Who's That Queer [Luther Vandross]

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Luther Ronzoni Vandross, Jr was probably the greatest male R&B singer of his generation. During his career, Vandross sold 25 million albums and won eight Grammys including Best Male R&B Vocal Performance four times. He won four Grammy awards in 2004 including the Grammy for Song of the Year for the track Dance With My Father.


His breakthrough to major chart success came as lead singer with Change, and he went on to have a string of million selling hit solo albums, and successful collaborations with other artists, throughout the 80s and 90s.

During Vandross' entire career he was 'dogged' by questions regarding his sexuality. He never married, his name was never romantically linked in the media with women. Although Vandross never explicitly denied being gay, he never publicly acknowledged it either. He generally fielded questions by saying that his 'busy lifestyle' made marriage difficult and indicated that, in any case, 'it was not what he wanted.' Many gay publications have stated that Vandross' gayness was an 'open secret' in the music business, but even now it is rarely spoken of.

Read the rest at Gay for Today.

What Do Levi Johnston, Evangelicals and Oprah Have in Common? They All Blind Us to What Really Matters

We yearn to stand before the camera, to be noticed and admired. We build pages on social networking sites devoted to presenting our image to the world. We seek to control how others think of us. We define our worth solely by our visibility.

via AlterNet, by Chris Hedges of Truthdig

Will Tiger Woods finally talk to the police? Who will replace Oprah? (Not that Oprah can ever be replaced, of course.) And will Michaele and Tareq Salahi, the couple who crashed President Barack Obama’s first state dinner, command the hundreds of thousands of dollars they want for an exclusive television interview? Can Levi Johnston, father of former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s grandson, get his wish to be a contestant on “Dancing With the Stars”?

The chatter that passes for news, the gossip that is peddled by the windbags on the airwaves, the noise that drowns out rational discourse, and the timidity and cowardice of what is left of the newspaper industry reflect our flight into collective insanity. We stand on the cusp of one of the most seismic and disturbing dislocations in human history, one that is radically reconfiguring our economy as it is the environment, and our obsessions revolve around the trivial and the absurd.

What really matters in our lives -- the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the steady deterioration of the dollar, the mounting foreclosures, the climbing unemployment, the melting of the polar ice caps and the awful reality that once the billions in stimulus money run out next year we will be bereft and broke—doesn’t fit into the cheerful happy talk that we mainline into our brains. We are enraptured by the revels of a dying civilization. Once reality shatters the airy edifice, we will scream and yell like petulant children to be rescued, saved and restored to comfort and complacency. There will be no shortage of demagogues, including buffoons like Sarah Palin, who will oblige. We will either wake up to face our stark new limitations, to retreat from imperial projects and discover a new simplicity, as well as a new humility, or we will stumble blindly toward catastrophe and neofeudalism.

Read the rest.

Who's that Queer?

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Freddie Mercury was born Farrokh Bulsara on September 5, 1946 on the small island of Zanzibar, off the coast of Tanzania. The electric frontman for the rock band Queen was of Indian nationality and his Parsi background has led many to remember Mercury as “Britain’s first Asian rock star."

In April 1970, Mercury joined with guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor who had previously been in a band called Smile. Despite reservations from the other members, Mercury chose the name "Queen" for the new band. He later said about the band's name, "I was certainly aware of the gay connotations, but that was just one facet of it."


As a songwriter, Mercury composed many international hits including "Bohemian Rhapsody", "Killer Queen", "Somebody to Love", "Don't Stop Me Now", "Crazy Little Thing Called Love", and "We Are the Champions". After the album Queen II was released, the world was conquered by the band’s outrageously fabulous performances and music.

Mercury is noted for his live performances, which were often delivered to stadium audiences around the world. He displayed a highly theatrical style that often evoked a great deal of participation from the crowd. David Bowie, who performed at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert and recorded the song "Under Pressure" with Queen said of Mercury, "Of all the more theatrical rock performers, Freddie took it further than the rest...he took it over the edge. And of course, I always admired a man who wears tights. I only saw him in concert once and as they say, he was definitely a man who could hold an audience in the palm of his hand."

Although he cultivated a very flamboyant stage personality, Mercury was a very shy and retiring man in person, particularly around people he didn't know well. He also granted very few interviews. Mercury once said of himself, "When I'm performing I'm an extrovert, yet inside I'm a completely different man."

By 1979, Mercury began to frequently visit gay bathhouses and clubs where he met many short-term partners. By 1985, he began a long-term relationship with a hairdresser named Jim Hutton. According to Hutton, Mercury was diagnosed with AIDS shortly after Easter of 1987. Around that time, Mercury claimed in an interview that he had tested negative for the virus. Despite the denials, the British press pursued the rampant rumors over the next few years fuelled by Mercury's increasingly gaunt appearance, Queen's absence from touring, and reports from former lovers to various tabloid journals.

On 22 November 1991, Mercury called Queen's manager Jim Beach over to his Kensington home, to discuss a public statement. The next day, the following announcement was made to the press on behalf of Mercury:

“Following the enormous conjecture in the press over the last two weeks, I wish to confirm that I have been tested HIV positive and have AIDS. I felt it correct to keep this information private to date to protect the privacy of those around me. However, the time has come now for my friends and fans around the world to know the truth and I hope that everyone will join with me, my doctors, and all those worldwide in the fight against this terrible disease. My privacy has always been very special to me and I am famous for my lack of interviews. Please understand this policy will continue.”A little over 24 hours after issuing the statement, Mercury died on 24 November 1991 at the age of 45.

The following is a quote from Mercury, and if we can learn anything from his spectacular yet short existence, it is this: “The most important thing, darling, is to live a fabulous life. As long as it's fabulous I don't care how long I live.”

Who's that Queer?

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Call him what you will, “Ziggy Stardust”, “The Thin White Duke”, but if you haven’t heard of David Bowie, then you haven’t been listening to music for the past four decades. Born David Robert Hayward-Jones (yeah, I think Bowie works better too), Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his musical accomplishments throughout the 1970s. He has been influenced by a variety of musicians and musical styles, and is known for the intellectual depth of his work and distinctive voice.

David Bowie first caught the eye and ear of the public in the autumn of 1969, when the song "Space Oddity" reached the top five of the UK singles chart. After a three-year period of experimentation he re-emerged in 1972 during the glam rock era as the flamboyant, androgynous alter-ego Ziggy Stardust, spearheaded by the hit single "Starman" and the album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. The relatively short-lived Ziggy persona epitomized a career often marked by musical innovation, reinvention and striking visual presentation.

In 1975, Bowie achieved his first major American crossover success with the number-one single "Fame", co-written with John Lennon, and the hit album Young Americans, which the singer identified as "plastic soul". The sound constituted a radical shift in style that initially alienated many of his UK devotees. He then confounded the expectations of both his record label and his American audiences by recording the minimalist album Low—the first of three collaborations with Brian Eno over the next two years. The so-called "Berlin Trilogy" albums all reached the UK Top Five.

In 1981, Bowie paired with Queen for the UK chart-topping single "Under Pressure", and reached a commercial peak in 1983 with the album Let's Dance, which yielded the hit singles "Let's Dance", "China Girl", and "Modern Love".

Bowie’s studio and performance success maintained momentum through the 1990’s. In 2003, Bowie was forced to take a break from the stage, after he suffered a minor heart attack as a result years of touring and heavy smoking. Despite his hiatus from the stage, Bowie contributed to several projects including the soundtrack for the film The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, which featured David Bowie songs performed in Portuguese by cast member Seu Jorge (who adapted the lyrics to make them relevant to the film's story). Bowie commented, "Had Seu Jorge not recorded my songs acoustically in Portuguese I would never have heard this new level of beauty which he has imbued them with."





In the past, Bowie’s sexuality has been a topic of discussion. He is currently married to Somalian-born Supermodel Iman Abdulmajid, but has openly talked about his bisexuality. In a 2002 interview with Blender Magazine; Bowie was posed with this question: "You once said that saying you were bisexual was 'the biggest mistake I ever made'. Do you still believe that?" His response:

“Interesting. [Long pause] I don’t think it was a mistake in Europe, but it was a lot tougher in America. I had no problem with people knowing I was bisexual. But I had no inclination to hold any banners or be a representative of any group of people. I knew what I wanted to be, a songwriter and a performer, and I felt that [bisexuality] became my headline over here for so long. America is a very puritanical place, and I think it stood in the way of so much I wanted to do.”

Source: Wikipedia

Monday Morning Perk-Up: Bruno

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Bruno Conan O'Brien Interview
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Who's that Queer?

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Marlon Brando, Jr. was an American actor whose body of work spanned over half a century. He is considered one of the greatest actors of all time, and was named the fourth Greatest Male Star of All Time by the American Film Institute. In addition to his long film career, the openly bisexual actor was a major supporter of the Civil Rights and Native American Rights movements.


As a young sex symbol, he is best known for his roles in A Streetcar Named Desire and On the Waterfront from the 1950's. In his middle ages, his well-known roles include his Academy Award-winning performance in The Godfather, Colonel Walter Kurtz in Apocalypse Now, and an Academy Award-nominated performance as Paul in Last Tango in Paris.

In the early 1960s Brando contributed thousands of dollars to both the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (S.C.L.C.) and to a scholarship fund established for the children of slain Mississippi N.A.A.C.P. leader Medgar Evers. In August 1963, Brando participated in the March on Washington along with fellow celebrities Harry Belafonte, James Garner, Charlton Heston, Burt Lancaster, and Sidney Poitier. Brando also, along with Paul Newman, participated in the freedom rides.

James Baldwin and Brando at the March on Washington (1963)

At the 1973 Academy Awards ceremony, Brando refused to accept the Oscar for his performance in The Godfather. Sacheen Littlefeather represented Mr. Brando at the ceremony. She appeared in full Apache clothing. She stated that owing to the "poor treatment of Native Americans in the film industry" Mr. Brando would not accept the award. At this time the 1973 standoff at Wounded Knee occurred, causing rising tensions between the government and Native American activists.

In Gary Carey's 1976 biography The Only Contender, Brando is quoted as saying, "Homosexuality is so much in fashion it no longer makes news. Like a large number of men, I, too, have had homosexual experiences and I am not ashamed. I have never paid much attention to what people think about me. But if there is someone who is convinced that Jack Nicholson and I are lovers, may they continue to do so. I find it amusing." An alleged long-time lover was fellow actor Wally Cox, who was also Brando's best friend since their childhood. Brando is also quoted as saying: "If Wally had been a woman, I would have married him and we would have lived happily ever after." After Cox died, Brando kept his ashes for 30 years; they were eventually scattered with his own. Another alleged lover was the French actor Christian Marquand, whom Brando named his son after. Other Brando biographies detail alleged affairs with Carey Grant, Rock Hudson, and Stewart Granger.

Source: Wikipedia.org

Who's That Queer?

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April Ashley lived the extravagant life of an aspiring European model and actress during the 1950's and 1960's. Looks and talent aside, Ashley is most remembered for her legacy as one of the world's first openly transsexual individuals.

On April 25th, 1935, Ashley was born George Jamieson. After an unhappy childhood in Liverpool as one of six children of a Roman Catholic father and a Protestant mother, Jamieson moved to Paris in the 1950s and joined the cast of the cabaret show at the Carousel Theater with the famous French entertainer Coccinelle.

Jamieson had an early sex reassignment procedure in 1960 in Casablanca, Morocco under Dr Georges Burou. She was only the seventh person to receive sex reassignment surgery from Dr. Burou, and the doctor warned Jamieson that the procedure could even result in death, but Jamieson pressed ahead with the operation. Ashley has said that despite the pain following the procedure, "I knew the pinnacle of happiness, a joy beyond words".

After returning to England, Ashley became a successful fashion model, appearing in such publications as Vogue and winning a small role in the film The Road to Hong Kong, which starred Bing Crosby and Bob Hope. Her credit, however, was dropped from the film after she was outed as transsexual by the Sunday People in 1961.

She married Hon. Arthur Corbett in 1963, but the marriage did not last. In 1970 Corbett (later 3rd Baron Rowallan) successfully had the marriage annulled on the grounds that Ashley had been born male, which set the precedent for the legal status of transsexuals in the United Kingdom until the UK Gender Recognition Act 2004 came into force. Since she was publicly outted as a transexual, April has become the subject of much prejudice from the UK government. In her own words, "Britain is the most civilised country on Earth, but so backward about sex. I still love my country - I grew up in Liverpool during the war when it was being bombed flat - and my heart will always be British, but the Government has condemned me to being a freak who lives in exile."

In 1975, after a massive heart attack, April retreated to Hay-on-Wye on the Welsh border where she lived for 11 years with her dog Flora, before small legacies from two locals allowed her to move to the warmer, more liberal France, Spain and finally America's West Coast. In a recent interview Ashley commented that, "If I had my time over, I would certainly become a woman again, but I wouldn't marry. I'd become a successful film star and I'd sail round the world because I've always thought that just over the horizon there is something marvelous waiting for me."

Most recently April gave talks on her life at St Georges Hall Liverpool on 15 November 2008. Details of this evening can be found at the Gender Trust website. and on 18 February 2009 at the South Bank Centre.

Thank you April Ashley for a truely inspirational life!

(Source: Wikipedia)