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Post subject:
 Posted: Apr 06, 2007 - 03:48 PM
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Joined: Sep 06, 2006
Posts: 1754
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'berto wrote:
Unless we are specifying "gay" as opposed to "homosexuals" -- but in that case, why is Anderson Cooper on the list?
My read of this list (and the accompanying article and commentaries buzzing around) is that the word "gay" here does mean "homosexual." Generally speaking, I think the word "gay" almost always means that these days. In terms of the ongoing tussle over usage and definitions, I think the Identiy Movement needs a new and more forceful vocabulary; the battles of the 80s must today be said to have been lost.
It is my understanding that Mr. Cooper is contractually obligated to refrain from speaking to this issue. Personal services contracts vary in enforceability (and in the rigorousness in which each and every of their provisions are enforced). If this is really the case, Mr. Cooper deserves some small amount of credit for upholding his agreements. He bargains in good faith. I consider that a virtue. Of course, it has been suggested that this is not at all the case, and he's just terminally coy. Very few people are really in a position to say one way or another. As to why he's on the list -- check out Chris Crain's anecdote regarding Mr. Cooper. You just don't get to hop up on stage at the GLAAD Media Awards, quip that you're hoping to take a new boyfriend away from the festivities, and then claim that obviously it was all entirely in jest. We all know perfectly well that straight people are not in the least bit shy about declaring their orientation. When someone is shy in this regard, it's pretty clear that, whatever they are, they are unlikely as hell to be straight.
Kyleovision wrote:
The ones I that really had me shaking my head:
Chi Chi LaRue? I mean, good porn is good porn, I'm all for it, but how does that translate into power? Personally, those that he directs would be more likely to be able to cajole me into doing something that they wanted done... ok, whatever they wanted done... and isn't that what power is?
Dan Mathews (the PETA guy)? PETA?!! No one, save a few contrary adolescent girls, finds PETA to be at all relevant to, well, anything, anyplace.
Annie Leibovitz? First, she and her work are both two decades past their prime. Add to that, her pictures, while nice, do not move people to any sort of thought or action. She's not Mary Ellen Mark or even Wolfgang Tillmans, for heaven's sake.
Here we get into the meaning of power and influence. Chi Chi LaRue is one of only a few porn directors (or any orientation) who has name recognition. While fame does not translate into power, it helps. Chi Chi LaRue was remarkably influential in making condoms de rigeur in gay porn years before the straight porn industry even considered such a thing. One could also argue that his many (many many many) films have had a significant impact on what 21st century gay men think is beautiful and sexy. One could even go so far as to say that Chi Chi LaRue has had an impact on what gay men in general think is "normal" in terms of sexual activities and positions. Now, I would never go that far... I would not have put Chi Chi LaRue on this list... but there are those who would consider this man at least as powerful in this regard as the fashion moguls -- it's just not fashions in clothing in this case. While LaRue's subjects are likely to be able to cajole you into doing whatever they want done, has not LaRue had some influence over the years over that catalog of things that you would consider doing?
To Dan Mathews and Annie Leibovitz -- yeah, what you said. I can think of no working definition of "powerful" that warrants the inclusion of these two. Yes, they are prominent, famous even. I do not see what power they wield.
Andrew Sullivan, though he really was profoundly influential in terms of the very existence of the blogosphere, is not what I would call a powerful man. His readership is huge, to be sure. I question his influence over that readership.
Chistine Quinn is quite likely very prominent in the politics of New York City. While this always comes as a surprise to New Yorkers, a great many people do not live in New York, and so are unaffected by the actions of that city's City Council.
Perez Hilton -- are you kidding? The guy from "Pink is the New Blog"? That sight that is so bloated with tripe that it won't even load on dial-up? Popular, perhaps; powerful, I think not.
I am unclear as to what James Stewart is supposed to have done that warrants being described as "powerful."
Adam Rose demonstrated quite clearly the power of one wealthy person in a local election. He did this once. Good for him. Were he to do so again in three more different races in other places, I'd gladly lump him in with Tim Gill.
I question Irshad Manji's power as well as her inclusion as a gay woman "in America." My best information is that she resides largely in Vancouver, in Canada. Sure, she gets her views printed almost every time she cares to express them. I've posted on them fairly often myself. This makes her famous. When her views start influencing anything (and I'd like that a lot) I'll agree that she is among the most powerful (in North America).
The various talent agents and PR Reps on the list puzzle me. Yes, they represent some scintillatingly famous people... people who would almost certainly land movie roles regardless of who represents them. I don't see what power these agents wield though, unless it is to be claimed that, for example, Brad Pitt is famous because of Mr. Lourd's representation. |
_________________
"If you want the freedom, the abilities, you have to find a way. Just don't be so passive. We are capable of so much more." -- Larry Kramer
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Post subject:
Posted: Apr 05, 2007 - 11:09 PM
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Joined: Feb 22, 2007
Posts: 290
Location: USA
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The ones I that really had me shaking my head:
Chi Chi LaRue? I mean, good porn is good porn, I'm all for it, but how does that translate into power? Personally, those that he directs would be more likely to be able to cajole me into doing something that they wanted done... ok, whatever they wanted done... and isn't that what power is?
Dan Mathews (the PETA guy)? PETA?!! No one, save a few contrary adolescent girls, finds PETA to be at all relevant to, well, anything, anyplace.
Annie Leibovitz? First, she and her work are both two decades past their prime. Add to that, her pictures, while nice, do not move people to any sort of thought or action. She's not Mary Ellen Mark or even Wolfgang Tillmans, for heaven's sake. |
_________________
"That buzzing-noise means something. You don't get a buzzing-noise like that, just buzzing and buzzing, without its meaning something."
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Post subject:
Posted: Apr 05, 2007 - 09:07 PM
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Joined: Sep 06, 2006
Posts: 1195
Location: Valhalla Mountains, British Columbia, Canada
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Quote:
This is, after all, a list about power, not fame (or infamy). Oh yes... some of these people are known by millions. Some of these people are more or less unknown to millions but their decisions affect millions every week.
All true. And, of course, some are just not widely known to be gay. A few years ago, Michael Eisner might have appeared on that list, but not any more -- he no longer has near as much power, since he's left his old job. Same with Ken Mehlman. And, of course, there's no doubt all kinds of people who ought to be on that list, but who aren't, because (like Einer and Mehlman) they are in the closet.
Unless we are specifying "gay" as opposed to "homosexuals" -- but in that case, why is Anderson Cooper on the list? |
_________________
"The dignity of an animal is measured by his capacity to revolt in the face of oppression." -- Mikhail Bakunin
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Post subject:
Posted: Apr 05, 2007 - 07:19 PM
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Joined: Sep 06, 2006
Posts: 1754
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Well now you have some basis for judging the relative merits of placing these people on a "50 most powerful gay men and women" list.  Frankly, some of them just don't belong there -- they just lack the influence represented by most of the people on the list. This is, after all, a list about power, not fame (or infamy). Oh yes... some of these people are known by millions. Some of these people are more or less unknown to millions but their decisions affect millions every week. But then I suppose one could get into a very sticky debate on the nature of 'power.' Those are rarely amusing.
Some of these people are quite remarkable when you consider not only what they do now, but also what they have done in the past. |
_________________
"If you want the freedom, the abilities, you have to find a way. Just don't be so passive. We are capable of so much more." -- Larry Kramer
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Post subject:
Posted: Apr 05, 2007 - 03:18 PM
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Joined: Sep 06, 2006
Posts: 1195
Location: Valhalla Mountains, British Columbia, Canada
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Yer sweety ain't the *only* one who's outta the loop.  |
_________________
"The dignity of an animal is measured by his capacity to revolt in the face of oppression." -- Mikhail Bakunin
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Post subject: OUT's Glass Closet
Posted: Apr 05, 2007 - 11:55 AM
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Joined: Sep 06, 2006
Posts: 1754
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As most will have noticed, OUT magazine's latest issue is devoted to the "50 Most Powerful Gay Men and Women in America."
There seems to be a great deal of flummoxing going on about numbers 2 and 43. Seems Anderson Cooper and Jodie Foster aren't "out." Then comes a repeat performance of all the wailing and gnashing of teeth about outing.
Chris Crain's take on it:
Quote:
I've stated and restated my view on "outing" for years: it's always fair for the media to ask "the question" of public figures and then let the person have their say. If they choose a non-answer, as Foster, Cooper, Clay Aiken, Ricky Martin, Sean Hayes and umpteen others have of late, then so be it. We all know that no bona fide heterosexual has ever refused to answer a question about their sexual orientation, so the non-answer is really an answer, after all.
...
Musto does a good job of explaining how the "glass closet" phenomenon works, from the celebrity's rationale (some would say, rationalization) to the media's complicity. It's the latter that gets my goat far more than the former. The publishers of Out magazine — now Planet Out — certainly understand that rationalization, since the publication with the screaming-faggot name is delivered in a plain brown envelope that doesn't identify its contents.
I also like that Musto isn't afraid to point out the inevitable goofs when a glass-closeted celeb accidentally lets their little light shine from behind the bushel:
Quote:
Keeping the glass up is a high-maintenance job, especially since many celebs are left to do it—or, more often, screw it up—alone. … That would explain the various slipups that happen when the luminaries take their own images by the balls. I was wildly amused some years ago when the terminally noncommittal Sean Hayes was asked by a newspaper interviewer what he likes in a partner and he blurted out that he’s “not into that gay ideal of musclemen.” This from the guy who refuses to label his sexuality. Whoopsy!
I have a similar story about Cooper, who angrily e-mailed me after the Blade reported, in matter of fact fashion, that Cooper had shown up for the GLAAD Media Awards in New York a few years back — before he was on CNN — and quipped from the stage that he hoped to find a boyfriend from the night's festivities. He can claim he's not out, but he said what he said and he didn't challenge the article's accuracy.
This particular species of "outing" really has very little to do with issues of "privacy." Usually it's about quite public behavior. If someone insists upon being closeted, then they're closeted. This means, of course, that you don't really get to say that you're "not into that gay ideal of musclemen." It means it would be a really bad idea to say (from a stage at the GLAAD Media Awards) that you hope "to find a boyfriend from the night's festivities." As Lance Bass (and many other prominent people) has found, it also means you just don't get to play in gay bars.
For what it's worth, here's the list (annotated so that my sweetie will no longer feel "out of the loop" for not knowing who some of these people are):
1. David Geffen -- American record executive, film producer, theatrical producer, and philanthropist. Geffen is most noted for creating Geffen Records in 1980, along with his later role as one of the three founders of Dreamworks SKG in 1994. According to Forbes he is a billionaire.
2. Anderson Cooper -- Emmy Award-winning journalist, writer and television personality, currently working for CNN.
3. Ellen DeGeneres -- American actress, stand-up comedian, and currently the Emmy Award-winning host of the syndicated talk show The Ellen DeGeneres Show.
4. Tim Gill -- American computer software entrepreneur and gay rights activist.
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Gill is now the foremost leading funder in the GLBT movement. His foundations, based in Denver and Colorado Springs are the Gill Foundation and the Gay and Lesbian Fund for Colorado as well as the Gill Action Fund in Washington, D.C.
5. Barney Frank -- American politician and a member of the United States House of Representatives. He is a Democrat and has represented Massachusetts's 4th congressional district since 1981. Following the Democratic takeover of the House of Representatives in the 2006 midterm elections, Frank assumed the chairmanship of the House Financial Services Committee.
6. Rosie O’Donnell -- Emmy-award winning American talk show host, television personality, comedian, film, television, and stage actress.
7. The New York Times Gay Mafia: Richard Berke, Ben Brantley, Frank Bruni, Stuart Elliott, Adam Nagourney, Stefano Tonchi, and Eric Wilson -- Look here -- they wouldn't be Mafiosi if everyone knew who they were or what they did. (They write for the New York Times.)
8. Marc Jacobs -- American fashion designer.
9. Andrew Tobias -- American journalist, author and columnist, whose main body of work is on investment, but who has also written on politics, insurance and other topics. He is also the current treasurer of the Democratic National Committee (since 1999).
10. Brian Graden -- American television executive.
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He began working in television, ultimately becoming an executive at Fox, during which time he saw the short animated film Jesus vs Frosty, made by Trey Parker and Matt Stone. He commissioned them to make another film, to give as a Christmas present to his friends. The film, Jesus vs Santa, became well known among celebrities and college students, and on the internet, and from there he helped Parker and Stone develop the animation into the series South Park.
Graden is currently President of Programming at MTV, VH1, CMT, and the new LGBT channel, Logo, which he assisted in the launch.
11. Jann Wenner -- owner of Wenner Media and the publisher of several magazines, most prominently the pop music biweekly Rolling Stone.
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Wenner is also the publisher of Us, a celebrity magazine, and Men's Journal, a fitness magazine.
12. Andrew Sullivan -- conservative author and political commentator, distinguished by his often personal style of political analysis, and pioneering achievements in the field of blog journalism.
13. Suze Orman -- American financial advisor, writer, and television personality.
14. Joe Solmonese -- President of the Human Rights Campaign and its affiliate, the Human Rights Campaign Foundation
15. Fred Hochberg -- Dean of the Milano School of Management and Urban Policy at the New School in New York; formerly acting administrator of the Small Business Administration (appointed by Bill Clinton).
16. Christine Quinn -- Democratic politician from New York City who has served for six years on the New York City Council. She is the third speaker of the City Council, which is considered the second most powerful position in city government after the Mayor.
17. Perez Hilton -- American celebrity gossip blogger (not that you'd recognize his proper name, Mario Armando Lavandeira Jr.)
18. Scott Rudin -- American motion picture producer known for his award-winning films and Broadway plays and also for his legendary temper.
19. John Aravosis -- gay activist and blogger. Aravosis, an attorney who lives in Washington, D.C., is the founder of Americablog and a co-founder of StopDrLaura.com.
20. Sheila Kuehl -- American politician and former child actress. As of 2006 she is a Democratic member of the California State Senate, representing the highly urbanized 23rd district in Los Angeles County and parts of southern Ventura County.
21. James B. Stewart -- American lawyer, journalist, and author.
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In 1988, he won the Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Journalism for his articles in The Wall Street Journal about the 1987 dramatic upheaval in the stock market and insider trading. These writings led to the publishing of his best-selling work of non-fiction called Den of Thieves that recounted the criminal conduct of Wall Street arbitrager Ivan Boesky and junk bond king, Michael Milken.
22. Nick Denton -- founder and proprietor of Gawker Media.
23. Tom Ford -- American fashion designer. He is well known within the fashion industry for his legendary turnaround of Gucci, one of the most influential fashion houses in the world.
24. Nate Berkus -- American interior designer and decorator. He runs an interior design firm in Chicago, Nate Berkus Associates, and has been a regular guest on The Oprah Winfrey Show, on which he offers design advice to viewers.
25. Adam Moss -- editor in chief of New York Times Magazine
26. Jim Nelson -- executive editor of GQ Magazine
27. Lorri L. Jean -- GLAA president for two terms in 1986-1988. She was named executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force in May 2001. From 1993 to 1999, Jean served as the executive director of the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center.
28. Adam Rose -- wrote a check for $500,000 to a political group that was working in his district to unseat Rep. Sue Kelly.
29. Annie Leibovitz -- noted American portrait photographer
30. Simon Halls and Stephen Huvane -- the "HBH portion of PR firm PMK/HBH. Prior to their purchase, HBH represented Gwyneth Paltrow, Russell Crowe, Jude Law, Frances McDormand and director Ang Lee, among others.
31. Bryan Lourd -- partner and motion picture agent at Creative Artists Agency (CAA), representing such movie stars as George Clooney, Robert De Niro, David Duchovny, Sean Penn, Brad Pitt, Natalie Portman, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Robin Williams.
32. Bryan Singer -- American film director. Singer won critical acclaim for his work on The Usual Suspects, and is especially popular among fans of the sci-fi and comic book genres, for his work on the first two X-Men films and Superman Returns.
33. Jonathan Burnham -- president and editor in chief of Talk Miramax Books, a Disney company
34. Brian Swardstrom -- Talent agent for Endeavor. Helped make Endeavor a leading agency, representing Oscar contender Edward Norton, director-screenwriter Don Roos, TV superproducer David E. Kelley, among others
35. Robert Greenblatt -- Showtime entertainment president
36. Chi Chi LaRue -- highly-regarded director of gay and bisexual pornography. He has also directed under the names "David Lawrence" and "Taylor Hudson" .
37. Dan Mathews -- vice-president of PETA
38. Neil Meron and Craig Zadan -- Storyline Entertainment. Musicals that Zadan and Meron have brought to television are Cinderella (1997), which starred Whitney Houston and Brandy Norwood; Annie (1999), which featured Bernadette Peters, Alan Cumming, and Audra McDonald; and The Music Man (2003), with Matthew Broderick in the title role. All three productions, which appeared on The Wonderful World of Disney show, received critical praise and drew impressive audiences.
39. Ingrid Sischy -- editor in chief of Interview and a contributing editor to Vanity Fair
40. Marc Cherry -- American writer and producer. He is best known for being the creator of the show Desperate Housewives.
41. Carolyn Strauss -- President of HBO Entertainment
42. Irshad Manji -- Canadian feminist Muslim, author, journalist, and activist.
43. Jodie Foster -- American actress, director, and producer
44. Christine Vachon -- American movie producer known for producing challenging, independent films that are also commercially successful.
45. André Leon Talley -- editor-at-large for Vogue magazine
46. Hilary Rosen -- chief executive of the Recording Industry Association of America from 1998 to 2003
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On January 22, 2003, Rosen announced that she would resign as head of the RIAA at the end of 2003, officially in order to spend more time with her partner, Elizabeth Birch, and the couple's twins (a boy and a girl). Rosen and Birch separated in 2006.
On November 30, 2004, Rosen became the interim director for the Human Rights Campaign, a leading GLBT lobbyist organization, following the ouster of Cheryl Jacques. Hilary's partner, Elizabeth, was the executive director of HRC for eight years prior to Jacques' assumption of the post.
47. Matthew Marks -- the world’s most precocious art dealer
48. Benny Medina -- talent agent for Handprint Entertainment. His clients have included Jennifer Lopez (ended 2003, when Lopez sued Medina), Brandy (ended 2004), Angela Winbush, Mariah Carey and Tyra Banks (present).
He has also produced several movies and television shows. He was a writer and producer of The Fresh Prince of Bel Air.
49. Mitchell Gold -- president and marketing genius behind Mitchell Gold Company, a furniture manufacturer with over $70 million dollars in annual sales.
50. David Kuhn -- editor of Brill's Content
I really must object in the strongest possible terms to entries 7, 30, and 38. There are no plural people. If any of the "New York Times Gay Mafia" merit inclusion in such a list, include them. There are no "plural" people. I have to raise an eyebrow over number 42 as well. Am I to assume that Ms Manji is one of those innumberable Canadians who find residence in America preferable to her own country? It's a list of powerful gay men and women IN America after all, not FROM America. Still, just where DOES Ms Manji reside? |
_________________
"If you want the freedom, the abilities, you have to find a way. Just don't be so passive. We are capable of so much more." -- Larry Kramer
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