Madonna as gay icon

Pop singer Madonna and the Gay community have had a long lasting and varied relationship for the entire span of her career as a pop culture icon.

Madonna was introduced to the gay community while still a teenager. It was her ballet teacher, Christopher Flynn, a gay man, who first told Madonna that she was beautiful. He also introduced her to the local gay community of Bay City, Michigan, often taking her to local gay bars. It is Flynn who encouraged Madonna to walk away from her full scholarship to the University of Michigan and move to Manhattan to pursue a career as a professional dancer.

After the launch of her music career and her entry into public consciousness, Madonna began to solidify her reputation as a gay icon. In the 1980s, Madonna was one of the first major celebrities to led her support to AIDS causes. Many of her friends and inspirations, such as her ballet teacher Christopher Flynn, artist Keith Harring, and photographer Herb Ritts, are gay males who have died of AIDS. The song "In This Life" from her Erotica album is about the loss of many of Madonna's friends to AIDS (presumably Christopher Flynn), containing the line, "Have you ever watched your best friend die?"

One of Madonna's biggest hits, "Vogue", is a song in tribute to the underground dance form known as "Voguing" which first found popularity in gay bars and discos of New York City.

Madonna has been named by The Advocate as the biggest gay icon of all time. Paradoxically, a few years after this designation, in a cover story Madonna was declared the "Wimp of the Year" for her statement: "I am not a lesbian."

To this day, Madonna's gay following is one of the most loyal segments of her audience. While her popularity among certain other communities (the African American and Hispanic communities, for example) has fluctuated over the years, Madonna's popularity in the gay community has remained consistent for over two decades.