s powerful and expressive alto voice and Stewart’s innovative production techniques. They are also acclaimed for their promotional videos and visual presentation.
Annie Lennox
Like many strong females in the public eye, Lennox has garnered a prominent following by members of the LGBT community. According to The Advocate, “[h]er distinctive voice and provocative stage persona have made Lennox a longtime gay icon.”[18] With Eurythmics’ music videos earning regular rotation on MTV in the early 1980s, Lennox took part in the shaping of popular culture alongside other gay icons such as Boy George,Madonna, Morrissey, and Michael Stipe.[19]
Cyndi Lauper –
is an American singer-songwriter andactress. She achieved success in the mid-1980s with the release of the album She’s So Unusual and became the first female singer to have four top-five singles released from one album. Lauper has released 11 albums and over 40 singles, and as of 2008 had sold more than 25 million records worldwide.[1] She continues to tour the world, often in support of human rights. The song “Ballad of Cleo and Joe” addressed the complications of a drag queen’s double life. Lauper started writing the song around 1994. “Brimstone and Fire” painted a portrait of a lesbian relationship, and “You Don’t Know” showed Lauper flexing more political muscle than on her previous albums. The song “Say a Prayer” was written for a friend of hers who had died from AIDS. The song “Searchin'” was used in one of Baywatch’s episodes. “Unhook the Stars” was made into a movie of the same name starring Marisa Tomei, Gerard Depardieu, Gena Rowlands and David Thornton.
Lauper’s sister Ellen had “come out” and Lauper considered her to be a role model.[citation needed] Ellen was doing a lot of charity work for the gay community, and was working out of a clinic, helping people who were suffering from AIDS. Lauper began performing as a featured artist at gay prideevents around the world (as early as 1994, she had performed at the closing ceremonies for Gay Games IV in New York City). She also served as the opening act for Tina Turner’s summer tour, which was one of the highest grossing tours that year. Lauper took up the Appalachian dulcimer, taking lessons from David Schnauffer.
June 1981
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that 5 homosexual men in Los Angeles,California have a rare form of pneumonia seen only in patients with weakened immune systems (the first recognized cases of AIDS).
HIV
a condition in humans in which the immune system begins to fail, leading to life-threatening opportunistic infections. Infection with HIV occurs by the transfer of blood, semen, vaginal fluid, pre-ejaculate, or breast milk
AIDS
AIDS is now a pandemic.[6] In 2007, it was estimated that 33.2 million people lived with the disease worldwide, and that AIDS killed an estimated 2.1 million people, including 330,000 children. This condition progressively reduces the effectiveness of the immune system and leaves individuals susceptible to opportunistic infections and tumors. HIV is transmitted through direct contact of amucous membrane or the bloodstream with a bodily fluid containing HIV, such as blood, semen, vaginal fluid, preseminal fluid, and breast milk.[4][5]
AMFAR
amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research, is an international nonprofit organization dedicated to the support of AIDS research, HIV prevention, treatment education, and the advocacy of sound AIDS-related public policy. More than twenty years later, amfAR remains one of the world’s leading organizations dedicated to fighting the AIDS epidemic, and has invested nearly $290 million in support of its mission.
Queercore
is a cultural and social movement that began in the mid-1980s as an offshoot of punk. It is distinguished by a discontent with society in general and a complete disapproval of the gayand lesbian community and its “oppressive agenda.” [1] Queercore expresses itself in DIY style through zines, music, writing, art and film.
As a musical genre, it may be distinguished by lyrics exploring themes of prejudice and dealing with issues such as sexual identity,[2] gender identity and the rights of the individual; more generally bands offer a critique of society endemic to their position within it, sometimes in a light-hearted way, sometimes seriously. Musically, many queercore bands originated in the punk scene but the industrial music culture has been influential as well. Queercore groups encompass many genres such as hardcore punk, synthpunk, indie rock, power pop, no wave, noise, experimental,industrial and others.
San Francisco 1990s queer music scene
Much of the queer music scene is now based in San Francisco, a city known for the extraordinary presence of both gay and liberal scenes, where queer punk concerts often sell out. Local bands such as the Panty Raid and Erase Errata draw crowds of both gay and straight persuasions who appreciate the raw intensity and integrity of the musical message.
Erasure –
an English synthpop duo, consisting of songwriter and keyboardist Vince Clarke and singer Andy Bell. the band also enjoys popularity within the LGBT community, with openly gay Andy Bell regarded a gay icon.[3]
ABBA
was a pop music group formed in Sweden in November 1970. The band consisted of Anni-Frid Lyngstad (Frida), Bjorn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson (the “B-boys”) and Agnetha Faltskog (Anna). Anni-Frid and Benny were a married couple, as were Bjorn and Agnetha (both couples later divorced). They became one of the most commercially successful acts in the history of popular music, and they topped the charts worldwide from 1972 to 1982. ABBA gained international popularity employing catchy song hooks, simple lyrics, sound effects (reverb, phasing) and a Wall of Sound achieved by overdubbing the female singers’ voices in multiple harmonies.
Pet Shop Boys
are a British electronic dance music duo, consisting of Neil Tennant, who provides main vocals, keyboards and occasionally guitar and Chris Lowe on keyboards and occasionally backing vocals. Pet Shop Boys are seen as significant figures in gay culture for such songs as “Can You Forgive Her?,” “It’s a Sin” (for which gay director Derek Jarman produced the video), “New York City Boy,” and their cover of Village People’s “Go West.” They have written a song about a young male fan spending a night with a rapper, based on Eminem, called “The Night I Fell in Love,” and a song about coming out, “Metamorphosis.” Their 1990s single “Being Boring” dealt with the gay experience and the devastation wrought by the AIDS crisis; the song (and its supporting video, filmed byBruce Weber), though being one of their lowest-charting singles, remains one of their most popular. However, Neil Tennant has stated many times that his lyrics are not specifically gay. Many of their songs are written from an ambiguous view point, that can be taken any way the listener perceives it and this goes some way to explain why a large segment of their die-hard fans are heterosexual.[21][22][23]
kd lang
Canadian pop and country singer-songwriter. She gives her name in lowercase letters, with the given names contracted to initials and no space between these initials.[1][2] She is also known for being a vegetarian, an animal rights advocate and openly lesbian. Lang, who came out as a lesbian in a 1992 article of the LGBT-related news magazine The Advocate, has actively championed gay rights causes. She has performed and supported many causes over the years, including HIV/AIDS care and research. Her cover of Cole Porter’s “So in Love” appears on the Red Hot + Bluecompilation album and video from 1990, a benefit for AIDS research and relief.
Indigo Girls
are an American folk rock duo, consisting of Amy Ray and Emily Saliers. During June 2007 the Indigo Girls were part of the multi-artist True Colors Tour 2007,[13] on the tour’s Las Vegas stop which benefited the Human Rights Campaign and other organizations that provide support to the LGBT community. The Indigo Girls performed again on the True Colors Tour 2008. Both Ray and Saliers have long identified themselves as lesbians, though Saliers prefers “gay” because — she says — “lesbian has three syllables.”[8] They have never been a couple. Ray has had long-term relationships with musician Cooper Seay and feminist author Jennifer Baumgardner, and is currently in a relationship with documentary filmmaker Carrie Schrader. Because of their engagements for LGBT rights they are regarded as icons of the movement.
Ani DiFranco
is an American Grammy Award-winning [1] singer, guitarist, and songwriter. She is a prolific artist, having released over twenty albums,[2] and is widely celebrated as a feminist icon. DiFranco identifies herself as bisexual,[10][11] and has written songs about love and sex with both genders. She addressed the controversy about her sexuality with the song “In or Out” Many of her songs are concerned with contemporary social issues such as racism, sexism, sexual abuse, homophobia, reproductive rights, poverty, and war
Rufus Wainwright
is a Grammy-nominated,[1] Canadian-Americansinger-songwriter. Wainwright came out as gay while a teenager.[ The segment concerned Wainwright’s sold-out pair of Carnegie Hall shows on June 14 and June 15, 2006 in which he performed the entire Judy Garland concert album that was recorded there in 1961.[22] He later repeated his performance at the London Palladium, the Paris Olympia, and the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles.[23] Live CD and DVD recordings of the concerts were released on December 4, 2007. The DVD is entitled Rufus! Rufus! Rufus! Does Judy! Judy! Judy!: Live from the London Palladium. The CD album, Rufus Does Judy at Carnegie Hall, is a recording of his show at the legendary New York venue.[24]In 2008, Garland’s daughter Lorna Luft expressed strong approval of Wainwright’s recordings of her mother’s songs.[25] The album was nominated for a 2009 Grammy Award for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album.[1]
Pussy Tourrette
is the stage name for an American drag queen, composer and singer. best known for her single French Bitch, for which a music video/short film directed by Andrei Rozen was made and included in the film festival compilation DVD Boys’ Shorts: The New Queer Cinema. The song is a comedic, high camp dance track about the duplicitous title character who “saw my man, so she felt the need to scratch her itch”. There is a mild lyrical suggestion that the subject has had an overseas sex-change operation, though this must be inferred by the listener. The chorus is sung in Franglish and contains the double entendre “Je suis oh-so-hot! Vous vu lay my twat, s’il vous plait?”. The song was remixed for club play and was well-received in gay venues, but fell short of being a “hit” in any popular sense.[citation needed]
Rocky Horror Picture Show
is a 1975 British musical comedy film that parodies science fiction and B-movie Horror films.[1] Still in limited release 34 years after its premiere, it has the longest-running theatrical release in film history.[2][3] It gained notoriety as a midnight movie in 1977 when audiences began participating with the film in theaters across the United States. overtly sexual, campy camp.
Malcolm McLaren
is a performer, impresario, self-publicist and most famously, former manager of the Sex Pistols and the New York Dolls.
Lavender Jane Loves Women
promotes separation of two sexes, alix dobkin first album, contains song “view from a gay head”
Olivia Records
was a collective founded in 1973 to record and market women’s music. Olivia, named after the heroine of a pulp novel by Dorothy Bussy who fell in love with her headmistress at French boarding school, was the brainchild of ten lesbian-feminists[1] (the Furies Collective andRadicalesbians) living in Washington, DC who wanted to create a feminist organization with an economic base. In 1973, the collective put out a 45 with Meg Christian on one side and Cris Williamson on the other. Yoko Ono responded and said that she wanted to do a side project with Olivia, but the collective politely declined. Without making themselves dependent on any high-profile person, they made $12,000 with that 45, enough to put out singer Meg Christian’s first record, and soon after, Williamson’s groundbreaking album The Changer and the Changed. rejected Melissa ethridge
Sylvester
better known as Sylvester, was an American disco and soul singer, and a gay drag performer. He is considered to be one of the first Hi-NRG artists. Sylvester was sometimes known as the “Queen of Disco,” although this moniker has also been bestowed on some of the ladies of the disco era (i.e. Gloria Gaynor, Donna Summer).[1] Sylvester died of complications from AIDS in San Francisco on December 16, 1988. He was 41 years old. In San Francisco, Sylvester performed in a musical production called Women of the Blues,[2]then joined a short-lived group of transvestite performance artists called The Cockettes in the early 1970s,[3] his repertoire of Bessie Smith songs in tow
Soft Cell
are an English synthpop duo who came to prominence in the early 1980s. They consist of vocalist Marc Almond and David Ball on synthesizers. The duo is well known for their huge 1981 worldwide hit – a significantly reworked cover version of Gloria Jones’ “Tainted Love” marc almond – gay
Donna Summer
is an American singer and songwriter who gained prominence during the disco era of music, earning the title “The Queen of Disco”.
Summer was trained as a gospel singer before her introduction to the music industry and has always been known for her “powerhouse” vocal delivery. Though she is most notable for her disco hits, Summer’s repertoire has expanded to include contemporary R&B, rock, pop, and gospel. Summer is one of the most successful recording artists of the 1970s and was the first artist to have three consecutive double albums hit number one on the Billboard charts. “Love to Love You Baby” was Summer’s first big hit in America, reaching number two on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in early 1976 and becoming her first Number-One Hot Dance Club Play chart hit. The single was quickly certified Gold with 1,000,000 copies in the US. The album(side one of which was completely taken up with the full-length version of the title track) was also released in late 1975 and was soon certified Goldfor sales of over 500,000 US copies. The song was branded “graphic” by some music critics and was even banned by some radio stations for its explicit content. Time magazine reported that 22 orgasms were simulated in the making of the song, and some of the music press dubbed Summer “The First Lady of Love.” The song representing the future, “I Feel Love” became a landmark recording, giving Summer another Pop and R&B hit reaching number 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart and number one in the UK. “I Feel Love” earned her a second US Gold Single as well. The song’s use of electronic sounds was revolutionary and popularized synthesizers in dance, rock, and the burgeoning new wave.
Holly Near
– is an American singer-songwriter, actress, teacher, and social change activist. Near was probably the first out lesbian to be interviewed in People Magazine. She added GLBT issues to her international peace work as she continued to present social change music around the world and at home. Although Holly was one of the most visible artists in the lesbian community, she was also becoming aware that “monogamous” defined her sexuality more than any other title. Holly has been in a relationship with a man since 1994. Holly Near wrote a biography in the early nineties which is currently out of print. It was called ‘Fire In The Rain, Singer In The Storm’ [1]. Later, with her sister Timothy, Near cowrote a one woman show based on the stories in the book. The show was presented at The San Jose Rep, in Los Angeles at The Mark Taper Forum as well as productions in San Francisco and off Broadway in NYC.
Meg Christian
is an American folk singer associated with the Women’s musicmovement. in 1969, where she performed in nightclubs and began writing material from an explicitly political and feminist perspective. For a time in the 1970s, Christian, who is openly lesbian,[1] embraced women’s separatism and sometimes played at women-only venues.[2] She was a founding member of Olivia Records, whose first album was her debut.
Cris Williamson
is an American feminist singer-songwriter, who achieved fame as a recording artist, and who was a pioneer as a visible lesbian political activist, during a time when few who were not connected to the Lesbian community were aware of Gay and Lesbian issues. Williamson’s music and insight has served as a catalyst for change in the creation of women-owned record companies in the 1970s. Using her musical talents, networking with other lesbian artists of musical quality, and her willingness to represent those who did not yet feel safe in speaking for themselves, Williamson is remembered by many in the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender (GLBT) community for her contributions, both artistically, and politically, and continues to be a role model for a younger generation hoping to address concerns and obtain recognition for achievements specific to people who have historically been ignored.
Mattachine Society
was one of the earliest lasting homophile organizations in the United States, founded in 1950. The Society for Human Rights (1924) in Chicago predated the Mattachine Society, but was shut down by the police after only a few months. harry hay – finally conceiving of an “international…fraternal order” to serve as “a service and welfare organization devoted to the protection and improvement of Society’s Androgynous Minority. The group changed its name to “Mattachine Society” in April 1951, a name chosen by Hay based on Medieval French secret societies of masked men who, through their anonymity, were empowered to criticize ruling monarchs with impunity.[10]
The primary goals of the society were to:
1. Unify homosexuals isolated from their own kind;
2. Educate homosexuals and heterosexuals toward an ethical homosexual culture paralleling the cultures of the Negro, Mexican and Jewish peoples;
3. Lead the more socially conscious homosexual to provide leadership to the whole mass of social deviates; and
4. Assist gays who are victimized daily as a result of oppression.[14]
Alix Dobkin
– is an American folk singer-songwriter. lavender jane loves women… Dobkin has a small and devoted audience, has been called a “womyn’s music legend” by Spin Magazine, “pithy” by The Village Voice, “Biting…inventive… imaginative” by New Age Journal, “uncompromising” in the New York Times Magazine, and “a troublemaker” by the FBI. She gained some unexpected but welcomed fame in the 1980s when comedians such as David Letterman and Howard Stern tracked down her landmarkLavender Jane Loves Women album, and began playing phrases from the song “View From Gay Head” on the air.
Ronald Reagan –
Reagan’s position on gay rights has been a subject of controversy. In the late 1970s he wrote a private response to the organization backing the California Briggs Initiative, stating that he opposed the proposed ban on gay public school teachers or anyone who supported gay rights.[citation needed] He opposed efforts to repeal the criminal laws against homosexuality and generally opposed gay rights legislation as eroding traditional moral values. extremely slow in addressing or responding to AIDS crisis, joking around
Madonna
is considered a gay icon and the gay community has embraced her as a pop culture icon. After the launch of her music career and her entry into public consciousness, Madonna began to solidify her reputation as a gay icon. In the 1980s, Madonna was one of the first major celebrities to lend her support to AIDS causes. Many of her friends and inspirations, such as her ballet teacher Christopher Flynn, choreographer Alvin Ailey, artist Keith Haring, and photographer Herb Ritts — as well as her brother Christopher — are gay males, and some of them have died of AIDS. The song “In This Life” from her fifth studio album, Erotica, is about the loss of Madonna’s (gay) friends toAIDS, containing the lines, “Have you ever watched your best friend die?” and “It shouldn’t matter who you choose to love”. VOGUING, biggest gay icon of all time, aids activist, comments against discrimination, kisses women
Bikini Kill
was an American punk band formed in Olympia, Washington in October of 1990. The group is widely considered to be the pioneer of the riot grrrl movement, and was well known and notorious for its radical feminist lyrics and fiery performances. Their music was characteristically abrasive andhardcore punk-influenced. The band wrote songs together as a group and encouraged a female-centric environment at their shows, urging women to come to the front of the stage and handing out lyric sheets to them.
God is My Co-Pilot
is a queercore band from New York City that has been recording and playing since 1991. Their music has been variously described as experimental, noise rock, hardcore punk and avant jazz. The band’s lyrics frequently address themes of sexuality and gender.
Pansy Division
an American rock/punk band that formed in San Francisco, California in 1991. Featuring primarily gay musicians and focusing mostly on gay-related themes, Pansy Division is one of the more mainstream-oriented bands to emerge from the queercore movement that began in the 1980s. The intent of the band was to defy the common stereotypes towards gay men, particularly that they were more or less limited to enjoying and/or performing disco and showtunes, and that rock was strictly heterosexual territory. Pansy Division’s sound was heavily influenced by 1960s pop and 1970s punk rock, most notably bands such as the Ramones, the Buzzcocks and early Beatles: short, catchy pop punk numbers with humorous, in-your-face lyrics that dealt with various aspects of both gay life and life in general. Most of their early repertoire featured explicit and near-pornographic (though firmly tongue-in-cheek) lyrical depictions of gay sex, though some songs focused on more universal, unisex topics such as loneliness, friendship and attraction.
Tribe 8
Tribe 8 was an all-women outspoken dyke punk band from San Francisco, California. Considered one of the first queercore groups,[1] they take their name from the practice of tribadism.[2] In concert, lead singer Breedlove frequently performed shirtless, wearing a strap-on dildo, and encouraged audience members to interact with it.[4] Their songs often deal with subjects such as S/M, nudity, fellatio, and transgender issues, and the band was the subject of controversy because of this.
Hedwig and the Angry Inch
is a rock musical about a fictional rock and roll band fronted by an East German transgender singer. The text is by John Cameron Mitchell, and the music and lyrics are byStephen Trask. The musical premiered in 1998 and has been performed throughout the world in hundreds of stage productions. It has gathered a devoted cult following similar to that of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Some people consider Hedwig a symbol of queer identity, as a figure of gender variation and freedom to choose an identity according to one’s heart’s desire There is debate as to whether this musical is about a transsexual woman or a drag queen, a male or a female.
Taylor Dane
– is an American pop vocalist, song-writer,dance artist, and actress. Dayne’s first seven singles hit the U.S. top ten and she has topped the U.S.Hot Dance Club Play chart three times. Overall, she has 17 individual Top Ten’s on Billboard Charts, including the recent Billboard Dance #1 “Beautiful” in May 2008. She remains a pop favorite in the U.S. and abroad. Signed to Arista Records, her first song to crack the top ten was the dance-pop hit “Tell It to My Heart” in 1987. The song was an instant smash worldwide, peaking in the top five of most major markets worldwide, and achieving a peak of number one in many countries, including Germany. The song has many freestyle music influences, and it was marketed as “Hi-NRG” in Europe.
The Gossip/Beth Ditto –
is an American singer-songwriter, most famous for her work with the indie rock band The Gossip. itto, who is lesbian, is well known for her outspoken support of both LGBT and feminist causes.
Dana International
s an Israeli pop singer of a Yemenite Jewish origin.
She is most famous for having won the 1998 Eurovision Song Contest with her song “Diva.” She is arguably one of the most famous transsexual celebrities in the world. Her career began in 1992, and since then she has released eight albums and three additional compilation albums, positioning herself as one of Israel’s most successful musical acts ever. She recently became one of the judges on Israeli Pop Idol, Kokhav Nolad. Israeli drag queen at 18, In 1993, International flew to London for male-to-female sex reassignment surgery and legally changed her name to Sharon Cohen
The Village People
is a concept disco group formed in the late 1970s, well known for their on-stage costumes as well as their catchy tunes and suggestive lyrics. Original members were:Victor Willis (police officer), Felipe Rose (American Indian chief), Randy Jones (cowboy),Glenn Hughes (biker), David Hodo (construction worker) and Alex Briley (Military man). For the release of “In the Navy”, Willis and Briley appeared as an admiral and a sailor, respectively. Originally created to target disco’s primarily gay audience by featuring stereotypical gay fantasy personas[1], the band’s popularity quickly brought them into mainstream.
Village People scored a number of disco and dance hits, including their trademark “Macho Man”, “Go West”, the classic club medley of “San Francisco (You’ve Got Me) / In Hollywood (Everybody is a Star)”, “In the Navy”, “Can’t Stop the Music”, and their biggest hit, “Y.M.C.A.”. The band’s name references New York City’s Greenwich Village neighborhood, at the time known for having a substantial gay population [7]. Morali and Belolo got the inspiration for creating an assembly of American man archetypes based on the gay men of The Village who frequently dressed in various fantasy attire.
“Funkytown”
is a 1980 (released in January 1980) song performed by the disco band Lipps Inc. The song expresses the pinings for a metaphorical place that keeps “me movin’, keeps me groovin’ with some energy”. It reached No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and Dance charts in 1980,[1] also reaching number 1 in Austria, Switzerland, Norway and The Netherlands.[2] It reached No. 2 in the UK,[3] Sweden and on the U.S. R&B chart. “Funkytown” is often considered to be one of disco’s last stands. It was Lipps Inc’s only U.S. Top 40 hit.
Blondie/Deborah Harry
is an American rock band founded by singer Deborah Harry and guitarist Chris Stein.[1] The band was a pioneer in the early American new wave and punk rock scenes of the mid-1970s. Their first two albums contained strong elements of these genres, and although successful in the United Kingdom and Australia, Blondie was regarded as an underground band in the United States until the release ofParallel Lines in 1978. Harry joined Cyndi Lauper’s True Colors Tour for the Human Rights Campaign. She is a strong advocate for gay rights and same-sex marriage. Though she has stated that she identifies as mostly heterosexual, Harry has said she has had intimate relationships with both men and women.[10][11]