"This Charming Morrissey – Gay Iconography" - Towleroad

This story was published earlier this month on Towleroad, a well-known gay news site.

I thought it would have made it to the front page by now.

This Charming Morrissey – Gay Iconography - Towleroad
by Bobby Hankinson
July 4, 2016 | 1:53pm

Excerpt:

There are certain commonalities shared across many of the big gay icons that come to mind. Our pop divas — like Gaga, Madonna and Cher, for example — thrive on over-the-top costuming and spectacle. Sex, excess and escapism are part of the appeal.

On the other end of the spectrum: Morrissey...

 

[MIDNITE]

.........................................................

 

[caramel sea salt]

Hey 12" on the slack - keep on with the negative feed back and trolling if you want.

Your mind games wont affect me !

You started it you silly bitch. You have repeatedly rated me off- topic for absolutely no reason.

You are the one derailing this thread with your rants about Morrissey's sexuality. Two pages of speculating about his sexuality (although that's not at all what the article is about) only to then state that all this speculation makes you feel uncomfortable.

 

[caramel sea salt]

True 2 BtBB Statement !

I just want to say, I haven't been away !
I am still right here, where i always was !
So one day if you miss me ! By all means post to me !
Because you can do !
But you might not get through ! It looks like I've been banned/gagged/silenced.

All of the rumours keeping me grounded

INTERNAL SERVER ERROR ? ? ? ? WTF ?

Benny-the-British-Butcher

Cute.

 

[MIDNITE]

You started it you silly bitch. You have repeatedly rated me off- topic for absolutely no reason.

You are the one derailing this thread with your rants about Morrissey's sexuality. Two pages of speculating about his sexuality (although that's not at all what the article is about) only to then state that all this speculation makes you feel uncomfortable. You're not very bright are you?

............................................................................

 

[caramel sea salt]

I don't know if I would call Morrissey a gay icon. I guess the gay community embraces him as someone who knows about being different, someone being on the outside of conventional happiness. Yet he's not really a gay icon. David Beckham is probably more of a gay icon. Will have to think more about this. I actually thought somebody here would enlighten me, say something interesting. Instead, three pages of "he's hetero!" and "no he is huma" fan frau madness, all completely beside the point.

 

[caramel sea salt]

Are you quite sure?
Ive rated you off topic 4 times only, towards your 8 times of mine, and I belive you were the first 2 give me off topic ratings. WITHOUT GOOD REASON!
No im not very bright, intellegence is why the world is why it is, But I do have an open mind and heart with great Imagination and creativity however , so that im not imprisoned within "normal" ways of thinking ect !

Which has a far greater good and use!

Yes, I'm quite sure.

 

[Calamine Lotion]

Morrissey has said hes humasexual, which basically means he loves humans, (well some of us!) irrelevant as 2 there gender, male or female.

However he has never ONCE, 2 the best of my knowledge, ever ONCE actually said hes had SEX with another man and no man has ever came forward 2 say they have had sex with morrissey either.

(And for that matter hes never actually said hes had sex with a woman either! )
Although we can be quite sure hes not celibate any more and is now finally enjoying "adult " connections and the fruits of love ect which is obviously wonderfull and natural !

So again WE DONT KNOW what his orientation actually is, no one does eccept maybe himself perhaps!

I dont actually care if morrissey is gay, bisexual, or straight, thats up to him, hes still the same person 2 me and I will allways hold him dear in my heart forever !

But I DO know who hes loves, allways has done and allways will, ever since he first seen this person !

I dont feel comfortable debating the topic any further, morrissey has a right 2 a private life !
And I came 2 this forum for a different reason anyways !

 

[nicky wire's legs]

well that was obnoxious

 

[Calamine Lotion]

I don't know if I would call Morrissey a gay icon. I guess the gay community embraces him as someone who knows about being different, someone being on the outside of conventional happiness. Yet he's not really a gay icon. David Beckham is probably more of a gay icon. Will have to think more about this. I actually thought somebody here would enlighten me, say something interesting. Instead, three pages of "he's hetero!" and "no he is huma" fan frau madness, all completely beside the point.

David Beckham?

I understand though. The reason there might be some resistance to Morrissey being called a gay icon is that he is really more than that. He is for "outsiders" or whatever. And so I understand if you think Morrissey speaks for you that you don't want to limit him to being gay.
That's the thing about sexuality. It doesn't really define a person. But there are not that many male pop stars who write explicitly about relationships that are obviously expressing longing for another male. Lots of them use "they" instead of saying "he" or "she" but he's pretty explicit.
"If you ever need self-validation just meet me in the alley by the railway station" may not be autobiographical but the character he is portraying in that song is... well, it's written all over his face.

 

[Anonymous]

Moz is a billion percent gay, FFS.
He says he is huma, in the same sense he says he was never going to play the UK again.
You can see the gay coming from miles away when it comes to our Moz.

 

[Anonymous]

Moz is a billion percent gay, FFS.
He says he is huma, in the same sense he says he was never going to play the UK again.
You can see the gay coming from miles away when it comes to our Moz.

There is no dispute, in my opinion, that he is gay. I came to that conclusion by adhering to the old saying: Tell me what you read and I will tell you who you are. Not only he idolizes OW, he also loves other gay and feminist writers. To this day, I have not met any straight man reading feminist writers.
Bottom line: He is a beautiful person no matter what.

 

[Anonymous]

oh benny darling! I hope this has not caused you any undue distress! You have not been banned, gagged, or silence, but rather they switched servers or somesuch. apparently deleting cookies/cache has worked for some people. it took changing browsers for me to be able to get on. I say this only because I'm hoping youll bring back the candy store post haste as I have not yet had the pleasure of patronizing it.

Oh rifke ! Let me kiss you ! Er her her ! .

Benny's online confectionery store will now be opening in your honour when the tour starts and you can expect very heavy discount "mates rates" my friend.
In the meantime I'd like to put a dime into my online jukebox ! B 16, Enter !
Dedicated to you rifke, spank you very much ( hope you like it)



Benny-the-British-Butcher

 

[Anonymous]

Here I thought he was still a closeted abstinent!

 

[countthree]

Before I were old enough to understand about discrimination, privacy and human rights, I was told that sexual orientation of a third person is not a topic to discuss about publicly. Personally, I don't care about Morrissey's sexuality.
Anyway, can't you listen the songs and read his autobiography to get a hint? It is not like he never talked about a significant other. On the other hand, you can understand his lyrics as you like. Like any kind of intellectual or artistic manifestation, musical experience includes the listener's mind.

 

[Anonymous]

Before I were old enough to understand about discrimination, privacy and human rights, I was told that sexual orientation of a third person is not a topic to discuss about publicly. Personally, I don't care about Morrissey's sexuality.
Anyway, can't you listen the songs and read his autobiography to get a hint? It is not like he never talked about a significant other. On the other hand, you can understand his lyrics as you like. Like any kind of intellectual or artistic manifestation, musical experience includes the listener's mind.

Agree

 

[evennow]

Has anyone actually read the article before whining that Morrissey's orientation doesn't matter and that y'all lurve him anyway? It's not an article about Morrissey's own orientation. It's about him allegedly being a gay icon. His own sexuality doesn't matter in the context. One can be a gay icon without being gay. See also: Judy Garland, Madonna, Streisand etc.

Why is this forum so stupid?

Midnite, f*** you for rating me off-topic when, clearly, YOU are being off topic. Read the article ffs.

You are spot on about this thread being about Moz as a gay icon and has nothing to do with his sexuality. It is interesting how gay men hold so many straight women as an icon. Cher, Liza, Barbra, Madonna, etc. It is difficult for me to think of one male gay icon.

Maybe someone has some insight on this. Perhaps James Dean as Moz pursued in the Suedehead video. My recollection is that at first Cher was not even supportive of her own daughter's gender issues. John Wayne is an iconic figure, but not a gay icon as far as I know. What even makes a person a "gay icon"?

 

[evennow]

Who's Morrissey ?

He's a humasexual....but you already know that. But a gay icon? He doesn't have the biggest qualification to be one apparently...a vagina . He is simply an icon of cool

 

[Calamine Lotion]

You are spot on about this thread being about Moz as a gay icon and has nothing to do with his sexuality. It is interesting how gay men hold so many straight women as an icon. Cher, Liza, Barbra, Madonna, etc. It is difficult for me to think of one male gay icon.

Maybe someone has some insight on this. Perhaps James Dean as Moz pursued in the Suedehead video. My recollection is that at first Cher was not even supportive of her own daughter's gender issues. John Wayne is an iconic figure, but not a gay icon as far as I know. What even makes a person a "gay icon"?

It's a good question. I mean, these things are artificial to some extent. Can we really even define what a gay icon is supposed to be? And then to say that one person is and another isn't? But generally by making a list of supposed gay icons and looking for some common traits maybe the term could have some meaning. To honestly make Morrissey fit the definition might be a stretch.
Most gay icons are women. Some of them are very strong but a few are troubled. Some of them are not conventionally beautiful and others are like a parody of the standard of beauty. I'd say most of them are over the top, either camp or they take themselves ultra seriously. Then there are the mainstream gay icons who might be very different than the more underground variety. It's going to change with the times, too. Judy Garland was once sort of the epitome of the term but young gay people today don't care. I guess most of them feel like outsiders in some way who made it on their own terms. That's probably why Cher is one. It's true that she wasn't supportive of her own child's issues but people don't really love her for being politically correct. She played South Africa when most stars were boycotting and it's not that she is a racist (where have we heard that?) but I don't think her intellect is really her strong point.
Lots of gay icons are black women and if anyone has had it bad in our society it is black women. So to see someone overcome that and become a star is inspiring. Diana Ross is a gay icon for sure and so is Aretha Franklin. But then Britney Spears has become a gay icon because in spite of her beauty and the sense that she might have had it easy, we know that she has mental illness that she barely made it through. And her sexuality is almost like a parody. She seems like she's trying very hard to have a good time and to entertain people in spite of having hidden problems, and I think that is part of why some gay people connect to her.
I don't think Morrissey is actually popular with gay people in general, but he does have a lot of gay fans. back before the days of the Internet when all there was to go by were the songs I think he at least seemed to cultivate a gay audience. Lots of people connected to him then because he was like a lifeline. But I think over time lots of people outgrew him, and he has at least a couple of songs about this.
But I think most gay icons are damaged people or people that don't quite fit in but who achieved success, so he fits that definition.

 

[evennow]

It's a good question. I mean, these things are artificial to some extent. Can we really even define what a gay icon is supposed to be? And then to say that one person is and another isn't? But generally by making a list of supposed gay icons and looking for some common traits maybe the term could have some meaning. To honestly make Morrissey fit the definition might be a stretch.
Most gay icons are women. Some of them are very strong but a few are troubled. Some of them are not conventionally beautiful and others are like a parody of the standard of beauty. I'd say most of them are over the top, either camp or they take themselves ultra seriously. Then there are the mainstream gay icons who might be very different than the more underground variety. It's going to change with the times, too. Judy Garland was once sort of the epitome of the term but young gay people today don't care. I guess most of them feel like outsiders in some way who made it on their own terms. That's probably why Cher is one. It's true that she wasn't supportive of her own child's issues but people don't really love her for being politically correct. She played South Africa when most stars were boycotting and it's not that she is a racist (where have we heard that?) but I don't think her intellect is really her strong point.
Lots of gay icons are black women and if anyone has had it bad in our society it is black women. So to see someone overcome that and become a star is inspiring. Diana Ross is a gay icon for sure and so is Aretha Franklin. But then Britney Spears has become a gay icon because in spite of her beauty and the sense that she might have had it easy, we know that she has mental illness that she barely made it through. And her sexuality is almost like a parody. She seems like she's trying very hard to have a good time and to entertain people in spite of having hidden problems, and I think that is part of why some gay people connect to her.
I don't think Morrissey is actually popular with gay people in general, but he does have a lot of gay fans. back before the days of the Internet when all there was to go by were the songs I think he at least seemed to cultivate a gay audience. Lots of people connected to him then because he was like a lifeline. But I think over time lots of people outgrew him, and he has at least a couple of songs about this.
But I think most gay icons are damaged people or people that don't quite fit in but who achieved success, so he fits that definition.

Diana Ross is a good example. I watched her NY concert movie when it rained and she did her best to continue but couldn't so she came back and played again the next night. I don't own any of her music but she captured the moment and transcended even the highest level of entertainment.

It is easy to see why MJ worshipped her. Some people are blessed with the ability to take emotion beyond the music they are singing. She and the others previously mentioned all do or did that in their own special way.

Morrissey fits in this category of icons. Another thing they all have in common is that they are experts at wearing their emotions on their sleeves. Gay people more than anyone have the ability to do so. Why wouldn't they be attracted to those capable of matching the depth of their feelings? Camp is involved no doubt, but there is more to it than that. Taste is without a doubt forefront in those selected.

There is nothing more attractive than someone that is so comfortable in their own skin. Confident, strong, bold, etc. Morrissey portrays this "character" but we all know he masks his shyness and insecurity with an openly, seeming disregard for normal convention. This is where he separates himself from these icons. They are all true to themselves and this lack of veracity is what leaves him short of icon status.

 

[evennow]

I already know that ? EVERYONE already knows that ! BUT they don't want to admit it!

Maybe they're... HUMAPHOBIC ?


' He doesn't have the biggest qualification to be one apparently...a vagina '

apparently ? how do we know?