Gay Icons

Who are the most significant gay icons and how did they develop? What influence do they have on gay individuals and communities? This book focuses on the superstars, femmes fatales and divas of the gay celebrity pantheon--Mae West, Julie Andrews, Britney Spears, RuPaul, Cher, Divine, Sharon Needles and many others--and their contributions to gay culture and the complications of sexual and gender identity. The author explores their allure along with the mechanisms of iconicity.

The LGBTQ+ community is a loving family. As such, this colorful book celebrates our most iconoclastic sisters and brothers (and gender-nonbinary friends) across history. This beautiful book is an illustrated and alphabetic celebration of LGBTQ+ activists, artists, comedians, writers, philosophers, musicians, poets, and Olympic gold medalists. These icons of the queer community have collectively championed civil rights, radically increased queer visibility and provided a means of escapism through their soul-affirming artistry. Just some of the trailblazers featured in Queer Icons from Gay to Z include Josephine Baker, Laverne Cox, Ellen DeGeneres, Keith Haring, Neil Patrick Harris, Marsha P Johnson, Harvey Milk, Martina Navratilova, Cynthia Nixon, Frank Ocean, Ruby Rose, and so on--all the way to Z. Loaded with trivia and factoids about each icon, this colorfully illustrated book unites pop-culture icons of the current day with the activists and revolutionaries who fought (sometimes literally to the death) for the right to be who they are, and the right to love whoever they damn well please.

Who are the most significant gay icons and how did they develop? What influence do they have on gay individuals and communities? This book focuses on the superstars, femmes fatales and divas of the gay celebrity pantheon—Mae West, Julie Andrews, Britney Spears, RuPaul, Cher, Divine, Sharon Needles and many others—and their contributions to gay culture and the complications of sexual and gender identity. The author explores their allure along with the mechanisms of iconicity.

The world's most famous gay icons share everything you need to know about life in this bright and lively illustrated book of pithy preambles and indispensable quotes from Liza to Lil Nas X. If life had its own GPS system, navigating it would be a far less stressful slog. Alas, we suffer this pothole-filled dirt road alone… guideless. Thankfully, there’s one thing more knowledgeable and dependable than a GPS, and that’s a Gay Icon! From Beyonce to Betty White, and RuPaul to David Bowie, no one understands the highs and lows, loves and losses quite like a gay icon. Featuring inspiring and entertaining quotes and dynamic illustrations of the icons who said them, you'll find these musings priceless, refreshing, and relatable... even if they're coming from Oscar-winners, music legends, and fashion royalty. MORE THAN 70 ICONS are featured in this all-star collection of quotes and illustrations, including Judy Garland, Madonna, Cher, Ariana Grande, Billy Porter, Bowen Yang, and Leslie Jordan. ACCLAIMED ARTIST: Peter Emmerich has worked with such clients as Dreamworks and The Walt Disney Company, and provides his signature style to the illustrations in The Gay Icon’s Guide to Life. PITHY PREAMBLES: Michael Joosten, the author of My Two Moms and Me and Pride 1 2 3, provides hilarious context to each of the icons’ impactful quotes.

"Published to accompany the exhibition Gay Icons held at the National Portrait Gallery, London, from 2 July to 18 October 2009"--T.p. verso.

Discover the fascinating stories behind 38 queer icons, all of them ground-breakers, risk-takers and game-changers. Whether they are activists, sportspeople, scientists or superstars, every one of these people has been a trailblazer in their field, and deserves to have their achievements celebrated the world over. Be empowered and inspired by their extraordinary life stories, their awesome achievements and their wonder-words of wisdom with this pocketbook of remarkable people, and prepare to be introduced to your new superheroes.

Braun traces the cinema's gay and lesbian heritage from the uncensored extremes of the Roaring Twenties, through the repressive regime of Hollywood's Production Code, to the camp extravagence of the sixties and seventies, and beyond into the modern era. Along the way, he offers fascinating and often hilarious profiles of the stars idolised by gay audiences worldwide, from Mae West to Madonna.--Jacket flap.

Madonna has long been accepted as a pop culture icon, but this text postulates a greater cultural importance by analyzing her as a postmodern myth. This work examines how Madonna methodically discovered and constructed herself (often rewriting her past), the nature and extent of her ambition and the means she used to reach her goals. It also details the way in which she organized her own cult (borrowing from the gay community), devised her artistic output, and cunningly targeted different audiences. It also studies the fundamental contradiction--virgin or vamp? saint or prostitute?--that fuels Madonna's career and describes how Madonna reflects today's society, its contradictions and its attitudes toward sexuality and religion.