the list of 9 for june 13, 2006:
THE NINE GAYEST MEN OF ALL TIME
Last Sunday was the annual Gay Pride Parade here in West Hollywood, the city with the highestpercentage of openly homosexual citizens in the world. And in the midst of all the continuedcontroversy over gay marriage, as well as this recent brouhaha over including historicalfigures' sexual preferences in school textbooks, I thought I'd pay a little tongue-in-cheektribute to the nine gayest men through the ages.
- Plato. Sexuality in ancient Greece was a lot more fluidthan it is today; it was not seen as a taboo for an Athenian gentleman to cavort publicly withteenage boys. So while it's a toss-up between choosing between Socrates and Plato as the "gayest"man from this era, I'll go with Plato. Many of his writings are based on his theories ofhomosexual love, and even to this day, for a man to love a woman platonically means that hehas no sexual interest in her.
- Hadrian. Ancient Rome also had more tolerance forhomoeroticism than later societies, but while the sexual preferences of most Roman emperors remainmatters of dispute (the general belief was that most were, in modern parlance, straight - with aboy on the side), it's universally accepted that Hadrian, a kindly ruler, was first and foremost alover of men. His relationship with the young Antinous was openly celebrated. After Antinous'untimely death, the lad became a legend throughout the empire. Hadrian even had him named agod. Now that's pretty gay.
- Michelangelo. The problem with the past is that nobodyremembers it very well. So while there remains only murky written evidence as to the sexuality ofthe great painter/sculptor/architect Michelangelo (ditto for Leonardo da Vinci),the answer is obviously in his work: Could a heterosexual really make that statue of David? Or usesuch spectacular color in that famous Sistine Chapel fresco? It's felt that Michelangelo sodisliked women that he used male nudes to pose for him, adding breasts on later. (Look at any ofhis paintings and you'll agree.) Though it's said that morals of the time prevented respectableladies from posing nude, that didn't stop a lot of prostitutes from posing for hetero artists.Michelangelo just liked the boys.
- Christopher Marlowe. One of the other great names from theRenaissance, Marlowe, whose modern use of tragedy and blank verse paved the way for hiscontemporary William Shakespeare (whose own sexuality is hotly debated), is also widely acceptedas having been gay: one of his plays, Edward II, about England's doomed gay king, was thefirst English play to openly deal with homosexuality, and many of his other writings containedhomoerotic elements. It is said that he was due to be arrested for sodomy before he was murderedduring an argument.
- Caravaggio. Art's other great Michelangelo, Caravaggio'spaintings, despite frequently violent themes, are about as gay as they come. Like Marlowe, he wasmurdered, though this was less surprising due to his notoriety as a wild, belligerent lowlife.
- Oscar Wilde. Academics would point out that the first fivemen on this list don't technically count as gay, since homosexuality as a sexual preference wasn'tdefined until the mid-1800's. Before that, one never identified as "gay," "straight" or"bisexual;" there were only varying degrees of homoeroticism. But as gayness became defined in the19th century, it's quite possible that writer Oscar Wilde invented contemporary gay male culture,with his love of theatre and poetry, his dandyish wardrobe, and above all, his cutting, bitchycommentary. He was also among the first notable artists to be publicly outed as a homosexual,during a time when this newly-defined homosexuality was classified as a crime against both natureand the law. He went to jail for sodomy, his career - and life - ruined.
- Cole Porter. Who best to represent early 20th century gaymaleness - Noel Coward? Jean Genet? Christian Dior? James Whale? The list goes on and on, but I'llchoose songwriter Cole Porter, not only for his voracious homosexual appetite and talent for throwing "decadent" parties, but for writing lines like "Kick her right in the Coriolanus" in Kiss Me Kate - I mean really - and also for writing musicals with winking titles like Fifty Million Frenchmen, Gay Divorce and Something for the Boys.
- Liberace. If there were a contest for Gayest Man Ever, thehonors would inarguably go to Liberace. In retrospect, it's astounding that he managed to win alibel suit against a gossip magazine that outed him in the 50's. How could anybody notbelieve that Liberace, with his spectacular stage shows, his elaborate, jewel-encrusted costumes,his mincing demeanor, and his swimming pools full of naked boys, was as gay as a birthday cake?
- Freddie Mercury. Of all the British pop starsof the 70's and 80's to choose from - Elton John? George Michael? Boy George? - I have to go withMercury as the gayest. For his flaming stage name (he was born Farrokh Bulsara), his machomoustache, his chest-exposing leotards, his love for opera, the fact that he called his bandQueen for crying out loud, and finally, and sadly, for succumbing to that grim rite ofpassage for so many gay men in the 80's: AIDS.
|