Gay anthem
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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A gay anthem is a song that has become widely popular among, or has become identified with, the gay community; usually with gay men. The lyrics of gay anthems are often marked with hope against the odds, pride, unity, or defiance.
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General examples
The most notable "Over the Rainbow", performed by Judy Garland; "I'm Coming Out", performed by Diana Ross; "Smalltown Boy", performed by Bronski Beat; "My Funny Valentine", performed by Frank Sinatra; "I Will Survive", performed by Gloria Gaynor; "It's Raining Men", performed by The Weather Girls, and "Gypsy Woman (She's Homeless)", performed by Crystal Waters. Anecdotally, the works of ABBA and Cher are often cited.
Many gay anthems are in the dance music genre, though the seminal gay anthem, "Over the Rainbow", gained notoriety because it was sung by early gay icon, Judy Garland.
Many Eurovision Song Contest songs have become gay anthems.
Less common, but still notable, are gay garage rock, punk and hardcore anthems, including songs by artists such as Jayne County such as "Man Enough To be A Woman", t.A.T.u.'s "All the Things She Said", Buzzcocks' "Orgasm Addict".
Examples in disdo and dance music
Not exclusively, but there are some notable gay people in disco, such as Sylvester, Giorgio Moroder and Patrick Cowley.
Singers/performers who were/are popular with a gay audience: Barry Manilow, Barbara Streisand, Ann Christy.
- "The music was getting better all the time, and somehow, imperceptibly, the music we heard in gay bars seemed to be becoming "our music." Black people played it in their clubs as well, for it sprang forth from both of our communities. Perhaps in urban areas it was also a straight white phenomenon - there are those who nowadays maintain this - but in the Midwest, near as I could tell, it was not the music of straight white people."[1]
Gay themed disco songs
1. South Shore Commission - Free Man 2. Carl Bean - I Was Born This Way
Gay hip hop
- gay hip hop
- "[...] What hasn't changed is the gap between rap and house, an antipathy which exists between these two forms of soul music. [...] According to Frankie Knuckles, this goes to the core of attitudes towards gays, especially amongst the black community. "The fact that house got started in the gay clubs makes it tough for some of them to deal with it." This is about more than musical taste; for Frankie, it goes to the core of the future of minority groups in the US. And, ironically, it's rap, with all of its violence and too-frequent lapses into intolerance and homophobia, that has pushed things along. "--Frankie Knuckles
Themes
Although every song is individual, the criteria for what makes a gay anthem does show a pattern among the songs. In the book, Queer, the following ten main themes were listed that are common among many, if not all gay anthems; they are:
- Big voiced divas: Rather than particular song, this area of gay anthems is more akin to a cult of personality of a large gay male following for some particular diva-style pop music vocalists who are almost always female gay icons. Examples include: Patti LaBelle, Liza Minnelli, Barbra Streisand, Judy Garland, Gloria Gaynor, Madonna, Christina Aguilera, Kylie Minogue, Aretha Franklin, Diana Ross, Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, Celine Dion, Donna Summer, Janet Jackson and Cher.
- Overcoming hardship in love: Usually a narrative of a wronged lover who comes back stronger than before. Examples include, I Will Survive by Gloria Gaynor, No More Tears (Enough Is Enough) by Barbra Streisand and Donna Summer.
- You are not alone: Songs about coming together as a community or reassurance to the lonely that there are others like them out there. Examples include, We Are Family by Sister Sledge, YMCA by The Village People, and Respect by Aretha Franklin.
- Throw your cares away: A carefree narrative about putting your troubles asides and partying. Examples include, Turn the Beat Around by Vicki Sue Robinson, Dancing Queen by ABBA, Girls Just Want to Have Fun by Cyndi Lauper, and Holiday by Madonna.
- Hard-won self esteem Here the themes involves fighting through oppression, darkness or fear to gain freedom, beauty or self esteem. Examples include, Free by Ultra Nate, Beautiful by Christina Aguilera, and The Greatest Love of All by Whitney Houston.
- Celebrating unashamed sexuality: The theme here is of transcending cultural shame to celebrate one's sexual nature. Examples include, So Many Men, So Little Time by Miquel Brown, You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real) by Sylvester, Supermodel by RuPaul, and It's Raining Men by The Weather Girls.
- Search for acceptance: Songs about a welcoming promised land where the dream of acceptance and belonging and hope lives. Examples include, Over the Rainbow by Judy Garland, Go West by Pet Shop Boys, and Together Again by Janet Jackson.
- Torch song for the world weary: A narrative about being used, abused and surviving to tell the tale of lament. Examples include: La Vie En Rose by Edith Piaf, You Don't Have to Say You Love Me by Dusty Springfield, and And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going by Jennifer Holliday.
- Love conquers the all: Tales of not giving up on love despite seemingly insurmountable odds. Examples include Ain't No Mountain High Enough by Diana Ross, Maybe This Time by Liza Minnelli, and As Long as He Needs Me by Shirley Bassey.
- No apologies: Here the theme revolves around defiantly living one's life despite what others may want. Examples include, I Am What I Am by Gloria Gaynor, Don't Rain on My Parade by Barbra Streisand, and I'm Coming Out by Diana Ross.
Some Eurovision Song Contest songs become gay anthems such as the Eurovision 1998 winning song "Diva" by transsexual Israeli Dana International, Croatian 1999 entry "Marija Magdalena" by Doris Dragović and Danish 2007 entry "Drama Queen" by drag DQ. Eurovision 2006 hopefuls drag Queentastic's "Absolutely Fabulous" is also a case in point. Claudette Pace who represented Malta in 2000 issued a gay-anthem entitled "Power of Pink". She performed it at the UK's Gay Pride in 2001.
Less common, but still notable, are gay garage rock, punk and hardcore anthems, including songs by artists such as Jayne County such as "Man Enough To be A Woman", t.A.T.u.'s "All the Things She Said", Buzzcocks' "Orgasm Addict", "Ti Voglio Bene" by Italian star Tiziano Ferro, a number of singles by Pansy Division and songs by Team Dresch and Tribe 8. (See also Queercore). A new gay anthem is Heather Small and her performance of "Proud", released in the Proud album in 2000, and featured in the Showtime original show Queer As Folk. Latin examples are "¿A Quién le Importa?" by Alaska y Dinarama and "Todos Me Miran" by Gloria Trevi.
