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Tammy Faye Messner, Gay IconWhat does she have in common with Miss Piggy, Princess Di, and Madonna?
By Michelle TsaiPosted Monday, July 23, 2007, at 6:37 PM ET
By the time Tammy Faye Messner died Friday, the outspoken, fake-eyelash-donning 65-year-old had gone from Christian televangelist to reviled woman to gay icon. How did Messner become a gay icon?
With fabulousness and honesty. Tammy Faye's religious background made her an unlikely object for this kind of adulation, but in many ways she had the classic profile of a gay icon. Like many others, she became celebrated for her perseverance. She fell from grace (and lost much of her money) when it was discovered that her husband, Jim Bakker, had cheated on her and swindled their followers out of $158 million. But Tammy Faye talked openly about her pain on TV and stood by her man after his conviction, singing at a press conference, "On Christ the solid rock I stand/ All other ground is sinking sand." Her refusal to change her unique style—runny mascara, gawdy jewelry, and all—also made her icon-worthy. When asked by a makeup artist to lose those garish false lashes, she said, "Without my eyelashes, I wouldn't be Tammy Faye. I don't know who I would be." And gays appreciated the fact that she had long refused to denounce homosexuals on the Bakkers' TV show and that she had urged sympathy for those with AIDS. In her final interview last week, she said, "When we lost everything, it was the gay people that came to my rescue, and I will always love them for that."
Gay icons are often powerful women who are also marginalized and vulnerable. Billie Holiday, for instance, endured poverty and survived rape at the age of 14 before being discovered as a singer in a Harlem nightclub. She signed record deals, but she also served time in jail, battled drug-abuse problems, and died with little to her name. Princess Di, another icon, was loved for carrying on with grace—and style—despite her public battles with the royal family. Dolly Parton, with her super-sized hair and breasts, ascended in status because of her larger-than-life femininity. Same goes for Madonna, who built a career by wearing cone bras, orchestrating orgies in music videos, and otherwise embracing her sexuality without apology. Even Miss Piggy of the Muppets has won icon status because she refuses to see that pigginess is ugly; she believes she's beautiful and won't quit pursuing an unwilling frog. In a sense, gays—especially those who are closeted—look upon these women (and almost all of them are women) as role models.
Gays and lesbians may be loyal fans, but an icon can fall from grace. Donna Summer lost many supporters when she reportedly said in a concert, "It was Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve." The "Hot Stuff" chanteuse has denied being homophobic, and even worked with AIDS charities in the 1990s, but she ultimately lost her status among gays in the disco generation.
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Tammy Faye Messner, Gay Icon: What does she have in common with Miss Piggy, Princess Di, and Madonna?
Michelle Tsai is a Beijing-based writer working on a book about Chinatowns on six continents.
Photograph of Tammy Faye Messner by Marsaili McGrath/Getty Images.
COMMENTS
Remarks from the Fray:
The author, or perhaps her assistants from the academic world, came up with a lovely and righteous theory, but what was it based on? Surely if any of them had ever spent time watching and/or knowing drag queens, or even knowing gay men or lesbians who enjoyed the drag world, they'd know the real reason Tammy Faye became a figure (icon? not so sure about that) in the gay community. Yes, she was supportive of AIDS work and even appeared at a community event in my town. But before that, Tammy Faye made an impression because she looks like a drag queen! The celebrities who become talked about among those who enjoy the campy, drag queen sphere win that adoration for that reason. Drag queens don't look like the average women. They embrace a stereotyped, hyped-up-to-the-max appearance of a a woman. Think Tammy Faye and Dolly Parton. Billie Holiday? Not so much.
Doesn't the fact that all of these so-called icons are women clue you in to the flaw in the theory? Could the author (or anyone else) really think that "gays" would only make "icons" out of women who have struggled and persevered, and not also men??
Now uninformed readers may think gay people like or in your words, iconize Tammy Faye. Well, as a gay man I can say I don't like her one bit, and never have.
Anyone with half a brain realizes this woman was not only insane, but also part of an evil worse than many evils alive in the world today: the evangelical movement.
To seriously suggest that gay people not only like but idolize her is preposterous. Why would anyone in their right mind do such a thing. now gay men might dress up as her on Halloween to scare the bejeezus out of onlookers, but this is as far as any sane gay man would go.
Tammy was a part of a group that demonizes gay men and is responsible for discrimination and oppression of not only gays but anyone who isn't exactly like them
Shame on you for even suggesting gay people like Tammy Faye, who, thanks to her fellow evangelicals and the present pope, would like nothing better than to put the world right back in the dark ages.
As a gay man, I am fed up with the so-called "experts", whether gay or straight, making general, sweeping statements about "gay culture" or "gay society". There is no unified gay lifestyle. We are different people with different tastes, interests, values, politics, etc. To suggest that Tammy Faye and the others mentioned are icons for all gay men is ludicrous. Some gay men may see them as such. Other gay men may accept them as such because "experts" SAY that they are "gay icons".
My icons and role models in life are my parents, certain teachers, a clergyman or two, one soccer player, people who work with the poor in third world countries, and others. I value them as PEOPLE who connect to me in ways that are human, not in ways that are "gay". To promote generalizations about any group - to suggest that all gay men have Tammy Faye and others as role models is just plain stupid.
Women like Tammy Faye and Liza Minnelli become "gay icons" because their larger-than-life femininity draws attention to gender as a performance. Their representation of self is so over the top that it begs imitation from drag queens, and when a drag queen performs Tammy Faye, femininity is exposed as a construction that can be performed by anyone. I am not saying that two distinct sexes do not exist, but the gender binary is not as constant and natural as many would like to think.
The ladies mentioned weren't gay icons because they were strong women who persevered -- although that might have helped -- but because they looked like drag queens. Senator Clinton is a strong women who persevered and, while politically popular with most, she is hardly a gay icon. Senator Feinstein is also a strong women who persevered, but not an icon (and not even all that popular as she vetoed domestic partnership legislation when she was mayor of SF). It's the drag outfits that get that status.
By the time Tammy Faye Messner died Friday, the outspoken, fake-eyelash-donning 65-year-old had gone from Christian televangelist to reviled woman to gay icon. How did Messner become a gay icon?
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Remarks from the Fray:
The author, or perhaps her assistants from the academic world, came up with a lovely and righteous theory, but what was it based on? Surely if any of them had ever spent time watching and/or knowing drag queens, or even knowing gay men or lesbians who enjoyed the drag world, they'd know the real reason Tammy Faye became a figure (icon? not so sure about that) in the gay community. Yes, she was supportive of AIDS work and even appeared at a community event in my town. But before that, Tammy Faye made an impression because she looks like a drag queen! The celebrities who become talked about among those who enjoy the campy, drag queen sphere win that adoration for that reason. Drag queens don't look like the average women. They embrace a stereotyped, hyped-up-to-the-max appearance of a a woman. Think Tammy Faye and Dolly Parton. Billie Holiday? Not so much.
Doesn't the fact that all of these so-called icons are women clue you in to the flaw in the theory? Could the author (or anyone else) really think that "gays" would only make "icons" out of women who have struggled and persevered, and not also men??
--besh
(To reply, click here.)
Now uninformed readers may think gay people like or in your words, iconize Tammy Faye. Well, as a gay man I can say I don't like her one bit, and never have.
Anyone with half a brain realizes this woman was not only insane, but also part of an evil worse than many evils alive in the world today: the evangelical movement.
To seriously suggest that gay people not only like but idolize her is preposterous. Why would anyone in their right mind do such a thing. now gay men might dress up as her on Halloween to scare the bejeezus out of onlookers, but this is as far as any sane gay man would go.
Tammy was a part of a group that demonizes gay men and is responsible for discrimination and oppression of not only gays but anyone who isn't exactly like them
Shame on you for even suggesting gay people like Tammy Faye, who, thanks to her fellow evangelicals and the present pope, would like nothing better than to put the world right back in the dark ages.
--jfrizn
(To reply, click here.)
As a gay man, I am fed up with the so-called "experts", whether gay or straight, making general, sweeping statements about "gay culture" or "gay society". There is no unified gay lifestyle. We are different people with different tastes, interests, values, politics, etc. To suggest that Tammy Faye and the others mentioned are icons for all gay men is ludicrous. Some gay men may see them as such. Other gay men may accept them as such because "experts" SAY that they are "gay icons".
My icons and role models in life are my parents, certain teachers, a clergyman or two, one soccer player, people who work with the poor in third world countries, and others. I value them as PEOPLE who connect to me in ways that are human, not in ways that are "gay". To promote generalizations about any group - to suggest that all gay men have Tammy Faye and others as role models is just plain stupid.
--Hans
(To reply, click here.)
Women like Tammy Faye and Liza Minnelli become "gay icons" because their larger-than-life femininity draws attention to gender as a performance. Their representation of self is so over the top that it begs imitation from drag queens, and when a drag queen performs Tammy Faye, femininity is exposed as a construction that can be performed by anyone. I am not saying that two distinct sexes do not exist, but the gender binary is not as constant and natural as many would like to think.
--ecox84
(To reply, click here.)
The ladies mentioned weren't gay icons because they were strong women who persevered -- although that might have helped -- but because they looked like drag queens. Senator Clinton is a strong women who persevered and, while politically popular with most, she is hardly a gay icon. Senator Feinstein is also a strong women who persevered, but not an icon (and not even all that popular as she vetoed domestic partnership legislation when she was mayor of SF). It's the drag outfits that get that status.
--MacAdvisor
(To reply, click here.)
(7/26)