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Saturday, June 20, 2009

Adam Lambert's Rolling Stone interview--full of win!

I finally got my copy of Rolling Stone, featuring the wonderful and talented, Adam Lambert. If you haven't gotten yourself a copy, go get one now. Not only is the cover super-hot, but the article is wonderful. I kept shushing my fiance so I could finish it.

While I'm glad that he decided to not discuss his sexuality while the show was still airing, and thrilled that he decided to talk about it on his own terms, waiting for the Rolling Stone interview, I have to agree with Renee over at Womanist Musings that it's no one's damn business:

"Should Adam be gay or bisexual and actually declare himself to be so; such action will only affirm that heterosexuality is the assumed identity and that homosexuality is something must be confessed as though it is a perversion. There are those in the GLB community who staunchly believe that public figures should declare for the sake of acting as a role model to others, however the fact that such a requirement is not deemed necessary from a heterosexual serves to further “other.”

"The whirling speculation about Adams sexuality is occurring even as same gender marriage is making the most gains that it ever has, proving that the “just like you” theory that has been projected to legitimize same gender marriage only goes so far. Full acceptance of a GLB identity would silence those that feel the need to speculate because a wish to know does not stem from simple curiosity, but from a desire to discern difference for the sake of invoking privilege. By refusing to respond to speculation, Adam stands in solidarity with Anderson Cooper and Queen Latifah. If we really believe that sexuality is irrelevant, it is time to stop asking questions that do not concern us."

Sadly, in the aftermath of this interview, Adam's sexuality is the only thing anyone wants to talk about, when there is so much more to this talented man. I wish to share some of the best parts of this interview.

Adam Lambert on gender: "Why can't some men have strong feminine sides? Does that make them less of a man? I don't know why our society has such an emphasis on masculinity and femininity--it's really gross. I don't think you're truly sexy until you don't care about that." Tell it, Adam.

On "flirting with both sexes": "I loved it this season when girls went crazy for me. As far as I'm concerned, it's all hot. Just because I'm not sticking it in there doesn't mean that I don't find it beautiful." This one gives me the giggles and a case of the "awwwws."

I particularly enjoy this part of the article:

This is the usual kicked-back attitude one expects from Lambert, but when the conversation turns to his newfound role as a gay icon, he begins to pick the polish off his nails, which is what he does when he feels anxious - it's clearly an argument he's spent a lot of time having with himself, in his own head. On one hand, he wants to support gay rights at a moment when same-sex marriage is in legal limbo in many states. He enjoyed performing Sam Cooke's "A Change Is Gonna Come" on the show for a reason: "This civil rights movement is near to my heart, and it felt really good to sing that," he says. "I'm not asking to get married in your church, but you don't have any right to tell me I can't do it."
And finally, on worrying about the consequences of coming out: "I'm an entertainer, and who I am and what I do in my personal life is a separate thing. It shouldn't matter. Except it does."

Also included in the interview are some likes and dislikes, and when I read that he includes Twilight on the list of likes, it was almost a deal breaker for me (ha); however, on the dislikes is Nickelback, so I guess those sort of cancel each other out in my head. I'll forgive him, since Nickelback does suck bad.

Adam--I cannot wait for your album, and this is something I've never said to any Idol contestant/winner/runner-up--ever.

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Work Cited:

Grigoriadis, Vanessa. "Wild Idol: The psychedelic transformation and sexual liberation of Adam Lambert." Rolling Stone. June 25, 2009: 50-7.

1 comments:

Lauren O said...

that he includes Twilight on the list of likes, it was almost a deal breaker for me (ha); however, on the dislikes is Nickelback, so I guess those sort of cancel each other out in my head

Haha, true! Well, he's a musician, not a writer, so it's more important that he have good taste in music than in books...I don't know I'm just trying to find some justification. My sister also likes Twilight. It is a strain on our relationship.

And it may be no one's damn business, but I disagree with Renee. The only way to make people stop seeing gays as "others" is for them to realize that gays are everywhere, including their friends, family, and entertainers that they admire/enjoy. In an ideal world, everyone would accept everyone and we wouldn't care who celebrities were dating, but there are so many people out there who are only homophobic through ignorance rather than through malice. Those people reverse their views on homosexuality once they understand that, "Oh! That guy who sang really good on American Idol is gay! He seemed really nice and fun! I guess gays aren't so weird after all."