Can anybody tell me what "Marxist revolutionary imagery" has to do with "Gay icons"? Anyone? Or are you all as confused as me? Last time I checked they weren't screeching for the blood of the bourgeousie.

Apology Monster 17:10, 14 March 2006 (UTC)

Google give 91 000 hits for the phrase "gay icon". Why is Judy Garland such a popular gay icon? popped up near the top. It looks a very good article. -- RHaworth 10:19, 3 October 2005 (UTC)

• Gay icon is definitely a term in current usage. Whether it belongs on Wikipedia (rather than Wiktionary) is another matter. - Just zis Guy, you know? ^[T]/_[C] :: AfD? 18:05, 4 November 2005 (UTC)
• As it stands now, this text is merely a dictionary definition, something more suitable for Wiktionary. Can this be expanded into a more encyclopedic article? Hall Monitor 18:10, 4 November 2005 (UTC)

• Can it or should it? No opinion really, just curious. It's defensible in Wiktionary for sure, but apart form the dicdef is there actualyl that much more to say? - Just zis Guy, you know? ^[T]/_[C] :: AfD? 18:15, 4 November 2005 (UTC)

• I'm not sure, but if it cannot be expanded beyond its present form it should be transwiki'd. Hall Monitor 18:58, 4 November 2005 (UTC)

Ok, I'm straight, so maybe I just don't understand the distinction. What is the difference between a gay icon and a normal celebrity? I mean, many people enjoy "...dramatic movie stars (especially those who died under tragic circumstances), divas, male and female musical stars (particularly those with powerful, emotive voices and/or troubled personal lives), rock stars with a flair for clothing, prominent boybands and genderbending artists and groups," not just gay people. I like many, if not most, of the people on your examples list...does that somehow call my sexual orientation into question? If you really like and respect these people, why attempt pigeonhole their appeal, as if only gay people have any business holding these people as icons? Also, the term gay icon is highly ambiguous - are these icons of gay people or icons that are gay? I think many of the straight people on your list might resent being called a gay icon. Applejuicefool 15:27, 1 February 2006 (UTC)

I'm not "in that world" but from what I can tell I think it's entertainers who have a disproportionately large fan base in the LGBT community or whose current fan base has become majority LGBT. Many gay icons also seem to be active in gay-rights, have children who are gay or lesbian(Cher), or are even gay themselves. Those are the ones where it's likely easiest to understand why they're a gay icon. I think other communities also have their own iconic figures, but they tend to more often have their icons be their own members. For example most iconic figures in deaf culture I believe are deaf themselves.--T. Anthony 11:29, 19 February 2006 (UTC)

AJF, you say you like gay icons. Ask yourself this. Do you play or buy Madonna/Cher/Judy Garland records? I know everyone might like them, but the people who actually buy the dvd's and cd's as well as concert tickets of these people are majority gay.

I've been working on the Laura Branigan page and wondered why a link from there to this Gay Icon page disappeared. Has she been demoted?! Wondering if it were those involved here making a decision about this page's contents or the variously motivated vandals I've encountered over there who removed it. I welcome the link, if you wish to put it there, though I hesitated to put it back myself if there's an issue at hand, am new to Wiki. J T 16 November 2005 —preceding unsigned comment by 69.86.17.200 (talk • contribs)

In a similar vein, the "examples" section is threatning to grow without bound. There isn't any reason we have to give up on WP:V for this section, so I'm moving all of the current section here, and we can move them back to the main page when some sources are WP:CITEd as to thier gay icon status. - brenneman^(t)(c) 05:47, 18 November 2005 (UTC)

In my opinion, the main entry offers an extremely stereotyped description of what human qualities and accomplishments give rise to gay icon status.

--- My opinion of what a gay icon is is a celebrity who has a lot of drama in their lives. A female who has married a lot or has gone through a number of high profile relationships; a woman who has been an extreme egotist in the media (a la Madonna) are the more recent examples - just my opinion. Elizabeth Taylor, Judy Garland and Marilyn Monroe. Tragic and vulnerable and most assuredly, off her marbles gets gay icon status. Recent people are Angelina Jolie, Courtney Love. Madonna is a person who seems invincible, strong, and is a fighter. Almost what is considered masculine in her quest for fame and ego massaging. (See above sentence).

Moved from main page.

• 'N Sync/Justin Timberlake
• ABBA
• Backstreet Boys
• Barbra Streisand
• Bee Gees
• Britney Spears
• Cher
• Dead or Alive (band)
• Diana, Princess of Wales
• Doris Day/Secret Love
• Freddie Mercury
• Hugh Jackman
• James Dean
• Judy Garland
• Kylie Minogue
• Madonna (entertainer)
• Patsy Cline
• Thompson Twins

Seems to be mostly used for providing a sounding board for the author mentioned? I'd like to savagly edit that section.
brenneman^{T}{L} 23:43, 19 March 2006 (UTC)

FYI, Category:Gay icons is up for deletion, at Wikipedia:Categories for deletion/Log/2006 April 8#Category:Gay icons. (I hate the transinclusion style of deletion votes; if you forget to look even one day you may totally miss a vote in progress. I'm betting there are others in the same boat, which is why I bring it up here.) --TreyHarris 06:49, 11 April 2006 (UTC)