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Whether or not performing, protesting or pioneering behind the scenes, historical past is stuffed with LGBT+ figures that helped shift tradition and problem social norms.
So, as we have a good time Pleasure Month this June, right here’s a glance again at a few of historical past’s most inspiring LGBT+ icons.
1. Alan Turing (1912-1954)
Alan Turing, an excellent mathematician, performed a pivotal function in serving to defeat Nazi Germany throughout World Struggle II by cracking the Enigma code – an achievement believed to have shortened the conflict by a number of years.
Regardless of his contributions, Turing turned a sufferer of Britain’s harsh anti-gay legal guidelines. In 1952, he was arrested and convicted for being homosexual – a felony offence on the time. He died two years later aged 41 from suspected suicide.
In 2013, he acquired a posthumous royal pardon, and in 2017, the UK authorities prolonged this to 1000’s of males convicted underneath related legal guidelines, in what’s now referred to as the “Alan Turing regulation.” His legacy lives on, together with his picture on the £50 banknote.
2. Marsha P. Johnson (1945-1992)
Marsha P. Johnson was a pioneering African American activist and drag performer who performed a key function within the struggle for LGBT+ and trans rights within the Nineteen Sixties and Seventies.
In 1969, she was amongst those that resisted police throughout the raid of the Stonewall Inn in New York Metropolis – an act of defiance that sparked the Stonewall Rebellion, a serious turning level within the LGBT+ rights motion.
Johnson went on to co-found activist teams and have become a robust image of resistance and visibility for trans and queer folks, particularly these of color.
3. Freddie Mercury (1946-1991)
Generally known as the lead singer of Queen, Freddie Mercury is taken into account the best singers in rock music historical past, together with his theatrical fashion and four-octave vocal vary.
However regardless of his flamboyant on stage persona, Mercury by no means publicly clarified his sexuality.
In 1985, he started a long-term relationship with Irish-born hairdresser Jim Hutton, whom he known as his husband. Mercury described their relationship as one constructed on solace and understanding, and stated that he “truthfully couldn’t ask for higher”.
Mercury started exhibiting signs of HIV/AIDS in 1982, and was later recognized with AIDS in 1987.
Mercury stored his analysis personal, however launched a press release in regards to the state of his well being on November 23, 1991. On the next night of November 24, Mercury died of AIDS on the age of 45 at his dwelling in Kensington, London.
Hutton, lived with Mercury for the final seven years of his life, nursed him throughout his sickness, and was current at his bedside when he died.
In 2024, Mercury was named the UK’s biggest homosexual icon in a survey performed by Durex.
4. David Bowie (1947-2016)
David Bowie turned a homosexual icon via his daring alter ego Ziggy Stardust – an androgynous, bisexual alien rockstar – launched in 1972.
Whereas not an activist within the conventional sense, Bowie used his platform to problem gender norms and provides visibility to queer identities. His 1972 assertion, “I’m homosexual, and I all the time have been,” got here simply as Britain held its first Homosexual Pleasure march.
Later, he instructed Playboy he was bisexual, acknowledging the influence it had on his profession: “I’ve used that truth very properly. I suppose it’s one of the best factor that ever occurred to me.”
Although he later referred to as himself a “closet heterosexual,” Bowie’s early openness and ambiguity left an enduring cultural influence. His iconic performances, comparable to his High of the Pops look with Mick Ronson, gave younger queer folks a robust picture of illustration.
Bowie died on the age of 69 after an 18-month battle with most cancers. No matter labels, his fearless self-expression gave others the liberty to discover their very own.
5. Elton John (1947-present)
Elton John, one of many best-selling music artists of all time with over 300 million data offered, has lengthy been a trailblazer for LGBT+ visibility.
He first got here out as bisexual in a 1976 Rolling Stone interview, later confirming he was homosexual in 1992. John has been together with his companion, David Furnish, since 1993. The couple entered right into a civil partnership in 2005 – among the many first within the UK – and married in 2014 after same-sex marriage was legalised.
Collectively, they’ve two sons born by way of surrogacy. In 2019, he acquired France’s highest civilian honour, the Legion d’honneur, with President Emmanuel Macron recognising him as one of many first brazenly homosexual artists to offer voice to the LGBT+ group.
6. Madonna (1958-present)
Madonna has lengthy been a fierce ally to the LGBT+ group. Identified for her sexual openness and refusal to evolve, she’s been linked to a number of ladies, together with comic Sandra Bernhard and mannequin Jenny Shimizu.
Although she’s by no means publicly confirmed these relationships, she’s said she’s “slept with a great handful” of girls and instructed The Advocate in 1991 that “everyone has a bisexual nature.”
All through her profession, Madonna has devoted performances and messages to the LGBT+ group, together with shock appearances at New York’s Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village, Manhattan, the birthplace of the fashionable homosexual rights motion. In 2018, she delivered a speech, declaring: “I stand right here proudly on the place the place Pleasure started. Allow us to always remember the Stonewall riots.”
7. RuPaul (1960-present)
RuPaul Charles, greatest referred to as the host of RuPaul’s Drag Race, has earned the title “Queen of Drag” and is extensively considered a trailblazer in queer illustration.
Because the launch of Drag Race UK in 2019, RuPaul’s profile within the UK has soared, serving to to catapult a brand new wave of celeb drag queens into the highlight, together with The Vivienne, Tia Kofi and Baga Chipz.
Past leisure, RuPaul has lengthy been an outspoken advocate for voter registration, notably throughout the LGBT+ group – the place turnout has traditionally been decrease. He promoted participation via a public service announcement tied to Nationwide Voter Registration Day, urging queer people to make their voices heard on the poll field.
As the primary drag performer to host a nationwide discuss present, RuPaul has paved the way in which for larger LGBT+ visibility in media. He continues to make use of his platform to highlight rising expertise and tackle very important points comparable to gender equality and racial justice. In recognition of his influence, he acquired the Vito Russo Award on the GLAAD Media Awards in 1999.
