10 Queer Superheroes: Entertaining Us While Saving The Planet (No, Really)
Blame our need to be accepted, but we queers tend to be over-achievers. Some of us seem able to do everything. Like Ricky Martin, for instance. We all knew he was gay before he came out it on his blog because he was just too good at too many different things. A bilingual Latin pop-singing sensation with international appeal raising two sons with his “friend” and running his own charity against child trafficking? Puh-leaze… of course he’s gay! Only someone used to keeping a secret identity could juggle so many commitments while save the world on top of it all. But he’s only one of the 10 giving-est homos, lesbians, and bisexuals we found that work as hard entertaining us as they do at saving those less fortunate.
Let’s meet the superheroes.
So sad Rachel Maddow wasn’t on this list. She’s the true queer super hero! She’s smart, politically queer to the point of critiquing the gay marriage movement, and she understands intersectionality of issues. Plus shes hot and quirky.
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@marksnyder: Maddow wouldn’t fit in on the list. It’s for people doing significant charity work who have their fingers in a number of pies outside their regular job. So far since becoming famous on TV Maddow has stuck to doing her regular job and the things you described like understanding issues has just been part of her doing that job.
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Boy George doesn’t deserve to be on this list. He wasn’t just arrested for drugs, he was arrested for violently handcuffing another person to a wall and beating them with a chain. He has never apologized or shown remorse for that. Why do we as a community Idolize people like that? It is just wrong. Committing a violent crime like that and going to jail does not make you a terrific human being. Also, George has continuously attacked other celebrities in the media and rarely shown any generousity towards anyone.
Also as far as charity work, he skipped out on gigs that were designed to benefit people with HIV and was sued by several AIDS care organizations. Hardly a charity role model. Yet he’s allowed to get away with that because he wears a lot of makeup.
Also, like Elton while he wasn’t married he wasn’t out at the beginning of his career, but said he wasn’t gay but bisexual. Elton has raised far more funds for AIDS than George has.
I agree Rachel Maddow would be a much better role model for young gay people than Boy George.
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Another thing people should know about George and his “charity” work is that he was dropped by MAC because he refused to do the required public appearances to promote AIDS awareness because he was too busy getting high and chasing after rent boys.
You should do your research before choosing role models.
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Look I love GaGa’s music but enough already. I’m 25 but why are all the young gay guys under 30 so warped into thinking GaGa is the greatest female pop artist in the world right now? She’s receycled a ton of Madonna’s ideas and even though the songs are catchy and fun they aren’t deep and meaningful. When Madonna sang Express Yourself it MATTERED. She sang about topics and causes 20 years ago most artists wouldn’t even touch today. I love GaGa (then again I like Britney too) but comparing her to a true pop icon like Madonna is like saying a pimped out Toyota Camry (mainstream and extremely popular) is like a new Jagular (still sexy and timeless after all these years).
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I remember watching Culture Club on “Top of the Pops” in September 1982. I was just 15. Within a year I was officially out. Not that I was really ever in … I mean the boys at school knew I was queer before any of us knew what sex was.
Still, the sight of George on national TV, was amazing to me. He was just beautiful. And very clearly queer. Like me. And in that moment, I knew something that I didn’t know before. That I could carry on. And I have.
And I’ll always, always love George for that.
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@James UK: James- you could almost take your experience and transpose it to my own growing up on a farm in the middle of Saskatchewan, in the same year (and the boys seemed to know about me too). I first saw him on the evening news as this phenomenon steamrollering across the music scene. He was flamboyant and exciting and he inspired me to be a bit more myself. He may have gone sideways in his personal life, but I’ll still cut him slack.
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My list of Gay Jewish Heroes: http://guydads.blogspot.com/20.....story.html
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Boy George rules….should be knighted….
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Gaga is openly bisexual. And I also agree that Elton John would have been a far better choice than Boy George. Oh well, live and learn, I guess.
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@Brad I totally agree with you about Rosie O’Donnell. I don’t know why I didn’t think of her. Not only has she done a lot for gay families, she has also done a lot of work for other causes like chidren’s organizations and also promoted theatre.
She has done work in a lot of areas, tv, film. stand up comedy, theatre etc so she is multi dimensional
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Thank you for giving Boy George some of the props he deserves. (As well as all these other fantastic human beings, naturally) It’s always annoyed me how fast most Queers are to forget about him – he was, after all, out while Elton John was still married to a woman.