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Idols & Icons
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 The
Lesbian Idol : Martina, Kd and the Consumption of Lesbian
Masculinity by Louise Allen
This insightful and lively book examines the
consumption of the lesbian idols kd lang and Martina Navratilova
by their many lesbian fans in contemporary society, through an
analysis of lesbian recognition, identification and desire. Allen
suggests that the star-fan relationship challenges the
heterosexual notion of sex as determining gender, because of the
function of the masculine woman as a powerful signifier of lesbian
identity. Thus the way in which Martina and kd embody an ongoing
and lived-out lesbian identity makes representation of them in the
mainstream media an unprecedented phenomenon which undercuts the
primacy of heterosexual gender relations. This is contrasted with
the recent media popularization of lesbian chic, which is viewed
rather as a homophobic assimilation of lesbians under the visual
codes of conventional femininity. THE LESBIAN IDOL presents a
multi-textual and critical analysis of lesbian fans' personal
accounts of their adoration for their idols, the ways in which
Martina and kd have been represented in the mainstream media, and
the key discourses through which lesbian identity and culture have
been recently theorized - such as psychoanalysis, queer theory and
feminism.
Lousie Allen has a PhD in Sociology from
Lancaster University, and currently lectures in the Department of
Film and Television at the University of Waikato in New Zealand
 Clone
by Roger Edmonson
Drew Okun stumbled across his destiny one
afternoon in 1967 along the railroad tracks outside Natick, Mass.,
when he found a tattered magazine containing an ad for the now
legendary Colt Studios. That same year he would lose his virginity
at knifepoint in a corn-field on the outskirts of town. It was a
year of discovery for young Okun; he not only learned of the
studio that would catapult him to international stardom but
experienced for the first time the desperation and danger that
would feed his desires--and fuel his career as Al Parker, one of
the most popular adult film stars of all time and the
personification of the look that would forever after be known as
"the clone." Roger Edmonson, the biographer who brought
the man behind the myth of Casey Donovan to life in Boy in the
Sand, now does the same for Al Parker, a man so different from the
norm of the day that he was introduced to the world in a Colt
layout with the disclaimer "This is not normally what we give
you." His story, as uncovered by Edmonson, reveals a young
man out of place in his world who would find his home in front of
and behind the camera as the star of 21 films and the founder of
Surge Studios, celebrating the rough and raw sexuality he came to
symbolize. And like so many young men of his day, he would be cut
down early in life by AIDS--but not before making an even more
lasting impact as a crusader who was willing to put his career on
the line to make a statement about safer-sex practices, a
statement that would immortalize him finally as the
personification of a more responsible gay sexuality.
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If you have a website that's dedicated to a Gay
Icon of the silver screen, the music biz, dance, art, fashion,
television, etc, etc.. then do add your site to our ring. We also
accept websites featuring stars who are NOT Gay but are never the
less greatly admired by member's of the Gay community.
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These pages are a compilation of those who have
been liked, loved, or adored by gay people throughout recent
times, and a few notes from your hosts. We are deeply indebted to
many other web sites from which we have gleaned much of the
information. Where possible links have been installed to these
excellent sites; there you may get far more on the subject
concerned, and in greater detail should you require it. Please
report links going dead,
and feel free to suggest others who you feel would be at home on
this site.
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Lesbian and gay cultures in the twentieth
century have established a number of figures as "icons".
These figures, drawn from popular culture, have functioned within
lesbian and gay culture in a number of ways: first they have been
fantasy figures in which lesbians and gay men have seen aspects of
their own lives; second, they have provided the basis for a common
subcultural knowledge.
Although, for gay men, it is female stars who
predominate, just to be a female star will not make a figure an
"icon" - Ingrid Bergman for instance was never an icon.
And, although some icons had gay links [e.g. Joan Crawford's
reputed lesbian relationship, Liza Minelli's gay husband],
homosexuality as such is not really an issue in a star achieving
iconic status.
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Includes 12 images to print out and color or to
color using your paint program.
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Grab any or all of these for your website.
More Icons, Graphics and Clip Art:
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