4.17.13 Adam in Macao

Ha. Ha. The funny thing is, Adam Lambert would agree with most of this poser’s diatribe (BTW, get over yourself–I’m sure SFLG serves a worthy role in the community, and publishes some interesting articles, but it’s hardly the Gay New Yorker, okay? Or was that not an article about a Glee actor’s strip-tease that I saw on your home page? And am I underestimating the intellectual sophistication of your “Gay Fitness” section?) OF COURSE he’s more likely to get the GLAAD award based on aspects of his celebrity that have nothing to do with gay activism. And OF COURSE he is, first and foremost, an entertainer, not an activist–indeed he himself has described many times how uncomfortably the mantle of Gay Role Model and leader of The Cause rested on his shoulders at first. Surely we can all agree that every person, regardless of their orientation, has a right to lead a life not defined by that orientation.

But precisely because of his celebrity, that was not an option open to Lambert, given that he chose to live his life openly. (And, FWIW, openly from the beginning, or does answering “yes that was me frenching my boyfriend in those photos, I have nothing to hide” in a pre-Idol interview spell closeted to you? What was he supposed to do–go out on the Idol stage and sing “I feel pretty and witty and gaaaaaaay?!”) Yes, there are many people struggling valiantly and in obscurity for a noble cause who should get recognized more. Do you know what makes those people especially happy? That there is a prominent, mainstream entertainer who is happily and evidently out and comfortable in his own skin. Because those worthy, obscure fighters for gay rights know that there is nothing they can do that can help the cause more than an Adam Lambert, proudly going about his own business like he doesn’t give a fuck.

Polls show that recent advances in gay acceptance owe everything to the fact that conventional straight America can now put a face to Gay, and that it’s the face of someone they like and respect. That may be their brother, or their son, or their neighbor Sue, or it might be the pop-star who’s music they hear on the radio.

And speaking of radio, you know and I know that Lambert’s music would be on that radio MUCH MORE than it is if he hadn’t made the brave decision to be out from the start, and to be out in a way that doesn’t tone down his personality and make it “safe” for conservative radio PDs, and to include LGBT-themed songs on his album, and style himself in such a campy and androgynous and fierce way. And those choices? They may have hurt his career, but they make all the difference to the little queer kid trying to figure himself out in a world that until recently offered no mainstream example of someone who was actually gay and a little outré and openly so, and still made it big. NOT ONE. Until Adam Lambert.

BTW, you think it’s easy to be out like Lambert is out? Take a look at the comments sections of every article ever written about the man to get a sense of the stream of hate and vitriol that he turns his back to every day. Think for a minute about the pressure coming at him from all sides–from his record company, from his managers, from his fans, from his friends and family and community, from complete strangers, from the media, to be more gay, less gay, more political, less political, more masculine, crazier, more approachable, less open, on and on and on.

Think you’re the first editor of a gay publication who’s decided, after he gave you a strikingly honest and open interview, that this Adam guy presents a pretty nice opportunity for him to get on his soapbox and preach a load of bullshit about gay celebrity and dump it on a guy just trying to do the best that he can with a complicated situation? Newsflash, buddy: you’re not. Hell, you don’t even have originality going for you. And all the while, a little girl in Iowa or Kansas or South Florida sees someone on her TV who lets her know that its A-Okay not to conform hard and fast to this country’s fixed gender roles, that you can be a little bendy and still be fabulous and sexy and widely loved. That all these boxes, soapy and otherwise, are just so much kindling to his fire. I’m glad that GLAAD, in addition to recognizing Lambert’s myriad contributions to marriage equality and the Trevor Project and other gay rights initiatives, recognized the power of that fire most of all.