Queen Latifah to Headline Gay Pride Festival, Here’s Why It Shouldn’t Matter If She Ever ‘Officially’ Comes Out
Queen Latifah has been tapped to headline the Long Beach Lesbian & Gay Pride Festival later this month, which has left many wondering if she’s finally, officially, coming out and letting the world know she’s gay.
Since playing Cleo, the brash out and proud lesbian, in the film Set It Off many have speculated about Latifah’s sexual orientation. Although she’s never said she was gay…or straight for that matter, people seemed to assume that her convincing performance hinted at her true self. Add to that the fact that she’s never been spotted with man-candy on her arm but was spotted on a boat getting close with Jeanette Jenkins, and folks began waiting for her to officially proclaim she’s gay and proud.
But why?
I’ve always been a fan of the Queen. Since she burst on the scene with her Afrocentric ‘fits and powerful, take-no-shorts lyrics, she’s always been one of my favorites. So when people argue that she needs to just “come out already” I want to tell them STFU.
Here’s why.
Reason # 1: People don’t have to “come out as straight,” why is it different for gays?
No one ever questions when a heterosexual person will “come out” and explain to the world that, yes…they love the opposite sex, so why should it be any different for a gay person? If life is about being in love and living how you want, why does one person owe the world a long, drawn-out explanation about what goes on between their sheets, and the other does not? Separate but equal? Methinks not.
Who says all these “closeted” homosexuals are in fact in the closet? Just because they not yelling and proclaiming from the rooftops that they are interested in members of their same sex? Everybody wants to know who everybody is “doing” and to me that is more disturbing than them not announcing about their love life.
Co-sign!! There is no reason for anyone to be so concerned with what someone else does in the bedroom unless they’re doing it (or supposed to be doing it) with you, IMHO.
I feel like the pressure is actually coming from the GLBT community. At this point it’s pretty obvious that Queen Latifah is a lesbian and I think the the GLBT community want to see her officially come out and represent in the way Wanda Sykes has. Of course she has no obligation to publicly announcing who she sleeps with and why… just like any other gay person also does not have to disclose their sexual orientation.
It’s true! i even know this gay guy on my facebook page who is SOO upset that anderson cooper isn’t (out the closet) along with other celebs. his reasoning is that if more gay public figures come out then that’ll stop gay people from committing suicide for being bullied.
i see other gay people trying to “out” others or getting mad and losing respect for someone because they don’t come out the closet to the world. it’s ridiculous
I feel like the pressure is actually coming from the GLBT community. At this point it’s pretty obvious that Queen Latifah is a lesbian and I think the the GLBT community want to see her officially come out and represent in the way Wanda Sykes has. Of course she has no obligation to publicly announce who she sleeps with and why… just like any other gay person also does not have to disclose their sexual orientation if they choose not to.
Boom!
The Queen and other Black celebs who may be lesbian or gay don’t come out because they understand that doing so will severely impact their careers due to an excessive amount of bigotry against lesbian and gay people in the Black communities where evangelical Christianity is a mainstay.
There are many studies that conclude that African Americans as a whole are more religious that other groups and I think that’s the basis for so many Black people, celebs or not, keeping their homosexuality a secret.
And as for the whole coming out thing; yes str8 people don’t have to come out. But that’s like comparing apples to avocados. There is no price to pay for being str8 in America and the world in general, there is one to pay for being gay or lesbian.
So it’s not as simple as just being you. Being known or thought to be gay or lesbian in some situations and places can get you killed.
The most sensible comment yet. Thank you! I used to deny the idea that black people are so (on the whole) anti-GLBT, but the religiosity of black American cultures cannot be denied, and it translates most often into either violently anti-gay attitudes or quietly oppressive anti-gay attitudes that ultimately prevent many black people from wanting to exit the closet. I’m just thankful that my generation and the younger generation are changing (have changed) quite a lot in our openness and acceptance (notice I didn’t use the word “tolerance,” as I detest that word because it bespeaks a sense of moral superiority from the person whose “tolerating” the other person) of GLBT people. Sidebar: American culture as a whole is ridiculously anti-GLBT (no matter how much people want to deny it – being gay can get you harassed, fired from your job, homeless, even beaten up or killed in some places in this country). Black Americans are therefore really no more anti-GLBT than Americans in general, unless you conclude that black folks are more religious than most Americans which I’m not sure if I believe.
Even though many black folks admit that Latifah is most likely gay, many of the same folks would likely turn their noses up if she actually said it. It’s like in the family you always have a person whom everyone knows is probably gay or something, but no one cares as long as that person doesn’t say he/she is gay or god forbid use the word “homosexual” in reference to him/herself. That, I think, describes many black folks’ relationship to Latifah and other notably questionable folks (e.g. Jada Pinkett and Will Smith). Just my two cents.
@Bee
“Even though many black folks admit that Latifah is most likely gay, many of the same folks would likely turn their noses up if she actually said it. It’s like in the family you always have a person whom everyone knows is probably gay or something, but no one cares as long as that person doesn’t say he/she is gay or god forbid use the word “homosexual” in reference to him/herself. ”
Exactly.
um maybe gay men but not lesbians. haven’t you noticed that lately as soon as a female celebrity becomes more famous then they claim to be bisexual. its considered sexy. men love lesbians and bisexual women. women on the other hand get no benefit from finding out that their favorite male celebrity is gay/bisexual. nicki minaj said that when she first came on the scene. so did megan fox and lady gaga.
its also okay to “come out” or to say your are bisexual when you are a “girly girl” or are a feminine female. its non threatening and cute, even sexy.
but the flip side is this:
Ellen almost lost her career because it wasn’t cute or sexy for her to be gay. Because she was a manly kind of gay which threatened males and bothered people that she would be “targeting” feminine women and “making them gay”.
Same for Queen Latifah.
her acting in Set It Off mirrored some lesbians and she wasn’t the feminine lesbian that you see in porn and thus it made people uncomfortable and is probably why no matter what circle a conversation about Queen Latifah comes up in, you will ALWAYS here about her acting in that movie.
That is what had people thinking she was gay way before the photos of her with her personal trainer surfaced. Set It Off came out years ago, the photos with her trainer, like 2 years ago or less. And yet she has always been gay in the minds of most.