Transcript |
Out in the arts
g f My intent for
■j Sundance was to
focus on unheard
voices. ['Longtime
Companion'] proved
to the industry that there
was a market for gay
and lesbian films and
that they should be /
taken seriously."
—Robert Redford,
Sundance Film Festival
founder, January
"The four different
lines represent different
male body fluids. The red
ones are blood, the yellow
are urine, the blue is the
sweat of the brow, a
metaphorical notion of
sweat, and the white ones...
are semen. It's a reference to
Onanism—you know, 'spilling
the seed.' That's why they're
on the floor."
—Artist Michael Retry explaining his "Fluid Man" during a
showing in Houston, January
"I've not missed anything by not being in the
closet. I can't imagine
having to keep my life in
the closet. Life's too short,
and there are too many
wonderful things to experience along the way—
whether you're gay or
straight."
—Glenn San Marco, "Les
Miserables" cast member, January
"Cher and Diana Ross
and David Bowie were
my role models."
—RuPaul, April
I tend to shoot
for the stars in
what I want. With
music and fashion
and stuff like that,
that's pretty feasible. But in terms of
love and relationships, you're most
often disappointed if
you keep such high
standards, which I
believe a lot of gay people do. Growing up in
the '80s, the whole
AIDS freak-out—you did
put a lover on a
pedestal, because they
^ were going to save
your life. Or they
were going to kill
you. It's like a life-or-
death situation."
—Songwriter
and recording star
Rufus Wainwright, March
"I get a lot of letters
from gay fans, and I do a
lot of interviews with gay
publications. They always
tell me that I'm a hero to
them, which I consider an
honor... I always take it as
a compliment when gay
guys hit on me—which
happens fairly often."
—Punk rocker and poet
Henry Rollins, February
"People think because
[the Queerstock tour] is
called 'queer'that it is this
raging political music...
but 'queer' is a new word
and it's a great word,
because it encompasses
everything—it's not just
black and white, gay or
lesbian, it in includes the
gray areas."
—Queerstock organizer Doha
Roberts, March
"After reading the
script, I didn't think twice
about the sexuality of
Adam... From the moment
I finished reading the script,
I just knew it was a story I
wanted to be a part of
telling."
—Scoff Wolf on "Adam," the
closeted gay character he plap in
"Go," April
"... I've never regretted
anything I've said, even the
stuff about being a male
prostitute. I'm not ashamed
of it. It was necessary for
me at that time in my life. I
was going for a career in
acting, but I wasn't completely successful. So, I
year in review
became a male escort."
—Rupert Everett, June
"I like to think that if I
were gay I would be out,
Rupert Everett-style."
—Ben Affleck, September
"I'm queer and I'm
proud but I'm also mentally
ill—so don't expect me to
be a role model. I must be
gayly incorrect. I'm perhaps
the only gay man who has
never been to the baths or
the gym—I've done much
worse. But certainly I can't
be your leader."
—John Wafers, September
"When you look at it all,
realistically, gay roles only
make up two percent of
prime time's lead characters. That's really not a
good number... It's very
disappointing."
—Scoff Seomin, GLAAD
Entertainment Media Director, on
the unprecedented 28 gay, lesbian or transgender characters in
the current 7V line-up, September
Strange bedfellows
"The existence of an
extreme left wing as the
representation of gay people prevented me from
coming out... The establishment of these left-wing
elites actually impedes the
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"So many women,
particularly African-
American women,
are oftentimes left
unsatisfied after sexual encounters.
Millions of women
have yet to explore
their full sexual
curiosity. Women
need to take time to
find out what they
want in a sexual
relationship."
—Houston poet Simone
Cunningham, December
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