A Rainbow of Culture: Part 1

It was just over two decades ago that five homosexual men were diagnosed with what was, at the time, a nameless, fatal illness. It wasn't long before this anonymous killer was granted a name- HIV- and societal stigma. Based upon the primary group who appeared to be contracting the disease, the gay male community, feelings of hate and disgust arose throughout the nation, and those within the stricken sect, ostracized. Throughout the Reagan and Bush presidencies, this neglect continued both in the government, and ignorant civilians. Members of the gay ad transgender communities fought on, and gradually, science also came to back their cause. In 2008, the hysteria surrounding HIV and AIDS has all but subsided stateside, though the battle continues overseas in impoverished third world countries. Without going into an in depth commentary regarding the past and future of gay rights, I'd like to take a small fraction of that issue; popular culture, and attempt to briefly touch the surface of it.

Saturday evening, I had the enormous privilege of attending the final stop of the 2nd annual True Colors tour at Red Rocks amphitheater in Morrison, CO. While my love of Cindy Lauper, the tour's headliner, stops after "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun", one of my favorite party bands, The B-52's, were also along for the ride; and a few listenings of "Love Shack" and "Funplex" gave me enough reason to head online and buy tickets. The group behind "Rock Lobster" gave a spirited and fittingly insane showing, but the real stars of the night were in the audience. Upon the time of my ticket purchase, I had absolutely no idea what the "True Colors" tour consisted of, other than some crazy 80's flashbacks, but after some pre-concert research, I discovered that is was in fact a yearly LGTB pride festival traveling to cities across the country. Hosted by "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy"'s Carson Kressley, with special guest Rosie O' Donnell; after seeing the lineup, I was not surprised once I arrived at the venue (in my opinion, one of the most beautiful concert venues in the country), that my fellow audience members came bearing rainbow flags, pink monkey suits (?), pumps (only for the gays, of course) and some intense pride. While being actively involved in the theatre community has given me a wonderfully numerous amount of out-and-proud friends, in the while sitting in the rain and listening the opener Joan Armatrading, a thought began to form in my head. Why should the gays get all the good culture?! 

Many artists typically classified as a fad fueled mainly in the LGBT are presently transforming into the most domineering and tasteful forces in the entertainment community. While twenty years ago, the stereotypical gay culture conjured up pictures of drag queens and Barbara Streisand, nowadays, it's difficult to pin down just a few points of focus. Gay artists and straight performers backed by the gay community, while still maintaining their ties to the homosexual community, are hitting the Top 10 charts like never before. Madonna, Kylie Minogue and The Indigo Girls are no longer just reserved for pride parades and the Culture Club, but mainstream fads. Reality TV has acted as another platform, with personalities on shows such as "America's Next Top Model" (Fierce!), America Idol, So You Think You Can Dance? and The Real World. The rainbow of gay culture has grown more vibrant, diverse and beautiful than ever before....

to be continued tomorrow!