Category talk:Gay icons/Archive 1

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Archive This is an archive of past discussions. Do not edit the contents of this page. If you wish to start a new discussion or revive an old one, please do so on the current talk page.

I put Twiggy on the list unless anyone objects. I know the whole AbFab scene was tongue-in-cheek but I figure she probably qualifies. TheCustomOfLife 00:15, 21 Jun 2004 (UTC)

Grace Kelly was deleted by Rienzo. I left a note on his talk page and said that he can come talk here if he has another objection, because I added her back. TheCustomOfLife 15:28, 21 Jun 2004 (UTC)

Should a gay icon be a person who "has a strong appeal to gay people", or a person who is gay and is an icon? The second definition seems more intuitive to me. Seems to me this category could cause some confusion. Everyking 06:37, 24 Jun 2004 (UTC)

Well, I'm responsible for the definition and I don;'t mind if someone changes it. However, the definition "is gay and is an icon" is completely wrong. Most (I believe) gay icons are not themselves gay. Notably David Beckham and various singers: Liza Minnelli and Judy Garland for eg. --bodnotbod 18:14, Jun 24, 2004 (UTC)


Is this category only for "gay icons" in the original sense (icons for gay men)? Or could someone who is a favourite of Lesbians qualify here? 207.69.140.35 21:43, 29 Jul 2004 (UTC)

Sure, that would be fine. I added some lesbians (such as Ellen and Rosie) but I am not sure of, like, straight men or women being icons to lesbians, so if you know of any, please, add them. Mike H 18:23, Jul 30, 2004 (UTC)


I visited this article after reading the Wikipedia:Categories for deletion/Category:Gay icons crossposted to VFD for Category:Gay icons (see also Wikipedia:Categories for deletion/unresolved. I am hoping that the gay icon category is going to stay, so I have been looking to make it more useful by populating it with more individuals, while still trying to keep the category from getting too large and avoiding anyone who might be too controversial (Is Grace Kelly a gay icon, for example? --see talk:Grace Kelly).

While doing a Google search on "gay icon", I realized that there are, in fact, a number of categories of people that are being classified as gay icons, with the superset being "people that gays admire".

  1. The first group is the one that is already mentioned in this article -- larger-than-life individuals (usually female, often singers) who either consciously (Madonna) or unconsciously (Dolly Parton} have a camp persona and have a significant and enthusiastic gay fan base. Although not all divas are gay icons, most female singers who are gay icons are also divas. A large proportion of the female singers in this group would also be included in a "List of female singers impersonated by drag queens". There are also some actresses that qualify, such as Bette Davis and Mae West, but I can't think of any living actresses that strongly qualify as a gay icon (possibly Sharon Stone?). There are very few males who might fit this category, but Freddie Mercury of the rock group Queen is one of them.
  1. The second group that I often found doing a Google search was living openly-gay individuals who were successful in their field of endevor. This category also requires a certain amount of fame, so it is mostly entertainers and fashion designers that are mentioned in this category. An example would be Ellen DeGeneres. This and the first category definately have the largest percentage of mentions of "gay icons", although this category might actually have more webpages than the first category.
  1. There are also people from history who may or may not be gay, such as Joan of Arc. This may be the most problematic category because some people are listed based upon speculative and controversial opinions (see the discussion of the Apostle Paul [1] at gayheroes.com for example). Oscar Wilde would be a typical member of this category and Alexander the Great would be another.
  1. Heterosexual individuals who actively support gays and gay rights may also be classified as gay icons. This is another category that Sharon Stone may qualify for.
  1. My final group are those males (usually heterosexual actors or singers) that gays admire for their appearance. I was surprised that I didn't find more men during my Google search that were refered to as gay icons. I did find a couple of web pages that called Jude Law a gay icon.
  1. Someone suggested at Category:Gay icons that some boy bands also were gay icons, but during my Google search, I didn't find any webpages that refered to any boy bands as gay icons. Although some gay men may be attracted to members of boy bands, since most of the boy bands try to play down any possible gay connection, I have my doubts about this group.

gK 00:39, 21 Oct 2004 (UTC)

CfD discussion

As the consensus at Wikipedia:Categories for deletion seems to be to keep this category (four keep votes and one neutral), I have archived the discussion at Wikipedia:Categories for deletion/Category:Gay icons. I hope that helps. -[[User:Aranel|Aranel ("Sarah")]] 23:11, 9 Nov 2004 (UTC)

Suggested additions

I would like to propose the addition of Joan Crawford, Audrey Hepburn, and Elizabeth Taylor, but I don't understand how to add them. Maybe someone else can do it if they agree. Thanks.

I know there's only a stub but I think Ms. Patti LuPone needs a link too. So deserving.

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