ABSTRACT
Pragmatic and assimilationist ideals permeate contemporary gay culture: Michael Joseph
Gross in The Atlantic, for instance, argues that gay male participation in music culture
still fetishizes normativity. According to Gross, the current generation of gay men is
indifferent to the veneration of female icons, an important aspect of gay male identity of
the past. In this article I challenge these assertions. Using ethnographic research with fans
of Lady Gaga, the article shows that for many gay men the continuing veneration of
female icons remains an integral aspect of gay identity. I explore gay male music fandom
of the past and of the present to imagine a potential queer future.
