What makes a gay icon and how does a celebrity become one?-Danni Scott-Entertainment – Metro

What do Princess Diana, Kylie Minogue, Alan Turing, Freddie Mercury, Beyonce, and Chappell Roan all have in common?

They are all Gay Icons.

The term has been around almost as long as the LGBTQ+ community itself, referring to someone revered by gay people – used here as a catch-all term for anyone who identifies within the space.

Sometimes we bestow this praise on the pop diva of the moment while others are names from the past, who fought hard for the rights we enjoy today.

Trying to pin down exactly what makes a gay icon is near impossible, however, they are crucial to the queer existence and our fight for acceptance.

For every LGBTQ+ person out there, there will be someone they look to as a gay icon but what are we looking for? As Pride month kicks off, Metro.co.uk tried to find out.

Pride is a time for celebration of ourselves and our icons (Picture: Mark Kerrison/In Pictures via Getty Images)

Remembering activists of yesteryear

With all our glossy celebrities nowadays it’s often forgotten there was a time when being a gay icon actually meant more than waving the occasional rainbow flag — they were actively fighting anti-LGBTQ+ movements.

‘Those icons are really strong activists,’ London Pride CEO Christopher Joell-Deshields told Metro.co.uk. ‘They were really out there pounding the pavement, making noise at protests, carrying banners, doing sit-ins and everything else.

‘Now, we have the majority of those who are recognised as icons, they don’t really have to lift a finger to be recognised. So I think there’s definitely a shift there.’

The way we feel about icons of the past has changed over time too, with Chris relaying a conversation he had with someone who was ‘erasing’ Marsha P. Johnson — an American activist who was central to the Stonewall riots.

‘They were saying; “She was a sex worker, she was a drug addict. How could she be an icon?” You have to really look at that and flip it because for those people who come from a marginalised community, Marsha P Johnson was a lifesaver.’

Activist Marsha P. Johnson is considered by many one of the biggest icons (Picture: Barbara Alper/Getty Images)

Marsha was crucial at the Stonewall Inn riots which sparked Pride (Picture: mark peterson/Corbis via Getty Images)

Other historic activists like Ma Rainey should not be forgotten (Picture: Donaldson Collection/Getty Images)

Johnson famously provided housing for homeless LGBTQ+ people, was a constant voice behind cries for change, a trans rights activist, and founder of numerous liberation groups.

‘The way that she did her activism, many people look up to that and there’s nothing wrong with people looking at Marsha P as an icon for them,’ Chris added.

For the London Pride organiser, this legacy of activists is incredibly important — especially as we move into a modern era where the emphasis is on showmanship rather than the work.

He added: ‘If we look at some of those historical figures, it goes back to the way that they were accepting of people themselves, particularly those people who identified as either queer or LGBTQ+.

‘[Now gay icons] have a lived experience the generation following can identify with. It makes it a lot easier for your icons to be fully accepted, fully represented and just offer a lived experience that people can identify with and I think that’s absolutely fantastic.

This era saw huge pushes for rights and the birth of Pride marches (Picture: Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Enigma code breaker Alan Turing was prosecuted in 1952 for homosexual acts (Picture: Pictures From History/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Princess Diana was one of the few to support gay people during the Aids crisis (Picture: Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images)

‘Before it was really one or two people out there doing the grafting and everybody else was — because of legislation — closeted in the 60s or 70s. And if we go back even farther than that, the 50s and the 40s.

‘It’s definitely a positive swing but a difficult one as well.’

The rise of the flamboyant gay man

In the ’70s and ’80s, the UK saw a huge rise in androgynous or flamboyant men at the forefront of the movement, taking to the stage in bold outfits with a cheeky wink.

Elton John and Freddie Mercury come to mind here, two LGBTQ+ men who were unapologetically themselves but still adhering to heteronormative standards for much of their life.

The Rocketman icon married Renate Blauel in 1984 after coming out as bisexual five years before but later revealed he was not interested in women.

In a 1992 interview with the Los Angeles Times, he shared: ‘Even though I knew I was gay, I thought this woman was attractive and that being married would cure me of everything wrong in my life.’

Elton John was known for his flamboyant stage costumes (Picture: TV Times/Future Publishing via Getty Images)

It wasn’t until the 90s when Elton came out as gay (Picture: Harry Durrant/Getty Images)

His flamboyance mixed with undeniable talent and success told young queer people it was okay to be themselves, proudly — an impact which can never be understated.

Elton bridged this gap between celebrity and activist, breaking ground as he embraced his sexuality on a public platform when being gay was not widely accepted.

As well as visibility, he was the founder of the Elton John Aids Foundation which was created to ‘prevent infections, fight stigma and provide treatment with love, compassion and dignity for the most vulnerable groups affected by HIV around the world’.

The Bennie and the Jetts hitmaker has been happily married to his husband David Furnish since 2014, when same-sex marriages became legal in the UK.

He had initially come out as bisexual after speculation over his sexuality in the 80s (Picture: David Redfern/Redferns)

Queen’s Freddie Mercury never publicly labeled his sexuality (Picture: Brian Rasic/Getty Images)

He didn’t want his Aids diagnosis to define him during the crisis (Picture: Pete Still/Redferns)

Freddie had a similar story, dating Mary Austin from the early ’70s until he ended things in 1976 after an affair with David Minns.

Famously, Queen’s I Want To Break Free music video was performed by all four members in drag, which was still very much a fringe performance style at this point.

Despite his camp stage getups, Freddie – who didn’t want to become the ‘poster boy’ for Aids at the height of the crisis -was intentionally coy about his sexuality, with scholars debating if he was bisexual to this day.

When the Queen icon was directly asked about ‘being bent’ in 1974, Freddie replied: ‘You’re a crafty cow. Let’s put it this way: there were times when I was young and green.

‘It’s a thing schoolboys go through. I’ve had my share of schoolboy pranks. I’m not going to elaborate further.’

The shifting but still homophobic society meant anyone who bravely came out instantly found a target on their back, especially those in the public eye like Elton or Freddie.

Being out and proud was still illegal in the late 60s (Picture: Mark Sagliocco/FilmMagic)

Drag artists like Lily Savage (Paul O’Grady) have been icons long before Drag Race started (Picture: PA)

It wasn’t until the 80s that being gay became more visible in the mainstream media (Picture: Michael Putland/Getty Images)

Let’s not forget that it was only in the Sexual Offences Act of 1967 that homosexual acts between men over the age of 21 were decriminalised in the UK – for the first time since the Middle Ages.

Female same-sex relationships were never actually illegal, with an earl in 1921 objecting to law changes in case they allowed women to discover lesbianism was an option and ditched men entirely (heaven forbid).

It wasn’t until 1989 when the first gay kiss on a BBC prime-time show aired, which Eastenders’ Colin Russell (Michael Cashman) and his romantic other half Guido Smith (Nicholas Donovan) giving a quick peck.

The kiss was so controversial that MPs even called for the soap to be pulled from TV completely. 

Here come the girls

While there are plenty of queer people who are icons, straight women have been loud allies for the LGBTQ+ community throughout time.

Looking back to Judy Garland — whose father was said to be bisexual — was considered a gay icon of the 60s with people using her name as a pseudonym when checking in at the Stonewall Inn or referring to ‘friends of Dorothy’.

Judy Garland’s character of Dorothy became code for being gay (Picture: Herbert Dorfman/Corbis via Getty Images)

Judy remains one of the community’s most beloved icons (Picture: Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Madonna has long been an advocate and once said ‘Everybody has a bisexual nature’ (Picture: SplashNews.com)

Her funeral on June 27, 1969, is sometimes cited as the spark that lit the fuse for the Stonewall Riots in New York in the early hours of June 28.

Stonewall is why we have Pride in June, it’s a huge revolutionary moment in LGBTQ+ history, and it could be — in part — due to the death of an icon.

Often modern gay icons fit into this diva archetype; female celebrities who push for their own empowerment and usually will show some allyship to the community.

These women often identify as straight — think Kylie Minogue and Beyonce — but of course can also be women loving women (WLW) such as bisexual queen Lady Gaga.

Lady Gaga is often held as a modern gay icon embodying authenticity (Picture: James Devaney/GC Images)

Janelle Monáe ‘s Make Me Feel is a certified queer anthem (Picture: Daniel Zuchnik/WWD via Getty Images)

While all have given vocal support for the community there is little consistency in how much they engage in activism while others who do are not automatically considered gay icons.

For example, Taylor Swift has engaged in activism over the years; singing at Stonewall events, inviting queer icons to join her You Need To Calm Down music video, and even becoming the subject of same-sex rumours.

Despite her Lover era’s rainbow-coated activism and continued (sometimes quiet) support for the community, the megastar is not considered a gay icon, so there must be more to it.

The Feeling frontman and composer for Everybody’s Talking About Jamie and Brokeback Mountain the musical, Dan Gillespie Sells attempted to explain this incongruence to Metro.co.uk.

He explained: ‘I think we know that a lot of gay icons aren’t necessarily queer themselves but I think it’s when someone is showing a version of themselves which is authentic and fearless. Gay iconography is about the shedding of shame.’

While The Feeling aren’t gay icons, Dan Gillespie Sells has given much to queer culture (Picture: James Mccauley/REX/Shutterstock)

Cher and Beyoncé – need we say more? (Picture: Kevin Mazur/WireImage for iHeartRadio)

Dan, who identifies as a gay cisgender man, sees strong feminine figures (regardless of gender) breaking down barriers as the real crux of the iconography.

‘The feminine gets so derided in our culture, there’s misogyny in everything,’ he shared. ‘It’s the feminisation that gets made to look weak or gets put down or gets dismissed and when someone is feminine but powerful – that’s what we’re attracted to.

‘It’s that overt femininity with power, with control, with agency. There’s something attractive about that, that attracts the little gay boys when they’re four because we just look at it and we go “that’s weird, that’s that’s something I haven’t seen before” because femininity we’ve been taught is silly or not important or not powerful.

‘And suddenly we see femininity, overtly expressed but powerful.’

Little Mix star Jade Thirlwall wrote about how she struggled with the pressure of this allyship, three years ago for Metro.

Jade Thirlwall believes it doesn’t take much to speak up for people (Picture: Dave Benett/Getty Images for The London EDITION)

For many their gay iconography is innate and needs no loud activism (Picture: Rich Fury/Getty Images)

The Minogue sisters have both been long-time allies and are Gay Icons (Picture: Don Arnold/Getty Images)

‘There are too many what I call ‘dormant allies’, believing in equality but not really doing more than liking or reposting your LGBT+ mate’s content now and again,’ she said.

‘It’s really not a difficult task to stand up for communities that need you. Change can happen quicker with allyship.’

A modern queer icon

Lately, there has been a huge influx of young, sapphic artists, actors, and more who proudly shout about their sexuality – simply listening to Boygenius and Girl in Red became codewords for being gay.

Female musicians like Chappell Roan, Renee Rapp, and Janelle Monae never needed to ‘come out’ but instead used lyrics to tell you everything you needed to know.

Nicola Coughlan shared with Metro.co.uk how she feels about being a gay icon, after that iconic scene in Derry Girls where her character came out as ‘the wee lesbian’.

She laughed and shared: ‘That’s all I want, is the girls and the gays. And Luke [Newton]. And nice boys. Girls, gays and nice boys. And they/thems.

‘Ok, I want a lot. A couple of straight men, but mainly the girls, gays and theys. That’s what I care about.’

However, the fight is not over as the battlefield has shifted from sexuality to gender identity, with trans rights becoming a political playground for points scoring.

As more LGBTQ+ people embrace their identities and language shifts to allow for nuances of the human experience, so too comes the pushback from those who feel they are being excluded through inclusivity.

Icons like Troye Sivan, Billy Porter, and Sam Smith have come under fire for embracing the long history of androgynous clothing to express themselves.

Munroe Bergdorf was the first transgender person to feature on Cosmopolitan’s cover (Picture: Cat Morley/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Reneé Rapp performed in front of giant scissors at Coachella – iconic (Picture: Arturo Holmes/Getty Images for Coachella)

Some icons Ncuti Gatwa have never addressed their sexuality publicly (Picture: Karwai Tang/WireImage)

Along with people simply existing in the public eye, like Ncuti Gatwa, shows like Heartstopper and Sex Education have brought a new generation of even more diverse queer icons to viewers’ attention.

After coming out as pansexual in 2021, Jojo Siwa encapsulates the LGBTQ+ love for all things camp, loud, and above all else ‘unapologetically’ authentic.

‘I think someone who is just unapologetically themselves and unafraid to be that, be themselves, and also have the ability to inspire others to do that,’ she told Metro after performing at Mighty Hoopla.

‘I wouldn’t consider myself to be a gay icon but people do consider me to be one,’ she laughed.

Modern queer icons are more likely to identify within the community themselves, in a new phase of iconography, where we ask for real-life representation.

Young LGBTQ+ people did not face the same struggles as those growing up in the ’60s or ’80s but the fight is still there and we still need prominent figures to empower us.

London Pride CEO Chris mused: ‘I think gay icons will continue to exist, they are important because they really provide a bridge between our past, our present, and the future. They’ll always be the touchpoints of the hard-fought battles that we’ve won.

‘They will centre on the ongoing struggles that we have today. But then that future generation of icons will always be there, representing the more inclusive world that that we’re creating as a community and as a movement.’

He added: ‘When you look at the majority of gay icons, they are not what I call the foot soldiers. Actually crafting and doing the work and doing the campaign and being activists.

Heartstopper’s cast have been embraced quickly for simply being themselves (Picture: Chris J Ratcliffe/Getty Images)

Superstar Chappell Roan’s queer anthem Good Luck Babe has stormed charts (Picture: Astrida Valigorsky/Getty Images)

Gay icons have always and will always be crucial to the LGBTQ+ community (Picture: Carl Court/Getty Images)

‘Coming out as a queer footballer or singer, it’s absolutely fantastic because that really creates that iconic moment and role model. However, those people that have been grafting for 10 or 20 years, who don’t get that recognition, I think it does an injustice to the community.

‘I think they should be equally recognised for who they are, the commitment that they give, and the passion that they bring to fight it.’

Icons are both deeply individual and span a lived experience unique to the wider LGBTQ+ community – needing to be authentic, intersectional, and empowering.

We look to gay icons to be the best of us, at the forefront of our continued fight for equality, and ultimately they have to be downright iconic.

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