Gay following
 

I suppose Stevie has a large gay following, what with NOTS and all. Why would that be, is it the songs or the persona or both? And what about gay women and Stevie?

That's tough to answer without generalizing ... I'm gay but my parents listened to FM when I was a kid so it's just part of my life. I guess I'm intrigued by her dramatics and how she sometimes exaggerates stories, too ... but again, I'm not sure if that's connected to my sexual identity or just that I'm also a bit of a yenta and I appreciate that ****.

And I'm pretty sure her gay following includes the ladies ... there's always a big gaggle of lesbians at her Philly shows.

For me it was the dark mystery and drama of the songs and the way Stevie seemed so unashamedly self-absorbed back in the day. She was really something different. Funny how these things can work - I recall several years ago idly googling the name of an old female soap opera character from the '70's whom I was fixated on back in the day. I discovered that she was also a minor gay icon, although I never know it at the time. Something attracts us guys to certain female types, I guess.

Many of her fanatics tend to be Gays. I've only known a few str8 ones and they are all Ledgies.

Stevie is not your traditional gay/diva icon, if only because she is so much more rock and roll than someone like Madonna. But it's undeniable that she displays diva-like qualities. And in her heyday, when she was wearing a variety of slightly more flamboyant attire, along with her propensity for exaggerated drama -- I guess that would attract a certain faction of the gay culture. I suppose a lot of her lesbian fans find her appealing because she represents the image of a strong, independent and unconventional woman.

I think because Stevie has some of those fabulous diva qualities (like Cher, Madonna, Bette) she is alluring to gay men. Unlike the others, though, she is rock and roll, which I think makes her attractive to gay women as well.

I don't discount the appeal of her fashion choices or melodramatic personality to gay audiences, but I think the reason for her large gay following goes deeper than that.

Stevie's oeuvre is filled with songs of love lost or unrequited, and of finding your inner fortitude -- things that just about everyone can relate to, but especially so for people in the LGBT community.

At some point in almost all of our lives, we had feelings for someone we knew would never/could never feel the same for us; or we had a doomed relationship; or we had a romance that we had to keep secret for one reason or another. Also, for a variety of reasons that go way beyond matters of the heart, we've all had to learn how to stand up for ourselves and to persevere.

Even though she's coming from a different perspective, Stevie sings about all of those things -- and I think a lot of us connect with her because of that.

Just my two cents... "for what it's worth." ;)

It's all about strong, independent women. Stevie has always sung about struggles and heartbreak in her songs, whilst display a very emotionally strong, strong willed and independent persona. If you look at all the female gay icons in the music industry, it's a similar story. Never afraid to share their low points, struggles and heart aches with the world through their music, but remaining strong and positive through it all in themselves. I think a lot of the LGBT community can relate to that.

This is what I think too - it is the combination of tragedy and steel in her music. Plus, as I already stated, her unabashed self-absorption, not being afraid to put it all out there emotionally.

She's a diva. She's glamorous and glitzy and covered in flowing chiffon and velvet. It's the drama and mystery of it all.
IMO, her fanbase isn't really that made up of gays. I'm a die-hard Dolly Parton fan as well, go to Dollywood a couple times a year and all the Dolly conventions and parades in TN, and it's literally all gay men. I'm the minority as a young straight woman. I rarely ever see another girl my age at these things, and really rarely see anyone that isn't a gay man. So compared to Stevie's following, where I have tons and tons of young women that i've met at concerts, Stevie's following isn't that made up of gays.
Same with Cher. I've been to a couple Cher concerts along with Dolly stuff, and at their stuff, it's all gay men. Stevie concerts have a few gay couples you notice around you, but it's mostly young people and middle aged couples that I see at Stevie concerts. :shrug:

Having been a fan since the 1970s I think that the percentage of gay fans have increased or it could also be that we are more loyal:shrug:Still I agree that her fanbase is more broad based now than say Dolly ,Cher or Bette ..this accounts for her albums still entering the Billboard chart in the top ten where those other icons have not had that happen since the turn of the millenium.

Talent, un-apologetically uniqueness, proclivity for promiscuity, drug-taking, always fabulous, and always strong.

Us gays do love a good redemption story, too... she almost died a couple of times, but pulled herself up by her (platform) bootstraps to become a beloved icon. For me it was her voice that initially grabbed me as well as her mystical songwriting. Then seeing that her style & persona was wholly true to her music is what really cemented it. She is just so very different from every other music icon that came before or after her, which is probably what has kept my attention for 20 years now (I became a fan at age 10!).

I became a fan when the lush, beautiful & unusual single "Sara" was released. And henceforth fell really hard when "Bella Donna" was released, I was 13 then. It was hard to explain, but you knew it when you saw it, and esp. as you felt it. Stevie's unconventional, powerful, yet vulnerable, emotive voice, coupled with an unyielding, unapologetic, all out feminine, earth mother presence -- she didn't have to scream- "I'm here", I occupy this space/stage, with leather studded pants or spandex, an artificial male bravado, or any other machismo gimmicks that other female artists before, or during had resorted to e.g., Patti Smith, Pat Benatar, Joan Jett, Suzi Quattro, Grace Slick, & even Janis Joplin. Stevie consumed ALL the beauty in the world of rock without conforming. She was breathtaking, singular. The ultimate feminist! All the while she warmed her way into the boyz club of rock, she infiltrated, rocked, & partied just as hard. She saw herself as an equal, using and discarding them like second hand news. "The Highwayman" illustrates her perspective beautifully.
Stevie is one of a kind. Duh! She did not have to pander to the LGBT community, because those that get it, get it! Stevie's no Madonna, Cher, Lady Gaga, or whoever is a nauseating champion of "so-called" unconventional originality & diversity. Simply put, Stevie's the real deal!

Very nicely stated...:nod: