Gay "Has It In Him"
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The Function Of Fame - Why We Need Our Celebrities
What are celebrities? Why do we put these people on such a pedestal? While they may entertain and fill our lives with glamour, they’re also a significant aspect of our development, helping to form part of our identity, inspiring us to succeed, and providing us with icons that assist and bind our community.
Our obsession with celebrity starts from a very young age. As a little kid, just as I was learning how to spell ‘huge queen’, I was constantly amazed by Dr. Smith from the sixties science fiction program Lost In Space. I found him both intensely amusing and creepy at the same time. I didn’t know it, but he was setting new benchmarks in campness! Later, I would privately be transfixed not by Batman, but by Robin. His perfect good looks, his red bodysuit overlaid with green jocks, and his tight body formed the basis of several early teenage erotic dreams. Fortunately I resisted the temptation to emulate him – I don’t think lime green and red lycra would have gone down well at my less than accepting school! Friends often talk of early obsessions with celebrities that they felt attracted to, horrified by or would use as a person to model themselves from. This is how we build our picture of the world.
As I grew up, I found celebrities also helped me feel okay about being gay. When I was dancing in a deranged eighties style, with massive shirts and a fringe I couldn’t see through, Bronski Beat were screaming about what it was like to be gay. It really affected me. To have my sexuality mirrored back at me at a time when strong gay role models were thin on the ground was truly valuable. Young people are more fortunate these days – a number of high profile people have come out and their courage and honesty are wonderful qualities for many to model from.
As I was developing a sense of creativity, the famous queer author William Burroughs had a strong influence on me. I read everything of his that I could, I watched his surreal movies, I was moved by his erotic gay prose written many years before the somewhat enlightened times of today. I also became obsessed by Lorrie Anderson – a New York performance artist whose music and performances really inspired me. Of course I’d have dreams about these two people. I imagined I was a close friend of theirs. The dreams would make me feel special, because I was one of the privileged few who were connected to these luminaries. Friends of mine have often said similar things about people like Madonna and Kylie. These people were a central part of our lives. The intense outpouring of grief around the world when Princess Diana died showed just how close we often become to our celebrities. We build relationships with these people. It is a strange thing that although we feel so closely connected to them, they are in fact light years away from us in reality. This fact doesn’t seem to take away from their strong influence in our lives.
In the past, an association with celebrities has meant more than just a yearning for glamour or a passion for fun. Sometime after World War II, when being gay was illegal, dangerous and extremely stigmatised, when the scene was very underground, we were often called ‘Friends of Dorothy’. It was a code word for being gay. Most say that this term comes from Judy Garland’s role as Dorothy on Wizard Of Oz. When it comes to gay icons, few come close to Judy Garland. It’s been said that the death of Judy Garland played a part in the unrest that resulted in the Stonewall Riots of 1969 – an event that is often referred to as the birth of the modern gay pride movement. This type of idolisation seems to have an intensely comforting effect and has historically played a role in the identity of many gay people. Obsessions with Kylie and Madonna are modern versions of this same dynamic.
So, is there a point where a healthy passion for a celebrity turns into something pathological? There are some who can in fact over-identify with a star and believe at some level that they have some intensely personal connection with them. This fantasy can take over their lives and can occupy most of their thinking. Thankfully this behaviour is symptomatic of an existing psychological disorder so fear not – it is highly unlikely that your obsession with Kylie will inevitably turn psychotic. Although I’ve seen a few dance moves in my time that would lead me to think otherwise!
Celebrities are a central and fabulous part of our community and our lives. Our obsessions are usually not only healthy, but bring a splash of fabulousness to our everyday. I’ve been so inspired by writing about this and also by Kylie’s 40th birthday that I’m off to buy a Kylie wig and gold hotpants, so I can walk proudly down the city street singing The Locomotion!
My next article will be about what it was like for a psychologist in drag to be arrested by police in a public place.
Paul Martin is The Principal Psychologist at the Centre for Human Potential, a Gay and Lesbian Psychological Well Being Centre in Brisbane.
What about you? Who are the celebrities that you grew up with? Who helped you form your identity?
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darrard
said on the 28th May, 2008