The Village People gay? No way!
Jan. 12th, 2004 09:42 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gordonzolaAfter dinner last night, my housemates and I somehow got on the subject of our perceptions of the queerness of rock stars when we were little. Maybe things are different for today’s youth, but I remember my sister vigorously defending The Village People to her friends’ scurrilous accusations that they were queer and my brother doing the same for Queen.* I might have done the same for Boy George except that I hated Culture Club. I do vividly remember high school conversations where his defenders would say things like, "He’s not a fag, he just likes dressing in women’s clothes."
We also had all heard the rumor about some famous rock star who had to go to the emergency room to get "gallons of sperm" pumped from their stomachs.** The thing about that is that when I heard that rumor, stereotypically in a locker room, my two classmates were arguing whether it was Barry Manilow or Andy Gibb. My housemates, separated by nearly ten years and 3000 miles, heard the rumor later about Jon Bon Jovi. Dear Readers, which rock star did you hear had a stomach spermectomy?
We did confirm that we all heard the one about Richard Gere and the gerbils though, so we decided that one must be true.
*Actually, an even funnier story is when I took an "Intro to Mass Media" class in college. On a day about the emergence of rock video, the professor showed what he considered, "the most self-aggrandizing video ever". It was a Freddie Mercury solo video with him dressed in leather and getting chased around by stereotypical "hot babes". It was a hilarious parody of mainstream rock videos and Professor didn’t even get it. Nor did he try to explain why Mercury was in drag for another good portion of the video.
**That should be on an episode of E.R.:
"Get him into surgery stat! He’ll die if we don’t pump his stomach of sperm!"
""My God, how much did he drink?!?"
"Too much, that’s all I know. Move it!"
We also had all heard the rumor about some famous rock star who had to go to the emergency room to get "gallons of sperm" pumped from their stomachs.** The thing about that is that when I heard that rumor, stereotypically in a locker room, my two classmates were arguing whether it was Barry Manilow or Andy Gibb. My housemates, separated by nearly ten years and 3000 miles, heard the rumor later about Jon Bon Jovi. Dear Readers, which rock star did you hear had a stomach spermectomy?
We did confirm that we all heard the one about Richard Gere and the gerbils though, so we decided that one must be true.
*Actually, an even funnier story is when I took an "Intro to Mass Media" class in college. On a day about the emergence of rock video, the professor showed what he considered, "the most self-aggrandizing video ever". It was a Freddie Mercury solo video with him dressed in leather and getting chased around by stereotypical "hot babes". It was a hilarious parody of mainstream rock videos and Professor didn’t even get it. Nor did he try to explain why Mercury was in drag for another good portion of the video.
**That should be on an episode of E.R.:
"Get him into surgery stat! He’ll die if we don’t pump his stomach of sperm!"
""My God, how much did he drink?!?"
"Too much, that’s all I know. Move it!"
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no subject
Date: 2004-01-12 09:46 am (UTC)I do remember that I was young enough when Boy George really came on the scene that my friend said, "He's a fag." I said okay, and a few minutes later asked, "What's a fag?"
She said, "I don't know. But that's what Tracy [babysitter] said, so I believe her."
This was back when "fag" in the dictionary was a burned log, so we remained confused for a time.
no subject
Date: 2004-01-12 09:48 am (UTC)That whole marriage to a supermodel thing smacks of Trying Too Hard, if you ask me.
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Date: 2004-01-12 09:51 am (UTC)Odd.
Just to chime in
Date: 2004-01-12 10:07 am (UTC)The icon. It's. Teeth. Fur. Eyes. Send help.
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Date: 2004-01-12 01:18 pm (UTC)george michael probably would have fit too. I never suspected he was gay (but I loved him so!) until probably ten years ago.
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Date: 2004-01-12 09:58 am (UTC)I have personally heard the following variations:
- Prince collapsed onstage, and had his stomach pumped
- One of the New Kids on the Block had his stomach pumped
- Ricky Martin had his stomach pumped
- Jon Bon Jovi had his stomach pumped
I'm sure that I'm forgetting something. Possibly Duran Duran.
no subject
Date: 2004-01-12 10:58 am (UTC)which kid? everyone *knew* it was *jordan*, the new(gay) kid on the block. tho i never remember hearing anything definitive about his sexual proclivities anytime after that.
Fact!
Date: 2004-01-15 10:06 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-01-12 10:06 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-01-12 10:15 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-01-12 11:20 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-01-12 10:16 am (UTC)I do remember that when I was twelve, almost thirteen, I started listening to music on the radio for the firt time and my mother asked me what my favorite singers were. I mentioned Elton John. My mother looked a bit taken aback and replied that she had never been able to enjoy Elton John's music because she was too busy being disturbed by the fact that he'd said he was bisexual.
That was the first time in my life I'd ever heard anyone's non-heterosexuality presented as an objective fact that they'd acknowledged themself, rather than just a cruel rumor made up by someone's enemies. I had grown up believing that non-heterosexuality didn't really even exist - it was just a superstition that most people believed in, the way they believed in religions, and they went around accusing people they didn't like of being these mythical creatures called fairies even though educated people like me (ahem) knew that there were no such creatures.
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Date: 2004-01-12 02:30 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-01-12 10:24 am (UTC)I'll also tell you that I went to school with a girl whose mom was married to Rod Stewart, and she was harrassed mercilessly regarding this tale.
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Date: 2004-01-12 10:25 am (UTC)http://www.snopes.com/music/artists/rockstar.htm
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Date: 2004-01-12 10:41 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-01-12 10:45 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-01-12 11:13 am (UTC)Indeed.
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Date: 2004-01-12 10:32 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-01-12 10:43 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-01-12 11:37 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-01-12 10:35 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-01-12 11:04 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-01-12 11:21 am (UTC)My friend argued point by point as to why the story was impossible.
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Date: 2004-01-12 11:43 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-01-12 02:31 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-01-12 11:47 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-01-12 12:03 pm (UTC)Elton John was also supposed to have had massive amounts of sperm pumped out of his stomach.
(Elton mentioned this in an interview once. His alibi was the he had actually spent most of the 1970's locked in his hotel room snorting mountains of cocaine.)
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Date: 2004-01-12 12:23 pm (UTC)But, in junior high, I did hear the "sperm pumped from the stomach" rumor about an anonymous cheerleader at the high school.
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Date: 2004-01-12 12:31 pm (UTC)But I heard it about Rod Stewart, as well.
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Date: 2004-01-12 02:04 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-01-12 02:18 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-01-12 02:28 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-01-12 04:11 pm (UTC)Gee, do you think "androgynous/image-conscious British male rock star" = "fag" in middle America?
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Date: 2004-01-12 05:00 pm (UTC)And that Richard Gere gerbil up the ass stuff is true, isn't it? I mean, even my parents told me about that one!
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Date: 2004-01-12 05:31 pm (UTC)apologies in advance for all the fucking popups, but...
Date: 2004-01-12 05:34 pm (UTC)Re: apologies in advance for all the fucking popups, but...
Date: 2004-01-12 06:31 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-01-12 11:39 pm (UTC)A: Yeah, he couldn't get out of Gere!
Forgive me. Please.
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Date: 2004-01-13 08:51 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-01-13 10:39 am (UTC)It's just that I am a clearinghouse for corny jokes and bad puns, but I always feel very guilty repeating them. :)
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Date: 2004-01-13 10:19 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-01-15 12:24 pm (UTC)and lil kim
and i heard janet jackson did something with gerbils up her ass too. and maybe coffee beans as well?
i'm only 19 -- i think the elementary school rumors get crazier from year to year
stomachs full of sperm!
Date: 2004-01-19 11:50 am (UTC)Emergency Room
Date: 2004-01-21 11:19 am (UTC)Отличный блог!
Date: 2011-07-09 10:09 am (UTC)Спасибо за инфу
Date: 2012-01-30 10:19 pm (UTC)Whgeifjowjei wjrofjwa
Date: 2016-08-18 01:47 pm (UTC)