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.

So true, indeed. I would be surprised if OmaRosa is not being performed on a stage somewhere out there.

I am so thrilled? What might I do for you?

Well, one reason TFM was popular among gays ("icon?") is that she, well, she was openly nice to and supportive of gays and didn't spit in their faces.And all what the Explainer said, too. And are gay and not morose (apologies to Lawrence Block). Clinton and Feinstein are if not morose, definitely not flamboyant and hardly friendly to gays. Bill is more of a gay icon, but then he's black, too.

Hillary Clinton has no style. She doesnt have to look like a drag queen she just needs some personality.

I'm neither religious nor gay, but I'm very sad about Tammy Faye. She just seemed like such a kind, positive person. She goes on Larry King and says she loves everyone and I don't doubt it - and I consider myself very cynical.

I think to be a gay icon you first and foremost need to be unapologetically yourself and accepting of others. And she totally personified that.

With respect to Hillary, she doesn't qualify because she has to play the political game - so she can't be unapologetically herself. Nobody in politics can, they're constantly being told to maintain a certain image, qualify their statements, and look the part. So she can't serve as a symbol of "come out of the closet and be proud of who you are."

I think there's a great deal of truth in all the comments so far.

But one other element that often pertains to those who ascend the big Zigfieldien staircase of gay iconry is extreme humiliation, and the desire to say, "I will survive."

The facts of Mrs. Messner's life are plain enough in this regard. Not every gay icon has to wear make-up that occasionally makes them look clownish, either, to strike a chord in that particularly Gay-American sense of agony.

And while the freak show that is public humiliation doesn't apply to every gay icon, there are plenty of cases where it seems essential.

The blog about Tammy Faye, citing the horrible trials of Billie Holiday (icon or no), the miserable decline of Judy Garland, the humiliation of Princess Di, and the desire all of them shared to bounce back, led each of them to their own sequined apotheosis.

It is sad to note Tammy Fayes passing. She always was more supportive of the LGBT community than most evangelicals. Why? Because she understood the core truth of Christianity. God loves us for who we are. And that Christ died for all of us...to redeem ALL of us. May she rest in peace. Tammy Faye has earned her spot in the hall of gay icons like Billie Holliday, Cher, Barbara Streisand, Judy Garland, and of course Patsy Cline and Madonna just to name a few...

Let's not sugarcoat. At the core of Christian beliefs are a set of chief fundamental values - God's unconditional love is one of these. However it is important to note that God loves us, not our sin. God loves us in spite of, not because of. Another fact is that in order to pass from this life unto eternal life, we must accept Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior. God loves us because we are his creation. That does not grant us automatic inheritance of his kingdom. Jesus said I am the way the truth and the life. No one comes to the father except through me. This is the same Jesus who died for all of us to REDEEM US FROM SIN. I notice in the previous post that the statements about the cross and God's love were not complete. I will also say that I cannot speak on behalf of Tammy, however if she were a true believer and lived a life according to scripture, she would not hate gay people. Do not think it uncommon that an evangelical person would be nice to a homosexual. The picture painted by many of the Church's denunciation of homosexuality is slanted. If you attend any bible-believing church, you should find in it a place of refuge. You should find in it, a place of love. Again it is not a love of who you are but a love because of whose you are. True Christians will love the sinner, not the sin.

God is a God of order, he is a never changing God. I encourage some of you to pick up the bible and read Romans 1. Also read about the cities of the plains, primarily Sodom and Gomorrah. God destroyed these two cities because among other things it became rife with sexual perversions, homosexuality being one such act of sexual perversion. If you believe in God, in Jesus, agree that God is the same today, will be the same tomorrow, and was the same yesterday, then how can you expect God or his followers to fall into line with accepting homosexuality as a lifestyle? It cannot happen. I hear there is a law in the works to make it illegal for pastors to educate their congregation on this sin. A crime, if passed that will be punishable by a fine and possible jail time. Where is the legislation banning the use of the "N" word? In spite of what anyone may think, an undeniable truth about this country is that it was founded on Christian beliefs. We have strayed so far away from these beliefs in recent decades that they are now just a blur. I am a Christian, and I believe I have a right to teach my children that homosexuality is not a choice for them. I believe this because I believe in the bible. If that makes me an outcast then I will rather live a life of solitude than accept society's version of the truth. If you want to call me homophobic that is fine too. We are sinful society. I can look at different things situations where we contort the language to satisfy our sinful nature. Look at abortion! It used to be that after a certain period of time, a woman could not have an abortion. This has changed to where you can commit murder to your unborn child by having a physician perform "not murder", but partial birth abortion. We made up this term to suite our sinful nature and now use it widely to cover the truth - murder. Likewise, homophobic to me is an empty word. It really means nothing to me, so I do not get offended. This is just my opinion (if I am still allowed to have one.)

As for the previous poster, I don't know if you are espousing your beliefs or just trying to bait people. You write such views so clearly that I believe it is the former instead of the latter, therefore I will address you seriously.

The Bible states clearly that the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah had nothing really to do with sexual perversity:

Ezekiel 16:49: Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.

Like Christianity itself, you espouse myths that benefit a narrow-mindedness, which is why so many people (not just gays) eschew the faith. Moreover, the very arrogant idea that there is only one path to heaven (or that there even needs to be a path at all) is completely alienating and therefore accomplishing the opposite result of what such a myth is designed to accomplish in the first place.

Back to Tammy Faye, I agree with a variety of posts here. Her popularity with the gay community was a mix of a strong personality and a good deal of camp. There's a brazenness to camp that we just love and it is also metaphorical. Tammy Faye could walk through life wearing her own unique sense of fashion and smile throughout. Similiarly we have to walk through the world with judgmental eyes following us. Our choice is to walk through the world with head held high or be dragged down by it. We appreciate anyone who knows what that is like.

Tammy Faye realized what so many Christians are beginning to realize: that homosexuality--like God--just is. It is not something to be moralized or debated. It's just a fact of life. She found that after her husband's fall from grace, many of her Christian friends abandoned her but the gay community supported her. There's no chapter in the black and white Bible that tells that story.

Thank you Mr. Coffee!

Growing up on South Beach and running nightclubs for 14 years blinded me from the truth. I myself was, and still am friends with fornicators, adulterers, liars, thieves, homosexuals, idolaters, etc. I was one of them myself until my eyes were opened to read and understand the "in your face" commandments and abominations that THE loving God clearly lays out for all to see in his Holy Word. Jesus Christ, who died for ALL of us, loves us all, but he absolutely hates and will not tolerate the sin that we live in. Remember, it is US he loves and the sin he hates. Lets face it, some of us struggle with sexual urges and lifestyles outside of marriage (man and woman) that are overwhelming and seem perfectly normal to us and the people we surround ourselves with, but if you, like I did, open up the Bible for yourself and read everything he says, you will see for yourself that this lifestyle some of us lived in or currently live in is unacceptable to God who MAKES and ENFORCES the rules for his kingdom. PLEASE, from a fellow who still occasionally struggles with these sins, but is saved through God's grace and truly repented of his sins, break away from the sin encouraging and accepting packs that you run with and take time to read the Bible for yourself! For those who believe in a loving God and believe that Jesus Christ died for you and your sins, sit down TODAY and ask him to reveal his TRUTH to you through his Holy Spirit while reading the word for yourself. You can start with John to see who he is, what he said and how to come to him. Romans and Corinthians will really reveal how he wants all of us to live. You can get bits and pieces from sermons or speeches, but some is tainted with lies and deception. Trust me, read it all for yourself!

No matter how hard life seems to be and you feel overwhelmed with uncontrollable urges and feelings, you are NOT alone! Reach out to the Lord who has always and still is waiting to wash your sins away and is there to help us overcome the deceptive bondages that WILL keep us from entering his kingdom.

P.S. I personally sat near Tammy in church service from time to time where the "Amens" erupted as our sins were revealed and our way out through repentance was explained. He absolutely loves us no matter how mislead we are, he just wants us to come to him with a repentant heart.

C U N D Pew

These e-mails prove only one thing......gay folks are not that different than straight folks. Some have very thoughtful and sincere messages and some are foolish and shallow. Some only see the makeup and clothes and others see the soul underneath them. Some shop at Nordstum and some shop at Target and some don't shop at all.

Tammy Fay was no gay icon of mine. She was a sad victim (of her husband) who used the media, which she neither invited nor shunned, to get whatever she could from a bad situation. She survived one ordeal only to succumb to another...as we all must eventually do.

Bravo!!

Then why are her campaign coffers overflowing with velvet mafia money?

She sure seems to be a gay icon here in Los Angeles. If she were to walk down the Santa Monica Avenue on a Saturday night, she'd practically cause a riot.