Sunday Diva/Three From The Hip:
Olly Alexander
In my big gay church there is a wing dedicated to The Divas Who Represent. They're not all flashy or cocks of the walk - in fact, some never officially came out of the closet during their lifetime - but they are all extraordinarily gifted, sharing their songs, music, and insights, allowing the world at large to learn, in the most subtle of ways, what it's like 'being green'. Thanks to their gifts and their bravery, they help make the world a little more gay every time their voices are heard. And that's been their true super power all along... their voice; they were heard. They mattered. And, whether they liked it or not, they represented!
Well, I suppose once you've sung a song at Eurovision in a floating cube-shaped gym shower room surrounded by four dancing, beefy, musclebound boxers - it's all downhill from there.
Don't count on it.
This diva has barely hit his stride.
A product of social media and the run-of-the-mill media, this actor, dancer, singer, writer, is constantly on point and as far out as one could possibly be.
He's Frank Sinatra for the coming generation. All he's accomplished - television, video, music, concerts, film... it's like superstardom on steroids.
Not heard of him? Well, come up for air once and awhile, my dears... this lad is in it for the long haul.
It's not all been a night at he prom. He's experienced and is experiencing all the usual showbiz clichés: sudden success is always accompanied by some type of whiplash. But this gay icon has dealt with it all with head on - as in, head on straight. Never blindsided for more than a moment, for one so young, he's managed it all quite well.
It all bodes well for the future. And this diva has a wonderful one ahead of him...
So grab on and take this one to the stars... he shines so bright.
The gospel according to him?
Well, here are three from the hip, dropping from his lips.
The topic? When Sexuality Meets Music
"I used to be scared of people thinking I was gay but now I'd be shocked if they didn't."
"As young as 10 I started fancying boys. It's a common experience but I just wished I wasn't gay up until the age of 18 or 19."
"We are traumatized by growing up in a world that doesn't really accept us. Obviously, we've made great leaps and bounds, but I think there's a tendency to force a narrative onto queer people that once you come out... you have to be really happy and really successful and proud all the time."
"So many queer people come out constantly for the rest of their lives, ya know? To the people they work with, to people in taxi cabs. Whatever it is, it isn't the one day."
"Let's let our men be happy, be sad, be trans, be questioning, be bisexual, be non-conforming, be feminine, be masculine!"
"There's something endemic about the gay community where we praise masculinity more than anything else."
"We can't police the way people express their sexuality."
"We have to listen and learn from each other to lift each other up, so we can all live the life we deserve."
"I would love it if less bands were hetero."
"Everyone has a different definition of what they find sexy, so why do we so often get given one version of what sexy is time and time again?"
"Most of the pop videos I've seen that have any male/female interaction are usually centered around a romance - and that's great, I am all for romance. But let's face it, there are a lot of other sexualities and identities that are well-deserving of some shiny pop video love."
"When I meet gay kids and they know who we are, I remember that's amazing because literally every gay person in every gay story I knew growing up was doomed to die. There weren't any positive gay stories and it's incredible that has changed."
"My sexuality is part of my music, part of my identity."
"There's entrenched homophobia behind the scenes at all levels of the music industry."
"If you look at pop stars through the ages, we've had camp, glam popstars from the 80s - your George Michaels and what have you - but then people went back to the closet a bit, and became more homogenized and generic."
"Pop music has a pretty good track record of embracing queer culture."
"I get a real thrill for being 'overtly queer' in my aesthetic."
"What's great about being gay is that you can celebrate all types of sexualities, because we understand that being queer means you might also be gender nonconforming or bi or whatever."
"I identify as a gay man all the time, but I also like to identify as queer."
"The word queer first started being used in the late 1980s by members of the community who wanted to reclaim something negative and turn it into a positive. It's still a painful word for some, and lots of people don't identify with it. But for me it's a helpful and empowering term that unifies an ever-growing community."
Well, here are three from the hip, dropping from his lips.
The topic? When Sexuality Meets Music
"I used to be scared of people thinking I was gay but now I'd be shocked if they didn't."
"As young as 10 I started fancying boys. It's a common experience but I just wished I wasn't gay up until the age of 18 or 19."
"We are traumatized by growing up in a world that doesn't really accept us. Obviously, we've made great leaps and bounds, but I think there's a tendency to force a narrative onto queer people that once you come out... you have to be really happy and really successful and proud all the time."
"So many queer people come out constantly for the rest of their lives, ya know? To the people they work with, to people in taxi cabs. Whatever it is, it isn't the one day."
"Let's let our men be happy, be sad, be trans, be questioning, be bisexual, be non-conforming, be feminine, be masculine!"
"There's something endemic about the gay community where we praise masculinity more than anything else."
"We can't police the way people express their sexuality."
"We have to listen and learn from each other to lift each other up, so we can all live the life we deserve."
"I would love it if less bands were hetero."
"Everyone has a different definition of what they find sexy, so why do we so often get given one version of what sexy is time and time again?"
"Most of the pop videos I've seen that have any male/female interaction are usually centered around a romance - and that's great, I am all for romance. But let's face it, there are a lot of other sexualities and identities that are well-deserving of some shiny pop video love."
"When I meet gay kids and they know who we are, I remember that's amazing because literally every gay person in every gay story I knew growing up was doomed to die. There weren't any positive gay stories and it's incredible that has changed."
"My sexuality is part of my music, part of my identity."
"There's entrenched homophobia behind the scenes at all levels of the music industry."
"If you look at pop stars through the ages, we've had camp, glam popstars from the 80s - your George Michaels and what have you - but then people went back to the closet a bit, and became more homogenized and generic."
"Pop music has a pretty good track record of embracing queer culture."
"I get a real thrill for being 'overtly queer' in my aesthetic."
"What's great about being gay is that you can celebrate all types of sexualities, because we understand that being queer means you might also be gender nonconforming or bi or whatever."
"The word queer first started being used in the late 1980s by members of the community who wanted to reclaim something negative and turn it into a positive. It's still a painful word for some, and lots of people don't identify with it. But for me it's a helpful and empowering term that unifies an ever-growing community."
King - Years & Years
Starstruck - Olly Alexander
Dizzy - Olly Alexander
And one last parting shot...
"I feel sorry for straight people."
"I'm not saying that being straight is easy, but when you're gay, you don't really have a familial network or support system. You have to find that."
"I'm the person I am because of all the support we have but inside there is still a scared, gay kid, worried he's going to get bullied and people aren't going to like what I do."
"I think the reason I've been so committed to advocacy is because I see so many people in pain."
"I genuinely do want the world to change in a positive way, but I wouldn't call myself an activist, you know? I'm an entertainer who engages with activism because it feels really meaningful for me."
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