Madonna has turned her back on gays? Just what is Boy George talking about?

(I am already violating my self-imposed ban on talking about Madonna’s connection to the gay community. This latest news item, however, has gotten my proverbial panties in a bunch.)

I pretend to know nothing about Kabbalah beyond the sound bites that Madonna has offered on the subject. What most of us hear about is a diluted, media-funneled version of the faith.

I don’t begrudge anyone their choice of prayer, creed, or spirituality, as long as their belief system does not interfere with my life or my decidedly secular existence. So for all I know, the orthodox Kabbalists may well indeed think homosexuality is a curable disease. In this day and age, that’s an increasingly outdated, unrealistic, and outright hateful line of thought.

But Madonna most certainly does not - and will never - ascribe to that belief no matter how brainwashed she might be or how immersed in cult mentality she becomes.

Now before you, dear literal-minded reader, get your panties in a bunch, know that I am not calling Kabbalah a cult. I’m merely asserting Madonna’s steadfast support of the gay community regardless of whatever groupthink she aligns herself with. I’m heartened that Liz Rosenberg, Madonna’s spokeswoman, found the gossip important enough to publicly comment. Still, I, as a gay man, briefly felt betrayed and manipulated. Let me parse this out.

It would be too simple to say, “Oh, well, Madonna has a gay brother. She has to be cool with it.” Familial bonds, as we all know, do not necessarily engender understanding and acceptance. For instance, U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney has a lesbian daughter and yet he is - how to put this lightly? -- not very cool with gays. Madonna and her brother Christopher, fortunately, are one example of a great symbiotic relationship that played on both of their talents.
Christopher’s creativity was especially key during Madonna’s ascent, and he remained a prominent figure in artistic development through her meteoric career.

(I will not speculate on the rift that supposedly formed recently.)

The term “gay icon” should not be used lightly. Lately, everyone from Britney Spears to SpongeBob Squarepants has found him-, her-, or itself with that title. But whereas another generation is inexorably linked to Judy Garland, spawning not only the “friend of Dorothy” code but nothing less than the gay rights movement itself (the Stonewall Riots occurred on the evening of her funeral), so too has Madonna been the ultimate gay icon from at least the 1980s.

And girlfriend knows where her bread is buttered!

Her earliest performances were at Paradise Garage, Pyramid, and Roxy, legendary gay or gay-friendly New York City clubs. Over the years, she has surrounded herself with countless out-and-proud producers, writers, dancers, fashionistas, DJs, promoters, and other industry insiders. Simply by virtue of forced company, Madonna has embraced and celebrated the gay community. For Boy George to insinuate that her Sapphic performance at the 2003 VMAs subverted all her work for the gay community is unfair.

She’s been an outspoken proponent of gay rights and AIDS activism, even receiving several awards for her commitment to these causes. She boogied her ass off to support Gay Men’s Health Crisis at their famous Dance-a-Thon.
During the “Rock the Vote” campaign, she swathed herself in an American flag and was flanked by two of her openly gay dancers. She cavorted with Sandra, Rosie, and Ingrid.
She hung out with Michael Jackson, Rupert Everett, and Ricky Martin.

She is a gay man trapped in a woman’s body.
The entire Erotica era was a paean to queer culture.
The lyrics to In This Life alone are a testament to Madonna’s devotion to her gay compatriots.
There is no way this could be a giant fraud, Boy George. If so, she is due several Oscars for her disingenuous performances over the years.

I hardly think I have been duped into believing the good intentions behind these acts.

MTV’s broadcast of her “Pajama Party” to promote Bedtime Stories featured a sizable slice of the gay demimonde, a Webster Hall chock full of trannies, clubkids, ravers, and “gay names” like Michael Musto and Junior Vasquez.
She famously and unabashedly borrowed heavily from gay culture with Vogue and for the urban cowboy chic of Music.
Highlights of Truth or Dare: In Bed With Madonna were scenes of mutual admiration between Madonna and her gay dancers.