For our 40th anniversary, Advocate film critic Kyle Buchanan sat down with the new vanguard of gay icons--including JD Samson, Ed Droste (pictured above), and Beth Ditto--to talk about the influences that have made them who they are. For these young trailblazers who came of age during a time of unprecedented visibility, their own icons are vast and varied.
Check out our brand-new interviews for the answers to the following questions:
* Who was a card-carrying member of the Melissa Etheridge fan club?
* Who felt things click when he set eyes on Grace Slick?
* Whose style icon is Miss Piggy?
* And who's convinced that the movie Heathers has enacted a terrible curse?
For all those details and many more, check out the new additions to our Iconography section.














