Diva Worship and the Sonic Search for Queer Utopia

Pragmatic and assimilationist ideals permeate contemporary gay culture: Michael Joseph Gross in The Atlantic, for instance, argues that gay male participation in music culture still fetishizes normativity. According to Gross, the current generation of gay men is indifferent to the veneration of female icons, an important aspect of gay male identity of the past. In this article I challenge these assertions. Using ethnographic research with fans of Lady Gaga, the article shows that for many gay men the continuing veneration of female icons remains an integral aspect of gay identity. I explore gay male music fandom of the past and of the present to imagine a potential queer future.