Why It Matters that Adam Lambert is (Probably) Gay

It matters that Adam Lambert, the heir apparent as the next American Idol, is apparently gay -- precisely because it doesn't matter.

First, whether Lambert is homosexual or not, he definitely is "queer," a word many GLBT (gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered) people have reclaimed from the dustbin of history as a proud self-identification. He gender-bends, he sings high notes, he wears makeup and jewelry. For a show about creating the next typical pop star, he is atypical. Simply being gay is, perhaps, no big deal -- but Lambert flaunts his gender non-conformity. As he himself said, when photographs of Lambert kissing other men surfaced on the Internet, "I have nothing to hide. I am who I am." Bravo!

This bravado stands in sharp contrast to previous generations of androgynous pop stars, who vociferously denied their gayness even as their obvious queerness was leveraged into worldwide pop success. Clay Aiken, George Michael, even Boy George all used to deny their sexualities -- and Elton John hid behind "bisexuality" for many years as well. To most of us in the gay community, this was ludicrous; at the same instant these male stars were protesting the awful insinuations about their manhood, they flaunted their gender-bending and/or androgyny as part of their appeal. Not Lambert. He is who he is, and it's fabulous.

Of course, it's hard to blame these older pop stars for their reticence, as being "openly" gay spelled career suicide for decades. What's different now is that Lambert doesn't seem to feel any pressure to hide. His legions of female fans seem unperturbed that their idol prefers the company of men. Neither does his sweet-voiced and "openly" Christian co-finalist, Kris Allen, whose friendship with Lambert seems to be sincere. Indeed, seeing Allen and Lambert embrace on stage is a particularly hopeful sign that sometimes we really can all get along.

Lambert's legions of "Gay? Fine By Me" fans arrive at a particularly moving time for me and many of my friends. I live in New York, and have been active for many years in "Pride in the Pulpit," a coalition of religious leaders working for equality for all New Yorkers, regardless of sexuality or gender. And as Lambert croons his way to pop stardom, sexual minorities in New York are in a nail-biting race to secure the right to marry the people they love, just as heterosexuals can. No one knows how the "Marriage Bill" will fare in the New York State Senate, where many Democrats from socially conservative districts have yet to take a stand. Thousands turned out at a recent rally in New York city -- but there are counter-demonstrations too.

Underneath all the tension, however, I've noted an odd sense of calm among my fellow activists. We may or may not win this current battle -- but we are obviously winning on this front in the so-called culture war. A recent CNN poll found that opinions about same-sex marriage vary widely by generation. Among those 18 to 34 years old 58% said marriage should be legal. Among 35-49, 49%; 50-64, 41%, and 65 and over, 24%.

In other words, time is on our side -- and Lambert's fans prove it. Just twenty years ago, when I was a teenager growing up in West Florida, being gay was just about the worst thing in the world. These days, it just doesn't matter so much. And why something which doesn't matter so much should stop a person from being able to get married -- well, that makes no sense at all.

I do wish that America's Next Gay Idol would pull a Miss California and take a public stand on same-sex marriage. Of course, he's really just building his career, and it may be the smarter move to stay out of politics. But Lambert's very existence is political. He is benefiting from the Ellens and Rosies who paved the way, just as he is paving the way for others -- especially once he ends the ambiguity, which he exploits so well on stage, and allows writers like me to take "(Probably)" out of our copy. So let me send this message to our Idol front-runner:

Adam, we need you in New York. Tell your fans that if they accept you for who you are -- which they do! -- they should give you the same rights most people have. Including the right to someday marry some very lucky man.

Comments

[ntropp]

Jay, I was also a teen in Florday, but in the 1950's and 60's. I attended the University of Florida and while there, there was a witch hunt for gay men. Men in suits would enter a classroom and remove a student from class and everyone know exactly why they were being taken out and you'd never see them on campus again. Thank goodness, the times are changing.
I think that Adam Lambert has been handling the media attention being paid to his sexual orientation beautifully. When he talks to teens, he tells them to appreciate their differences. His song choices for American Idol often expressed overt civil liberties/love thy neighbor messages. He's got a lovely sense of humor and is quite adept at using it to play with reporters who feel a need to determine exactly who he has sex with. My assumption is that he signed a contract with Rolling Stone for a cover/interview and that his asking everybody to keep speculating will push the sale of that issue up into the stratosphere. Good for him and Rolling Stone! They might as well benefit from the Is he gay frenzy and draw some positive attention to the issues.
Adam Lambert is an immensely talented performer and might be able to remove the blinders from small minded individuals with much more ease than many social activists. HIs music should come first, but there could be some magical side effects.

[Todd Thomas]

It totally matters. I just wrote a related article today discussing: Is America ready for a Gay Idol?

http://musformation.com/2009/06/american-idol-the-ultimate-un-gayer.html

[adamaniac]

I personally am ashamed of the way America is treating Adam! I have said it once and I'll say it again...his sexuality is NONE OF OUR BUSINESS! It is absolutely outrageous how people are using this to take the limelight away from the very talent that got him here to begin with! What does his sex life have to do with ANYTHING??? America is full of voyeurs who have to know what someone does in their bedroom, just so they can IMAGINE what they're doing while they're there! Sorry, folks! A person's bedroom is PRIVATE!!! Leave him alone! How would you like it if someone approached you and asked about your bedroom activities: whether you like oral sex or anal sex or whatever. That is pretty much what they are doing to him. Adam wants to be known for his talent, and to entertain us with his voice, not to have his PRIVATE LIFE BE OUR ENTERTAINMENT!!! Adam feels the same about his private life as he does his singing...he doesn't want to be put in a box with labels. Why can't we just accept that and accept him, and love him EXACTLY the way he is! Adam, you are the first artist to get me excited about music again in a very long time! I love everything about you: your voice, your style, your humility. DON'T LET ANYONE EVER CHANGE YOU!!! YOU ARE PERFECT THE WAY YOU ARE!!!

[oldschoololdsoul]

Lambert will fare better than the winner for no other reason than he is a more charasmatic personality with great potential if he can find some rare 21st century melodically literate songwriters to pen his songbook.

However, lost on the sexual celebrity of AI's bias coming out is the fact that masculine males are underrepresented on the show out of stark contrast with demographic reality.

So the issue is not who's gay but who is not on the show because they aren't.

[BoyInBOYCOTT]

Can we vote Clay off the queer island?

[1sparrow]

adam was my favorite- the only voice worthy of being near him was allison. yet when you listen to the duet "slow ride" you will see the brilliance and clarity of adam. i never voted for him. or anyone. i think it's a scam by the phone companies. also voting is a "chick" thing. i also never ask directions. i never cook or clean. actually i tried and it turned out to be a very embarrassing and traumatic experience. must be a closeted thing that i have extremely good taste.

[LeeLoosMultiPass]

Also, Adam is a fine young man who was raised correctly. He is humble, self-effacing, generous of spirit, gracious - whether accepting criticism or defeat; whether being complimented or revered. You don't get that way if Mom and Dad didn't instill some solid core values into their child. Bravo to the entire family. He must certainly be a very loved son and brother.

The man is already a star - he just needed AI to let us all know it.

BTW, I'm a straight woman over the age of 50.

[Natalie Davis]

Truth be told, there were fundamentalist calling efforts to pump votes for Kris. I do think the main thing is the little girls/multiple votes thing, but if you don't think homo-hatred played a part, you're deluding yourself.

[MedinaM]

Then why did Adam make it so far? I'm so sick and tired of this argument being a reason why Adam lost! Why can't it simply be that people liked Kris much more so they kept on calling and texting? Of course naturally there will be a few that won't vote for Adam due to the fact that he might be gay. But aren't there other reasons why others may vote against Kris as well? You mentioned the "little girls," well Kris revealed early on that he's married...for most young girls when they really like a singer, their looks are a big part of it. Revealing you're married can only hurt you with the young girls. So what about that? What would you say if Adam won and us that wanted Kris said, "Oh, it's only because Kris is married!" It's lame...it's ridiculous...get over it.

**By the way, I'm not trying to be rude...I just think that argument should have gone away as soon as those pictures came out and people realized that it obviously wasn't affecting the voting, because he made it to the final 2.

[Siobhan11]

I don't watch idol, but just want to comment on John Michaelson's comment about 20 years ago in western Florida gay being the worst thing in the world. Perhaps the battle for gay marrige has some ways to go. But certainly things are changing rather quickly. My neices and nephews in a WNY suburban high school say fellow students are coming out left and right and it is really no big deal. Granted there are probably still parts of the country where this might not be so. But even in this area, when my child graduated 10 years ago, this was not the case. And the area I am in is a pretty Catholic area, so even that doesn't seem to be having an effect with this younger generation. From what I hear most of the parents are quite supportive of their children after they come out.

[RoadCrossingChicken]

Believe it or not, I live in north central Texas (Dallas-Fort Worth area) and the high school kids are the very accepting of g.ay people. It is just part of life.

[PBMom]

I love Adam because of his talent. Period. It doesn't matter that he didn't win. He is going to be, as Paula said in one of her lucid moments, ICONIC.

[ccopas]

Adam didn't lose because he's gay, he lost because Kris Allen appeals to young tweenage girls...Who do you think watches American Idol? Young girls, women, and gay men....I don't know a huge amount of straight guys that were just sitting around and dialing up Fox to vote for American Idol...

[Marilyn-Malaysia]

I am one of many Adam's international fan, truthfully most of us found ways to vote for Adam from our countries, I'm still puzzled about the votes!!! I do know everything in USA have tendency to be politically or religiously motivated, shocker!!!. The evangelistic/middle America wouldn't have tolerated a gay (???) man to be their American Idol. I read a lot of blogs/articles from USA questioning Adam's sexual orientation, seriously, doesn't merely amazing talent suffice? Trust me, Adam's international fans are flabbergasted with the result but our unwavering support for him will be no less. Adam Lambert will walk in the path of greatness because of his talent, personality and humility. I guess 'change will come' sounds a lot better as a song than reality.

[quest44]

Marilyn ,Adam didn't lose because he was gay ,he lost because Kris really is the better singer that could appeal to all ages and genders .
While Adam had the flare of a Vegas performer he did an awful lot of screaming and that doesn't appeal to everyones sense of what is singing or just plain screaming . Also Kris was very versatile and could also play the piano and guitar .
Sorry Marilyn but the best man did win that contest !

What I did think was unfair was that Simon was trying so hard to sway the viewers to vote for Adam to the point where I felt sorry for Kris when Simon wouldn't give him the credit he deserved because he wanted to build Adam up as the next American Idol.

[lightysgirl]

A.I. is a popularity contest. Kris won because he was the most mainstream artist and popular of the final four. If Adam screamed, Kris's delivery was boring and unassuming. Simon did his job. He judged the vocal performances of Kris and Adam each week and say what you like about Adam's screaming that boy CAN sing and perform. Kris performances paled in comparison and went mostly under the radar. I think Simon and the other judges were fair ....... It was still left up to the viewers to vote and they did so based on their personal preference. Kris was the boy whose music was most liked and safe. So the popular boy, not the MOST talented won. It didn't matter how Simon or the judges commented. It didn't matter last year either.

[Puller58]

Boy George ring a bell? Next.

[RoadCrossingChicken]

What? What are you talking about?

[SiberianRat]

"he definitely is "queer," a word many GLBT (gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered) people have reclaimed from the dustbin of history as a proud self-identification"

I hate that term and don't see myself that way at all. Just my opinion. I can't comment on the Idol show because I don't watch it, but I wanted to see what the fuss was about. I guess you have to watch to truly get it.

[eliezering]

Losing was the best thing that could have happened for Adam's career...and sexuality. The winners tend to get ground up, de-edged, and smoothed into Idol-Americana souffle. Losing gives Adam the complete freedom to be himself, musically and sexually, and the past has shown that career-wise, the losers often do as well or better than the winners.