Gay/Bi/Lesbians/Straight ("Beautiful People")

There used to be this song by Melanie (remember her?) that I loved when I was a teen. I'm pretty sure she was straight, but her song was about how "different" people were often the ones that brought much beauty and meaning to this world. Some were straight. Some were queer. Some were undecided.

So I came up (at the age of 30) with my own list of beautiful people. Not because of their looks, but because of how they made the world a more beautiful place for us all: Straight and gay. So here's my list:

Plato
Michelangelo
Shakespeare
Mozart
Beethoven
Oscar Wilde
Van Gogh
G. B. Shaw
Harold Lloyd
Virginia Woolf
Gertrude Stein
May Sarton
Mother Teresa
Truman Capote
Tennessee Williams
W. H. Auden
e. e. cummings
Walt Whitman
Emily Dickinson
James Dean
Marilyn Monroe
Sylvia Plath
Anne Sexton
Diane Arbus
Janis Joplin
Tina Turner
Jim Morrison
Patti Smith
Elton John
Maya Angelou
Langston Hughes
Robert Mapplethorpe
Andy Warhol
Richard Pryor
Gilda Radner
Quentin Crisp
Dr. Wayne Dyer
Camille Paglia
Julia Roberts
Kurt Cobain
River Phoenix
Ally Sheedy (fell in love with her in The Breakfast Club)
Layne Staley (from Alice in Chains)
Fred Durst (Limp Bizkit)
Eminem
Dylan Thomas

Can you think of any other beautiful folks to add?

--QP

 

Leonardo Da Vinci

 

Great choice! Only one Mona Lisa!

--QP

 

I'm surprised you put eminem on this list.
Here are some of his lyrics:

"My words are like a dagger? with a jagged edge. I'll stab your head whether you're a Fag or Les Homosex Hermaph, or a Trans-a-Ves. Pants or dress - hate Gays? The answer's "YES!!!" Homophobic? Nah, you're just heterophobic."

 

Jack Kerouac
Jerry Garcia
Grace Slick
Timothy Leary
Bob Weir
Terence McKenna
George Harrison
Martin Luther King Jr.
Phil Lesh
M K Gandhi
Bob Dylan
John Lennon
Devendra Banhart
Joanna Newsom
Bob Marley
Joni Mitchell
Salvador Dalí
Serge Gainsbourg
Jane Birkin
Joaquin Phoenix
Peter Yarrow
Jimi Hendrix
Earl Scruggs
Noel Stookey
Johnny Cash
David Crosby
Mary Travers
Voltaire
Terry Pratchett
Allen Ginsberg
Vercors
Paul Kantner
Stephen Stills
Marty Balin
Spencer Dryden
Jorma Kaukonen
Darby Slick
Jack Casady
Stevie Nicks

 

Eminem protests too much. Bottom line: He had a very successful tour with Elton John (of all people), and now they are hanging out with each other. Elton also helped Eminem to get professional help for a serious addiction problem. I think actions speak much louder than words.

--QP

 

Awesome list! I don't know how I forgot Ginsberg: "Howl" is a classic American poem. And I've always had a lot of admiration for J. Mitchell and Dylan.

--QP

 

Anne Frank. A truly great spirit.

--QP

 

George Orwell

 

I haven't read him since I was 14. But I do recall that his dark vision of the future both impressed and depressed me.

--QP

 

Bette Midler: She supported gay rights -- long before most other celebrities. Also, she was amazing in THE ROSE.

--QP

 

Jodie Foster: Even though it took her forever and a day to fess up to being a lesbian -- she is immortal because of such great films as: TAXI DRIVER, THE ACCUSED, and SILENCE OF THE LAMBS.

--P.S. Did she actually fess up?

 

What about Bea Arthur? Not only a great actress, but a lovely person too. When she died, she left $300,000 to s New York based charity that helps house young homeless LGBT people, who've been kicked out of their homes by parents who had disowned them. And of course, she was just class in The Golden Girls. Definitely a great lady!

 

Yep! I just watched a bunch of episodes on DVD of "Maude" (her big television hit before "Golden Girls"), and that lady never missed a beat! She was able to find wisdom in the oddest places. Plus I've heard she was quite fond of vodka. God bless her sweet soul.

--QP

 

Whether he believes that stuff or not, his main motivation is delivering what he thinks his fans want to hear.

Vilifying the homophobe is the same kind of thinking as homophobia itself, and thus somewhat hipocritical.

That and homophobia is hot, when I meet one I always try to make them my bitch

(No offense to all the bitches out there )

 

Eminem has stated in more than one interview that he is not homophobic. He also confirms this in his book. He said initially he never directed ''faggot'' at gay men in his songs. It was only when he started being accused of being homophobic, that he started doing this. He said his reasoning for this was ''I just became what they were accusing me of''.

It was at Eminem's own instigation that Elton John performed live with him. Because he wanted to show that he wasn't homophobic. This would suggest then, that any homophobia in his lyrics is pure sarcasm and irony. Of course, most of his fans probably don't realise this, and think he is being literal about it.

 

Straight up, Vanilla! LOL. Eminem rocks! Not only is he a way talented artist, but the dude is sexy as hell. And he has a certain image to live up to (as you stated), so he delivers. Big time. I actually consider him a rock poet -- very much like Patti Smith. The thing is: you cannot confuse the "I" of an artist's lyrics, with what the artist believes as a person.

If that's the case, then every published author writing in the first person -- is a drug addict, serial killer, bank robber, homophobe, etc. It's no different in the music industry. The artist is speaking for society. And speaking in the first person -- is a powerful way to achieve a most difficult goal. Eminem never fails (IMO).

--QP

 

I just have to say, some of Eminem's newer stuff isn't as "Hate filled" as his older stuff.

I like him because he's not afraid to be who he is. He doesn't hide the fact that he's a dick, and I can respect that.

Also, if you pick and choose through lyrics, you could probably find something bad in anyone's music (within reason). Some more of Eminem's lyrics are: "Don't let 'em say you're not beautiful, they can all get f***ed, just be true to you". Not saying you had to pick and choose to find those lyrics in eminem's lyrics, they're pretty plain to find, just saying, some of the newer stuff isn't quite as bad.

 

me

 

Right on, IS! It is a huge mistake to assume lyrics are always intended to be taken literally: often (when the artist is complex) -- irony is a huge part of the meaning. So you have to dig deep, and not accept every "offensive" word at face value. Eminem impresses me because of his ability to tell us that life is often godawful, but it is still something worth fighting for. The dude is a talented survivor. And I respect people like that. Big time.

--QP