Gay men will turn
out in droves to support our favorite female stars. But
with gay entertainers, we’re not interested.
What’s up with that?
Gay men love
female performers so much you would think they were on
salary. A brassy woman on the stage can count on our
adoration. Cher, Bette, and insert name here would
never have lasted without gay fans. They even latched
on to Tammy Faye Bakker, forgiving her fundamentalism
because she looked like a drag queen.
In comedy,
Margaret Cho and Kathy Griffin have huge gay followings to
thank for their bank accounts. But will that same audience
pack a theater for a gay man? I spoke to several
friends who are successful out performers. According
to one well-known comedian, “If you aren’t a
strong female or fat black woman, good luck getting
gay men to come out and support you. Unless
you’re doing a benefit show or cruise and the ticket
includes you, no dice.”
Gay comedians are
under no illusions about this. If all the male
audiences I have met on gay cruises who said “When
you perform in my town, I’ll come”
actually did come, gay comics would be outselling
the road company of Wicked. A comedian friend who
performs in Provincetown said, “If
there’s something else going on where they might
see a hot guy or get laid, they do that. Maybe I should just
do steroids and become a prop comic -- Carrot
Bottom.”
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