A gay icon is a prominent person (either living or dead) who is liked by the gay community. Gay icons are often glamourous and even flamboyant. They show strength through adversity. They often show a blend of masculine and feminine traits. Sometimes they show no gender traits at all. Gay icons can be male or female. They can be gay, straight, bisexual, or asexual. If they are gay, they can be openly gay or not. Sometimes living gay icons support LGBT causes, sometimes they do not. Some gay icons from history are tragic figures like Saint Sebastian, Oscar Wilde, or Judy Garland. Some more modern gay icons are entertainers like Ellen DeGeneres, Beyoncé, Lady Gaga,Cher, Barbra Streisand, Liza Minnelli, and Freddie Mercury.

Related pages

Judy Garland as gay icon

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GLBT Historical Society

Gay men and women should just be themselves

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Sophie Morris. From the tragic to the bland // New Statesman, August 1, 2005

"Pink doesn't mean fluffy" John Howard. The Independent, (UK), August 4, 2005

Popular culture

LGBT

Gay icon