New bitches on the block

New bitches on the block

Move over Cher, Liza and Whitney. And Celine — enough already! There’s a new breed of gay icon curling our wigs. And while entirely subjective and generational, it’s safe to say we’re not so hung up on Greta Garbo and Monroe, Dietrich and DiMaggio, as we enter the noughteens.
So who’s hot and who’s not?
A Google search reveals the usual suspects: Bette Midler, Shirley Bassey, Diana Ross, Dusty Springfield, Streisand, ABBA, Mariah Carey, and Janet.Then there are our bent comrades: kd lang, Elton John, Boy George, Ellen DeGeneres, and George Michael. Also worth a mention are Cyndi Lauper, Quentin Crisp, the Pet Shop Boys, and Sandra Bernhard.
But what exactly floats our boat?
As far back as Marie Antoinette, strong females rate well. Throw in some caustic wit, a good measure of glamour and adversity — and a pink star is born. A drug addiction and several husbands seem to do the trick, although these days any number of criminal misdemeanours and a dire lack of substance also seem acceptable.  Yet Generation Next seems to ache for a paparazzi-fuelled mélange of trash and treasure.
When it comes to millennial contenders, Kylie’s still a hit, as is Madonna — just. But ranking higher, in no particular order, are: Beyonce, Christina Aguilera, Pink, Jennifer Hudson, Britney, Mary J, Rihanna, and Paris Hilton. Leona Lewis, Kathy Griffin, Bree Van De Kamp, Patsy Stone and Karen Walker also rate a mention. And will Kelly Rowland really Work this year’s MG party?
But for now, the top spot must go to Lady Gaga. Quirky, progressive and kaleidoscopic, she could easily be mistaken for a drag queen — yet the world is going ‘roma-ma’ for this uber-vivid, latex-clad fame monster.
Sure, we’ll always have Donna Summer, Bette Davis, Garland, etc. And it obviously doesn’t take much nowadays. But when it comes to Gaga, she’s not all barbed wire and exploding tits. Her tracks are instant global smashes, her videos touted as production genius, and she actually appears to have talent.
After all, you can’t go wrong with feathers and glitter — much less a disco stick.

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13 responses to “New bitches on the block”

  1. Another line of crap wiht hate, get of them and write go back to the style you had, Drling plz get your head in ovver’|T

  2. Ps – A lot up my sleeves for this year, including some deeper issues facing the young queer community – along with more fun stuff.

    Thanks again for tuning in & watch this space.

    In the meantime, if you haven’t already, check-out the ‘Bad Romance’ clip sending the world Gaga:

    http://tinyurl.com/y8rn76q

  3. Gawd, what’s all this about? I’ve bitten my tongue before, but I think I feel a rant coming on.

    Rose, you always bring a smile to my face. In terms of representation, I think you’ll find content in SSO (and affiliate publications) to be quite a diverse mix from pretty much every letter of the ever-evolving GLBTIQ acronym, including female contributors.

    Maybe most of the (regular) opinion writers (in SSO) being gay men just happens to be the lay of the land, rather than some perceived exclusionary ploy. Then again, I’d have thought content more important than polarised labels and/or the genders/gender identity of writers.

    Wouldn’t anything other than having contributors based on their merits just be tokenism?

    And when it comes to content, I’ve found SSO to cover an incredibly vast cross-section. Freedom of speech is always encouraged, and forum comments aren’t cherry-picked. Even when people stray from topic, possibly motivated by their own agendas, the posts are still there – yours included.

    Then just look to your left – have you ever clicked on the ‘For Girls’ button?

    It’s common for people to opine how they’d like to see something different – yet rarely offer constructive alternatives. Do you have any (tangible) suggestions? If so, let me know & I’ll see what I can do. Or perhaps you’d prefer your own column? :P

    As someone mentioned, this column, by its very definition, covers “X and Y and U” and doesn’t set out to foster a groundswell of erudite pontificating with platforms, sides, debates. Yada, yada, yada.

    Sheesh! Who’d a thunk a bit of fun about singers could cause so much fuss? LOL.

    Thanks for the comments.

  4. lady gaga is like the new maddy and kylie in 1 and she has it going on in all the right places but i admit we were dancing to dona summer this morning and still dancing :=]

  5. Quite amusing this column is called “bitches on the block” with the petty bitching here. Some of u people need to tear yourselves away from ur computers and relax.

    I liked the article as I usually do thanks damien and u make a good point about strong females. Just wanted to say something positive. Thats all.

  6. Umm.. Rose. I can see your point about representation, but like I said in my initial post – take it up with the editor. He would be the one in charge of the paper.

    As for too much drag and Kylie, where did I say there was too much?

    And I’m more in the middle of the platform. I can see both sides and comment on them. But don’t really care either way.

  7. about your saying I have INSOMNIA NO I DO NOT I am up early to start my day its called WORK GIRLFRIEND!!! You better WORK that body!!!!! YEh

  8. FINALLY a FELLOW SISTER whos on MY SIDE of the platforme on here that theres to much DRAG QUEENS and KYLIE!!!!!! THANK YOU MRS MORGAN!!!!

  9. Sims are you debating representation for the affirmative side or the negative side? I’m confused.

    Talking about a woman, does not necessarily represent her. To use an X+Y=U relevant analogy, I have a friend who is too crazy about Madonna, I’m sure he could tell me everything about her down to her diet and exercise regime, though it’s not the same as watching and hearing Madonna talk about those things and giving her opinion.

    As for balance, it seems Sydney is experiencing a dearth of female columnists in its queer papers. Look through the little link up there called Soapbox, you’ll see maybe a column or two by an organisation, but the rest are all gay men (including two in drag).

    As for Gaga ‘being male or female’, you make a strong argument for trans representation. I know you say you do not care anyway, but seriously, why throw that into the ring? If she had a ‘disco stick’ of her own, would that make her male when she lives as a woman? Would it make it somehow easier to relate to her and like her? Would it make any difference at all?

  10. Rose why are u such a hater ?? Is that your real name ?? You keep complaining about female representation and I feel the observer is balanced in this regard. Look above and what do u see ?? I see many FEMALE names. Then u complain about wanting to see other than x or y or u however rose dear that is the name and genre of the column is it not ?? I noticed u also had a go at Maxi this week so why do u read columns u are not interested in or only wish to criticize ??
    But back to the topic which is new divas. We will always have our classic golden oldies but it is also fabulous to see the new talent attracting our attention and I agree GaGa is divine. did we ever find out if the rumours were true about her being male or female ?? I do not care anyway I think she is heaven

  11. Rose do you ever give it a break?

    It seems this week you’ve branched out and attacked not one but two columnists – good to see some diversity from you in 2010, and judging by the time stamp on both – it might just be crankiness at your own insomnia.

    But you’re banging the same old tired drum!

    Yes, when we look at the opinion columns within this paper it does seem to be weighted down more with gay males being the contributors. Maybe that has something to do with the demographic, maybe it has something to do with a lack of WOMEN, BI and TRANS (to use your own words and capitalisations) who can do the commentary. Maybe that’s something you should take up with the editor. As preferably WOMEN would appreciate commentary from a woman’s perspective, TRANS would appreciate commentary from a trans perspective, etc. I’m sure you would have ISSUES if it were otherwise (as if you don’t have enough already).

  12. i have changed my mind on lady gaga she is a genius……she is the new madonna……… i dont know who those old fossils u mentioned are lol……. and omg rose get a life !

  13. Here we go AGAIN with KYLIE and LADY GAGA!!!!! There are WOMEN and BI and TRANS out there too and I am sure maybE YOUR audience might appreciate something DIFFERENt other than X and Y and U All the time!!! HMMMM!