List of gay icons

[2] The 3rd century Christian martyr Saint Sebastian is one of the earliest known gay icons,[3] due to his depiction in artwork as a beautiful, agonised young man.

[4] Historian Richard A. Kaye states that "Contemporary gay men have seen in Sebastian at once a stunning advertisement for homosexual desire (indeed, a homoerotic ideal), and a prototypical portrait of a tortured closet case.

"[5] In the 1890s, Irish poet Oscar Wilde, himself also called a gay icon,[6] was incarcerated and exiled for his sexuality, and adopted the pseudonym "Sebastian Melmoth" after the saint.

[8] The 15th century martyr and patron saint of France Joan of Arc has become a queer icon in more recent years[9] due to her cross-dressing,[10] devoted celibacy, and consistent rebuffing of male advances.

While the rumors of Antoinette's sexuality were unfounded, they led to her being interpreted as an early lesbian icon in works by gay authors, such as Radclyffe Hall's The Well of Loneliness (1928) and Jean Genet's The Maids (1947).

She was the keynote speaker for the 1997 national Parents, Families, & Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) convention, and has since become one of the LGBT community's most vocal advocates.

[20][21][22] The Advocate's Steve Gdula commented that "back in the 1980s and even the early 1990s, the release of a new Madonna video or single was akin to a national holiday, at least among her gay fans.

One of her less influential albums, Lionheart (1978), featured a song titled "Kashka From Baghdad", which regaled to the listener the tale of a gay couple living together in sin, which was quite revolutionary for its time.

Author Constantine Chatzipapatheodoridis wrote about Minogue's appeal to gay men in Strike a Pose, Forever: The Legacy of Vogue... and observed that she "frequently incorporates camp-inflected themes in her extravaganzas, drawing mainly from the disco scene, the S/M culture, and the burlesque stage."

Minogue has explained that she first became aware of her gay audience in 1988, when several drag queens performed to her music at a Sydney pub, and she later saw a similar show in Melbourne.

Bea Arthur, Betty White, Rue McClanahan, and Estelle Getty - the four main stars of The Golden Girls - each had a long and rich history of working with and for LGBT causes and each was an outspoken supporter whenever asked in interviews.

[38][39] Meanwhile, as a supporter and advocate of LGBT rights, Betty White said in 2010, "If a couple has been together all that time – and there are gay relationships that are more solid than some heterosexual ones – I think it's fine if they want to get married.

[41] She later helped to open a hospice for AIDS patients in Greensboro, North Carolina, her nephew's hometown, in 1996, called Beacon Place, which was still in operation as of 2023.

[46] On 26 April 2008, she received the Vanguard Award—a media award from the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation—to honor her work in the entertainment industry in promoting equality for LGBT people.

In June 2016, Aguilera release single "Change", which was aimed to raise proceeds to the victim's families and survivors of the Orlando nightclub shooting.

In 2019, she was awarded by the Human Rights Campaign for using her "platform to share a message of hope and inspiration to those who have been marginalized [...] bringing greater visibility to the LGBTQ community".

[68][69] The hardships she faced during her life within the British royal family and her struggles with bulimia have been cited as factors to which members of the LGBT community can mostly connect.

"[70] James Greig from Vice also held a similar viewpoint, stating that "her status as a tragic diva aside, it's undeniable that Diana made real, material changes to the lives of LGBT people – particularly through the work she did around AIDS.

"[71] In an article for Newsweek, Desmond O'Connor wrote that Diana's work with dying HIV+ gay men was crucial for reminding "the people of Great Britain that their 'untouchable' sons deserved to be loved.

[citation needed] On October 12, 2009, during a benefit concert for victims of Typhoon Ondoy, Salonga referenced the National Equality March in Washington, D.C., and firmly stated, "I believe that every single human being has the fundamental right to marry whoever they want.

"[77] In February 2016, Salonga publicly criticized Filipino politician and former professional boxer Manny Pacquiao for his views on homosexuality and same-sex marriage.

[citation needed][79] Although Wolverine has primarily been depicted as straight in mainstream Marvel continuity,[80] his relationships with male characters like Cyclops and Nightcrawler have been highlighted for homoerotic elements.

[81][82][80] An alternate version of Wolverine featured in X-Treme X-Men (2012 – 2013) was depicted as gay and in a relationship with Hercules, two characters sharing an on-panel kiss in issue #10.

[98] The anime itself was considered ahead of its time tackling themes of misogyny, internalized homophobia, and self-identity, leading to its queer cult status.

[102] First seen in Twin Peaks: The Return, the brothers immediately made waves in the queer community with their fierce attitudes and posse of girls in cocktail waitress uniforms.