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Nowadays, queer people can announce themselves proudly and publicly with many in support, but it wasn’t always like this. Being anything other than heterosexual and cisgender was frowned upon and sometimes met with violent alternatives. The media, in particular, has never been very kind to the LGBTQ+ community. Putting a dark past behind us, we look into the future with the hope of even more improvement for generations to come. With that being said, May 16, LGBTQ Elders Day, provides the chance to highlight some of the faces which have made strides in media representation.
A Restricting History
Homosexuality first appeared in the written media of the ancient Greeks long before the prejudices of our society. Plato’s Symposium spoke of dinner parties where mentors and boys would drink, recite poetry, and find heavenly love with one another, not clouded in lust or desire. In time, this positivity around homosexuality vanished, but the topic remained. From the 1910s to 1940s all media was primarily written. Pulp novels were not centered around dinner. but often the life of the author whose same-sex love was forbidden. During these times, a book was only published if it contained a tragic ending, so as not to “promote homoeroticism.”
The evolution of films didn’t fare any better, since far into the 1980s a tragic ending was often seen between queer romantic interests. Death had become a staple to each relationship, pushing a negative social agenda on audiences. It wasn’t until the ‘90s that homosexuality was seen in a more positive light and without ending in death. But while Friends had a lesbian couple and Will & Grace had two gay main characters, queers were somehow still a punchline.
The efforts of the ’90s have made a purely positive media representation possible today. The reboot of Queer Eye brought five gay men to the world’s doorstep as helping hands, an aid in showcasing human solidarity. Orange Is The New Black debuted Laverne Cox as the first trans-woman actress to play a trans-woman. Modern Family‘s inclusion of a gay couple was a huge leap in representation as the LGBTQ community made its way into the nation’s family structure. Media Smarts’s evaluation of LGBTQ media coverage highlights, “Queer people [now] see their reflections on screen in a largely positive light: stable, employed, charming, attractive, well-liked, and successful.” The Daily Fandom would like to shine a light on just a few respected elders.
Sir Ian McKellan (May 25, 1939)
Many may fondly know him as Gandalf the Grey from Lord of the Rings or even Magneto from X-Men, but Sir Ian McKellan is much more than those roles. He’s acted both on stage and screen in genres ranging from Shakespearean and modern theatre to popular fantasy and science fiction. His sixty-year-long career has earned him more than sixty major international awards such as a Tony, Golden Globe, Olivier Award, and more.
Sir Ian McKellan stands as our first elder not only because of the massive presence and success he has made as a gay man in the media, but for his contributions to the community. McKellan came out in the grandest of ways: live on national radio, in a debate on Section 8 which claimed for it to be illegal for local authorities to “promote homosexuality” or give assistance to people who do. Since coming out in 1988, he has addressed social issues at numerous Gay Pride Days in Washington D.C, Cape Town, etc. He was the co-chair at the 20th Annual Awards for GLAAD, an association that monitors the U.S media to counter anti-gay remarks or jokes. His greatest contribution, however, was in 1988, co-founding Stonewall UK to lobby and fundraise for legal social equality.
Patricia Highsmith (Jan. 19, 1921 — Feb. 4, 1995)
Patricia Highsmith was an author who penned more than twenty novels and nine short story collections. Her novel The Price of Salt, originally released in 1952, is very well known as it was the only story of its time that conveyed a lesbian relationship with a happy ending.
It sold over a million copies and earned a new edition in 1990. When the novel first came out Highsmith used a pseudonym, Cummins Catherwood, to avoid being outed. It wasn’t until the new edition that she finally took ownership and published under her name, including an afterword as well. The Price of Salt is the inspiration of the 2015 film Carol which was well-received, winning fourteen awards. She may not have founded an organization, but she provided hope for lesbians of a day where they could accomplish their own happy ending.
Gregg Araki (Dec. 17, 1959)
If you’ve heard of the Starz show Now Apocalypse then you know Gregg Araki. He is an indie film director who focusses on topics of sexuality, fluidity, and artistry. He’s directed films such as Mysterious Skin, White Bird in a Blizzard, and his most well known, Kaboom. Araki is the first winner of the Cannes Film Festival’s Queer Palm award for his film Kaboom. That isn’t the only award he’s gained as in 2006 he won the Filmmaker on the Edge Award.
Gregg Araki isn’t just any filmmaker, but a pioneer for the New Queer Cinema movement in the 1990s with Nowhere, a portrait of Generation X raised in the shadows of the HIV/AIDS crisis. New Queer Cinema as Todd Haynes defines it, “dealt with the politics of representation, it ventured into transgressive themes [and] challenged simple ideas of victimhood and subjugation.” Araki continues to dive into LGBTQ+ media with Now Apocalypse, hoping to make a contribution. He hopes that the television series reaches to closeted LGBTQ members who reside in more rural regions that may not be as accepting as others.
Elton John (March 25, 1947)
“I lie awake and dream about you…”
“Elton’s Song” by Elton John
“Elton’s Song” can be considered an essential gay pride song and Elton John himself an essential elder to applaud. He has had over fifty Top 40 hits, twenty-six gold albums, thirty-eight platinum, and many more. He has been inducted into both the Songwriter and Rock and Roll Halls of Fame. John has composed songs with several lyricists for productions like The Lion King and Billy Elliot the Musical. In addition to his stacking amount of Grammys, Tony, and Ivor Novello Awards, he has influenced many popular musical artists.
Elton John is known for his association with gay pride, but his contributions don’t stop at his performances. The Elton John AIDS Foundation has raised over $450 million and funded programs on four continents in the twenty-four years it has existed. If anything can be said about John, it’s that he likes to have fun. His annual high-profile Oscar party is not only fun, but raises money for AIDS prevention. If we can somehow look past his fabulously glittering costumes we can notice the rather large footprint he’s made for the community.
Nikita Dragun (Jan. 31, 1996)
Even though Nikita Dragun can’t be considered an elder, she is a great force emerging from the newer media representations through the internet, Youtube, and Instagram. Dragun is a trans-woman beauty guru with a following of 2.7 million Youtube subscribers and 6.2 million Instagram followers. Her beauty line, Dragun Beauty, holds the goal of “empowering beauty lovers of all shapes, skin tones, and sexualities as we journey down the road to self-discovery,” and sold out in the first twelve hours it was released.
Her contribution to the community isn’t only in her beauty line but in the videos she released on Youtube discussing the process of her transition, attempting to fill the void of unanswered questions. She is also more recently known for her “clap-back” towards one of Victoria’s Secret’s marketing officers who claimed that including a trans-woman in the 2019 show wouldn’t work with the theme, fantasy. Dragun took it upon herself and created her own Victoria’s Secret-style Fantasy Bra ad which went viral. If she continues to strike back against prejudice she can also be an elder of the future to applaud.
Thank You
Thank you to our LGBTQ elders who powered through the face of adversity and used their powerful voices to stand up for a community that has been historically mistreated! Thank you for continuing your support and influencing a generation that has a burning desire to demand their voices be heard! Just simply, thank you.