The SSO A-Z guide to queer Sydney

D is for

Dannii Minogue Is there a more accomplished gay icon than Dannii Minogue? It’s a big call, but Kylie’s determined younger sister ticks all the right boxes.

She’s the perennial underdog competing with a seriously overachieving older sibling and a usually unsympathetic public.

Undeterred, she’s released camp classics like This Is It and All I Wanna Do while surviving a turbulent personal life, including a divorce from fellow Australian Julian McMahon.

Unlike Kylie, Dannii’s adult career has also featured time as a musical theatre diva (Notre Dame De Paris in London).

To top it off, the younger Minogue has been a stellar supporter of the gay community over the years.

She’s performed at two Mardi Gras parties, campaigned for HIV awareness and recently chose the iconic London gay club G-A-Y to kick off promotions for her upcoming greatest hits album.

She may remain a figure of fun for the tabloid press, but Dannii’s status as a first-class gay favourite shows no signs of decline.

Dandy The Sydney Morning Herald this week reported the return of the dandy after the Yves Saint Laurent spring/ summer 2007 menswear show in Paris featured men in fitted blazers, trousers cropped above the ankle and slip-on suede moccasins.

But did the dandy ever go away? The definition of a dandy is a man who is always impeccably dressed and groomed, has refined tastes and is generally well-educated.

Not surprisingly the dandy is often considered incredibly self-absorbed -“ and is quite often gay.

According to website Dandyism.net, the modern dandy is much the same: he is rakishly elegant, wears bespoke suits, lives in a major metropolitan city, is independently wealthy (or living off credit), was educated at the best university, lives alone, can speak fluent French and has a caustic wit.

Sydney has always been a home for the dandy and they can regularly be spotted on the streets of Potts Point, Darlinghurst and even Surry Hills.

Examples of modern dandies include singer Darren Hayes, who has recently appeared in cravat, polka-dot blouse and tailored blazer. Actor Jude Law is another sometime dandy, as is singer Rufus Wainwright.