LGBT+ Historical Influence on Culture

Lately it seems that whenever the LGBT+ community comes up the next thing that someone says has something to do with homophobia. Negativity abounds everywhere.

Evangelicals that oppose homosexuality. The LGBT+ community has really contributed a lot more to the history of our culture than nasty political battles. Although some people try to turn the tables on the LGBT+ community with exasperating stereotypes, it has given modern culture a lot of art. The world of poetry and literature would truly not be the same without Lord Byron, Tennessee Williams, Oscar Wilde, W.H. Auden, Walt Whitman, Audre Lorde, and reputedly Michelangelo as well. Wikipedia has a voluminous listing of gay, lesbian, and bisexual writers that can be referenced at your discretion if you ever feel the urge to guide a conversation about homosexuality away from debate territory.

Inevitably there are bound to be snags in any coffee table discussion of gay contributions to the arts. The more prudish amongst your friends may have objections to gay media stores because collections often include pornography. You’ll have to remind them that most small towns traditionally include an adult video store, and the demand for gay adult media just isn’t as high.

Then of course there are horror stories that come up now and then, like the purported lover’s spat between Vincent Van Gogh and Paul Gauguin that ended with Van Gogh removing his ear. Alternate stories about the ear exist, and the art world has always been known for its eccentrics. When straight artists like Jackson Pollack who killed himself and several other passengers in a drunk driving accident still get counted among the best, using Van Gogh’s unrequited love for Gauguin against him is just callous anyway.

Though this probably receives more attention than it should, let’s not forget that LGBT+ culture has influenced fashion. Hyper-feminine styles adopted by cross-dressers have a history of finding their way into mainstream fashion with new life thanks in large part to the LGBT+ community. Many fashion designers are themselves gay or bisexual; Wikipedia has another list for this that goes from Armani all the way to Jeffrey Williams. It’s not uncommon for designers to be thoughtlessly lumped as anti-woman self-hating homosexuals…evidently many straight men have trouble understanding their taste in female models. Not everyone is pin thin or in the closet.

American Thinker has a couple more wins and milestones that the LGBT+ community has to be glad for but reminds us that Gay Pride (and other LGBT+ cultural movements) is at the foundation of all of the progress. AIDs/HIV awareness is a vital cause to support, but dwelling on the negative aspects of LGBT lifestyles is the last thing the LGBT+ community should want to do now.