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Nobody puts the Silver Fox in a corner!

David Geffen beat out Anderson Cooper as the #1 gay in America? Sure, he may have a lot of money, but Anderson has the power of connecting with the people. And those eyes…

Other notables:
-Several bloggers made the list. We’re taking over the world.
-John Aravosis, Andrew Sullivan and Nick Denton beat out Tom Ford (who I can’t stand). Sucka.
-Am I the only person who didn’t realize Jodie Foster was a lesbian?

Final thoughts: It’s great that there are 50 well-known, powerful people who are out. It’s not so great that so many of them (including my own boyfriend) aren’t out enough to pose for the cover of the magazine.

Thanks to Ali for the link.


70 thoughts on Nobody puts the Silver Fox in a corner!

  1. Am I the only person who didn’t realize Jodie Foster was a lesbian?

    Considering that even my mom knew a couple years ago … yeah, I think you are the only one.

    It’s one of those open-secret, she doesn’t talk about her personal life thanks to John Hinkley but everyone knows kinda things. I don’t know that she’s “out” per se, but she doesn’t deny it and it doesn’t seem to worry her much to have people mention it.

  2. I didn’t know either. Not that it matters…. She’s a great actress and very intelligent.

  3. I didn’t know about Anderson Cooper or Jodie Foster. Clearly, I should get back under my rock now. =)

  4. I’m pretty sure he is out, but he’s probably contractually obligated not to talk about it on air or with reporters, etc. I’ve never heard him deny it, anyway, and he’s had a series of on-air slip-ups.

  5. I don’t know. Didn’t Anderson Cooper just sit there while Donohue threatened to sexually mutilate Cavallaro? Meh. I saw him (Cooper) on Letterman and he seemed kind of arrogant and snide. But then I saw him on Conan and he was very nerdy and giggly and likeable. And yes, I have massive problems with procrastination/just generally pissing my life away.

  6. Yeah, i didn’t know about Jodie Foster, either.

    And where’s Sheryl Swoopes? I mean yeah, she doesn’t have just a whole lot of influence in whatever world we’re looking at here, but she is one of the greatest professional athletes of our generation, and the most prominent American athlete to come out while still active, as far as i know.

  7. This is mostly a Hollywood list, looks like. What about congresswoman Tammy Baldwin? If they’re putting in Sheila Kuehl.

  8. Ah, fair enough, anna. I don’t know most of the names on the list, so i don’t know where they’re getting the names.

  9. I had such a huge crush on Anderson Cooper. Hell, I still do. Will go cry under rock. He’s too old for me anyways.

  10. I half knew about Jodie Foster; I’d heard about it, but wasn’t sure how reliable the information was.

    If she really is, I’d like to claim her as my Other Girl Friend :-). Although, then again, maybe with the whole Hinckley business she’d have reason to be touchy about being anyone’s Other Girl Friend.

  11. Wait… Anderson Cooper’s gay? Noooooooooooooooooooo!

    Hold on. There may be hope. D’y’think he could at least be bi? Please? He’s too old for me, too, but at the same time… damn.

  12. And where’s Sheryl Swoopes? I mean yeah, she doesn’t have just a whole lot of influence in whatever world we’re looking at here, but she is one of the greatest professional athletes of our generation, and the most prominent American athlete to come out while still active, as far as i know.

    Yeah, and for that matter…where are the ladies, period? I counted something like 12 on that list, out of more than 50. That ain’t right!

  13. actually

    jodie is not fully out

    which is why i am still holding out hope

    So was Russell Crowe, poor boy. And (this is totally rumor) apparently his magic penis did win her over for a short time, but she dropped him again because she doesn’t go that way. He wrote a song about it, even.

    Not that I blame her at all — this was Russell Crowe circa Gladiator, and I don’t think anyone, male or female, gay or straight, would have been able to resist at least giving him a try if the opportunity arose. You know, back when he was cute and talented and not yet filled with rage.

  14. Well, I don’t think I knew it as a fact that Foster was a lesbian, but my gaydar went off some years ago and I always just assumed.

    But I didn’t know Anderson Cooper was! *sigh* Why are the attractive, well-kempt ones gay, and we straight women get stuck with men who can’t figure out how to trim their toenails or that a clean shirt isn’t one that came out of the dirty clothes basket that smells less ripe than the others.

  15. Lots of people in this thread seem to have broken gaydars. Am I the only who thinks Jodie Foster and Anderson Cooper are very obvious?

  16. Am I the only one bothered by forced outing, ranking of gay people and talk of gaydar? You know, because gay men are attractive and well-kempt?

  17. Tom Ford is gay? All I associate him with is those creepy VF photos where Keira Knightly and Scarlett Johannson and other teenagers are naked and he’s the only one wearing clothes and touching them and leering at them.

  18. Marcy, I think your comment was in moderation when I posted. Anyway, same here. I took one look at Jodie Foster in the mid-80’s and knew then she had to be gay.

    Am I the only one bothered by forced outing, ranking of gay people and talk of gaydar? You know, because gay men are attractive and well-kempt?

    Forced outing? Yes, I usually strongly disagree with that, for those who want to remain closeted. But, as in the NY Mag story, what about people who are for all purposes out anyway? I still think I disagree with it, but it’s not so clear-cut.

    Ranking? If it were just people who were out and pround of it, it’d be pretty harmless. Including those who haven’t declared themselves as out is something I don’t think I agree with, same as above.

    Gaydar – OK, this I don’t get. What’s wrong with gaydar? Anderson Cooper doesn’t ping mine because of his attire. There are plenty of gay men who dress like slobs, and still seem gay.

  19. I always crack up when I remember what Nathan Lane said when he officially came out, “I’m a single man in his forties who does musical theater. You figure it out.” In his case, he didn’t want to publicly come out until after his mother died to spare her any embarrassment, but, like he said, you’d have to be an idiot not to know he was gay.

    But I think there’s something to be said for people who are out under the radar (like Anderson and Foster). No need to hold a huge press conference and make a public announcement, because everyone knows already anyway.

  20. Oh, and we have a terrific local NPR guy here named John Rabe who technically outed himself on air by referring to his boyfriend. It caused, um, no stir whatsoever. (He does a great show called “Off Ramp” if you’re interested.)

  21. To elabatorate:

    First, a top 50 gays is just stupid. I have no doubt that “Top 50 Straights” or “Top 50 Women” would strike everyone here as moronic. It implies that gay people are a small, homogenous group. Top 50 gay entertainers? Top 50 gay writers? Nope. Top 50 gay people, period. In the whole world. (Or at least the US) Yes, women and straights are a larger group than homosexuals, but homosexuals are hardly a small group. Top 50 gays insults our intelligence.

    Talk of gaydar and how neat and nice Cooper looks just enforce stereotypes of the Hollywood friendly typical gay guy. Andrew Sullivan wrote a good piece for Salon a few years ago about how “bears” have a really hard time, even among other gay men, as they don’t fit into the standard conception of gay men.

    You don’t see anything wrong with thinking you can look at someone on a TV screen and figure out they like to fuck other men? Because men who fuck other men all love to shop, watch Sex in the City with you, perform musical theater, etc etc etc.

    Again this casts homosexuals into one homogenous group. And wow, the best homos in the minds of many women are the ones who would be so great if they were straight!

    It’s no different from straight men who love their lipstick lesbians. The fat ugly ones? Meh…not worth talking about.

    I took one look at Jodie Foster in the mid-80’s and knew then she had to be gay.

    Jesus fucking christ. (Shakes head) You do know that being gay means you like to fuck members of the same sex and not that you wear flannel or have short hair or some shit, right?

    The notion that gay people are indentifiable at a glance is a stupid idea that needs to die. It does a disservice to people who “look gay” as well as gay people who don’t fit your stereotypical conception.

  22. Here is the Sullivan piece, by the way.

    There is no contradiction between being a gay man and being a man as traditionally understood. And if that includes cracking open a six-pack and watching the game; or developing a beer-and-nachos belly; or working in a blue-collar job; or having the clothes sense of the average check-out guy; or preferring the company of men to women; then so be it.

    Bears also resist the squeaky clean and feminized version of manhood that appears in most gay magazines and even pornography. Take a look at the Advocate and Out and you will barely find a man over 30 with a gut or a hairy chest anywhere.

  23. Wow, the bears Sullivan knows sure bring a lot of symbolic meaning to their personae, don’t they? Round here, they’re just larger, hairier gay men. For someone who wants to dispel stereotypes, Sullivan’s got a knack for creating them. Did he think he was writing for the NYT style section, or what?

  24. I’m shocked about Anderson Cooper. I remember when he was on “Channel One”, during the beginning of school TV news. Not shocked about Jodie Foster — I think you could read that from a mile away.

    Some people (Doogie & Anderson) are not easily identifiable, but that doesn’t make everyone non-identifiable (Nathan Lane, Ellen). I think that since many people are (sometimes unknowingly to themselves) easily identifiable as such, we tend to expect everyone to be sometimes.

  25. You don’t see anything wrong with thinking you can look at someone on a TV screen and figure out they like to fuck other men? Because men who fuck other men all love to shop, watch Sex in the City with you, perform musical theater, etc etc etc.

    (snip)

    Jesus fucking christ. (Shakes head) You do know that being gay means you like to fuck members of the same sex and not that you wear flannel or have short hair or some shit, right?

    Point taken about stereotypes, but…is this true of Jodie? Does she trip people’s gaydar, if she does, because she seems butch?

  26. Err I didn’t see the “most powerful” part so I’ll withdraw the comment that a generic Top 50 gays list is inane. It is interesting that every place that summarizes the results leaves out that part of it. I suppose “Top 50 gays” is juicier.

    That said, Ken Mehlman anyone? He isn’t even on the list at all! (When he should probably be number 1)

  27. Again this casts homosexuals into one homogenous group. And wow, the best homos in the minds of many women are the ones who would be so great if they were straight!

    Well, yeah. The same way I (a straight woman) look at some women (like, say, Thandie Newton) and think, “If only she and I were gay.” It’s admiration of a beautiful person that you have even less of a chance of getting into bed even if you had the opportunity, because either your or his/her sexualities don’t match up.

    I would still do Kyan from “Queer Eye” in a flat minute but, sadly, I know he wouldn’t say the same. Life is like that sometimes. 🙁

  28. this was Russell Crowe circa Gladiator, and I don’t think anyone, male or female, gay or straight, would have been able to resist at least giving him a try if the opportunity arose.

    *shudder* I cannot, ever, under any circumstances think anything sexual about Russell Crowe. He doesn’t trip my gaydar. He trips my sociopath radar (and always has).

    Tom Ford is gay? All I associate him with is those creepy VF photos where Keira Knightly and Scarlett Johannson and other teenagers are naked and he’s the only one wearing clothes and touching them and leering at them.

    Actually, he then tried to argue that his leering and lechery was perfectly okay because he was gay and therefore totally nonthreatening. Talk about failing the smell test.

  29. So, Random Observer 3, there’s nooooo way to tell that someone’s gay unless they tell you themselves. Now that I think about it, that explains why gay people were never able to find each other in those days of yore when the closet was tightly locked. Gaydar? Never really existed. “Passing” as a concept must be wholly fictional. Because if you just don’t tell anyone, then you pass, right?

  30. gaydar? what’s that? mine’s definitely broken, or possibly non-existent. the only two people on that list i knew about: barney frank and ellen degeneres.

  31. Point taken about stereotypes, but…is this true of Jodie? Does she trip people’s gaydar, if she does, because she seems butch?

    Butch for an attractive female Hollywood star, maybe, but I would have thought it was more the shortage of public boy friends (Crowe aside) in an industry where most straight people’s every romance gets reported, and the fact that her two children were conceived by sperm donor, even though she’s attractive enough to not be likely to have a shortage of men willing to conceive children with her in the more usual way.

  32. It bothers me that, of the powerful men and women on this list, so few are outspoken advocates of equality for queer people (obiously this is not true without exception). And some of the ones that are, like Sullivan, campaign for marriage equality and ignore the numerous places where queer issues intersect with other forms of marginalization. I’ve heard Ellen, for example, speak out on marriage equality. But who talks about discrimination against same-sex couples in immigration law? Who talks about lack of access to healthcare in the inner cities compunding the AIDs crisis amongst queer men of color? Who talks about the alarmingly high rates of suicide and homelessness amongst queer youth? A young gay activist myself, I really wish there were more public figures and public intellectuals willing to stand up for our beautiful community.

  33. The post was obviously a bit tongue in cheek, however the discussion in the comments is perfectly serious.

    I don’t even want to touch comment #36 from Mnemosyne. It seems to be saying that the worth of a gay man is directly tied to his fuckability.

    And then there are the posters who can spot a gay person with a quick glance at 50 paces.

  34. I guess it hardly needs to be pointed out that on top of being 80% male, this list is also overwhelmingly white, and there’s like one trans person. I mean, it’s not surprising if this is about being “prominent” or “influential,” but it should also be pointed out that “top” lists like this are bound to reflect society-wide racism and other prejudices, so aren’t really “top” of anything except fucked up business as usual.

  35. I always knew Jodie Foster was gay. We’re the same age, and she was my first girl-crush when I was just a wee pre-teen lass.

  36. Seriously, RO3? Mehlman was a serious suggestion? He just orchestraed a spectacular collapse for his party that forced him into retirement. Hardly powerful. Besides, unlike others in the “glass closet”, Mehlman has publicly denied being gay and complained that it hurts him with the ladies. Why are you trying to hurt Ken Mehlman with the ladies, RO3? The man just wants to get his swerve on.

    Now, Neil Patrick Harris should have been #1. His gay power is legen… wait for it… dary.

  37. I don’t even want to touch comment #36 from Mnemosyne. It seems to be saying that the worth of a gay man is directly tied to his fuckability.

    No no no. I was saying that the worth of a human being — male or female, gay or straight — is directly tied to his/her fuckability. Geez, get it right.

  38. Warning: film geekery ahead …

    Actually, Russell Crowe played a gay man at least once. And not too badly, either. But this was before he went Hollywood.

    The film was pretty important in Australia because the guy who played Crowe’s equally-gay father, Jack Thompson, is an iconic actor who appeared in the first modern Australian movie, Sunday Too Far Away.

    Imagine for a minute Jack Nicholson playing a gay man — that’s pretty much the impact that Thompson had.

    (Why, yes, I did take a class in Australian film. Why do you ask?)

  39. I see that RO3 has moved on from lecturing us women on how we ought to be feminists to lecturing us queers on what we ought to say to and about other queers. It’s nice that he’s versatile. And so willing to share his expert knowledge, because really, how would the ignorant little wimmins and queers ever figure out how to make him perfectly happy with us if he weren’t around to explain it?

    Sorry, RO3, but you’ve used up all your “Well, I’m sure he doesn’t mean to come off as patronising. He’s probably arguing in good faith,” points with me. Some commenters with a more optimistic view of human nature may decide to give you the benefit of the doubt this time, but I’m a bitch.

    Holly: there was a trans person on the list? I had assumed there wouldn’t be any, what with the entertainment world being so focused on presenting an acceptable public image, and trans people often being shoved to the social margins. It’s kind of pathetic that there’s only one, but it also strikes me as an encouraging sign. Just a very small one.

    Zuzu: I saw that movie! I’m blanking on the title, but it was set in Sydney, and RC was only about 25, playing a gay plumber who lives with his dad. Not a hugely satisfying movie (mostly due to the odd way the subplot with the dad and his homophobic girlfriend was played), but it had its moments. And yes, RC is the kind of celebrity who ought to always have his mouth duct-taped in public, so as to avoid clueing people in to his actual personality. I wonder how many ulcers his publicist has.

  40. the guy who played Crowe’s equally-gay father

    Oh, no. The father was straight, and looking for a woman, but not only completely accepting of his gay son, but actively trying to set him up with a good man.

    Which, yeah. Would be huge.

  41. Oh, also? RO 3 used up his chances and has been banned. So you don’t have to bother responding to him.

  42. Awwwwww! RO3’s inability to recognze irony or hyperbole, inability to make a coherent point and deep seated faith that everyone but him is a moron who doesn’t understand the most basic and obvious concepts was cuter than any Easter chick.

    I’ll carry the memory of the man who taught me that being gay means you like to fuck people of the same sex in my heart always.

  43. Foster still isn’t offically self-outed as far as I know. And thanks, zuzu, this saves me the effort of replying to that maroon.

  44. Holly: there was a trans person on the list? I had assumed there wouldn’t be any, what with the entertainment world being so focused on presenting an acceptable public image, and trans people often being shoved to the social margins. It’s kind of pathetic that there’s only one, but it also strikes me as an encouraging sign. Just a very small one.

    I was counting Chi Chi La Rue, who is a drag queen (and a porn director, apparently they’re not that concerned about acceptable public image). At this point, any number of trans advocates would be screaming about how drag queens & porn performers aren’t really trans (often totally incorrect, and always depends on how you want to define trans) or how trans people are always stereotyped as sex workers.

    Personally, I don’t see much wrong with including Chi Chi La Rue, but considering most of the list consists of more mainstream entertainers, politicians, activists, and academics, they ought to have included at least one of the many notable trans people around in those categories. So whatever, I’m not really encouraged, but thanks for telling me that it was more likely that there wouldn’t have been any trans people, what with the being shoved to the social margins and all. I never would have realized! (Pardon the snark.)

    The broader point still stands, of course there are far fewer women, people of color, trans people, etc. on this list because “top” is being defined as some sort of social influence or power. That should just speak volumes in and of itself. Heck I haven’t seen the magazine itself yet, but if they even acknowledge this by say, a sidebar saying “who’s not on this list — and why so many queers don’t have influence or power” I would be very impressed.

  45. Anderson Cooper and Jodie Foster suffer from Jaime Lee Curtis syndrome, in which the public scrutinizes a celebrity for an unusual or rare characteristic with a negative connotation. They might be gay. They might not be gay. Either way, it’s completely irrelevant to our fascination with their alleged gayness.

  46. Maybe I’m just not understanding the humor quotient of this thread, but I hope you guys do agree that while some gay people may happen to fit the stereotypes, you generally can’t tell who’s gay just by looking at them.

    Radalan?

  47. So whatever, I’m not really encouraged, but thanks for telling me that it was more likely that there wouldn’t have been any trans people, what with the being shoved to the social margins and all. I never would have realized! (Pardon the snark.)

    Point taken. In retrospect, I’m kind of wishing I hadn’t written that part, because yeah, it comes off as patronising. Ah, if only I could remember to use the preview function to actually re-read my middle-of-the-night comments before I post them.

    The broader point still stands, of course there are far fewer women, people of color, trans people, etc. on this list because “top” is being defined as some sort of social influence or power. That should just speak volumes in and of itself. Heck I haven’t seen the magazine itself yet, but if they even acknowledge this by say, a sidebar saying “who’s not on this list — and why so many queers don’t have influence or power” I would be very impressed.

    ITA, but I won’t be holding my breath. I haven’t seen the magazine itself either, but the online exerpts suggest it’s a self-congratulatory pat on the back list, and not going to go beyond the surface.

  48. I tend to discount rumors as just that; remember the one about Jim Nabors and Rock Hudson? Sure, in some cases, as with Foster, who has lived with a woman for years and years (as well as at least one rumored affair with a female co-star), it seems quite likely that she is, but she’s never come out. And I think it’s important to make the distinction between being outed for hypocrisy regarding public statements vs. private behavior, or even for pure celebrivoyeurism, and coming out in order to claim one’s identity as GLBT.

    AFAIC, putting Cooper and Foster on the cover is more about selling magazines than it is about any really accurate listing of “50 well-known, powerful people who are out”; that’s a shame, really.

  49. Oh, no. The father was straight, and looking for a woman, but not only completely accepting of his gay son, but actively trying to set him up with a good man.

    Which, yeah. Would be huge.

    Well, that’s what I get for commenting on movies I haven’t seen and only half-remember the plots of. :-p

    I have at least seen Sunday Too Far Away, so you can take my word on the iconic status of that film and of Thompson.

  50. Maybe I’m just not understanding the humor quotient of this thread, but I hope you guys do agree that while some gay people may happen to fit the stereotypes, you generally can’t tell who’s gay just by looking at them.

    Just by looking at a stranger minding their own business walking down the street? No, unless said street is Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood during the Halloween Carnaval. (And even then, straight boys and girls like to play games during the party, so never assume.)

    Can you tell after a couple weeks of working with someone? I say yes, generally speaking. I think I was only fooled once (and really felt like a fool since it turned out I’d been throwing myself at a gay guy for months without a word from him, not even a, “Sorry, I’m dating someone”).

    But, then, I live in a large urban area where most people are comfortable being out at work, so it’s actually fairly unusual to find people who feel they have to be deeply closeted like they might in a small town.

  51. OMG Annmanda Malthousecotte! I declare sockpuppetry!

    Did you know your relatives (or at least, people who’s second name is marcotte) from Dunwhich Mastehchewssettes have been involved in a Lovecraftian Musical called “A Shoggoth on the Roof“? (and in serious news, am I being slow and everyone is already doing this about the Habeas Corpus vote, or does it need more spreading around a bit more?) /hugelinkdump that’ll get me modded for a change *shakeshead*

    anyhoo, I thought we’d all agreed that Takae had won the Gays of Our Days award (which comes in the form of a little silver hourglass through which sands slips, just like the gays of our days…) this year? (or was it the last?)

    you generally can’t tell who’s gay just by looking at them.

    Are you implying the existence of gaydar invisible stealth bears?

  52. And then there are the posters who can spot a gay person with a quick glance at 50 paces.

    And thank god we can. WTF? Who are you to say that we can’t identify fellow gays and lesbians at a glance? Get over yourself already. And no, it’s not about flannel and short hair, or suits and hair products. It’s about how an individual operates within the heterosexual paradigm, how they shift their choices, how they meet your eyes (even for just 15 seconds). Yeah, we can tell.

    As someone else asked: how the hell do you think we survived the closeted years?

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