RE: Gays' interest in Joni

[sl . m]

I've always thought women artists who become gay icons are loved for their broken hearts. They sing about unhappiness and tragedy, about the loss of love, and the loss of self to love. Gays may be particularly drawn to broken hearts because of the loneliness that a gay life can bring, as Colin and others on the list have been saying. And I think that people like Joni who've had tough times in life and in romance are more tolerant, more open to other people's feelings and more accepting of differences between people. As well as Joni Mitchell, I'm thinking of Annie Lennox as a gay icon, whose philosophy is similar to Joni's, although expressed very differently. For the Brits on the list, an unexpected gay icon in the UK was Bet, a barmaid in a pub in the soap opera Coronation Street. Overweight with dyed blonde big hair, too much make-up and too-tight clothes, she endured one tragic love affair after another, and was always let down at the end of them, with her black mascara tears coursing down her rouged cheeks, another night alone in the Rovers' Return. This tragic image seemed to appeal very much to Britain's gay community, and she was quickly adopted as a mascot. And another gay icon is Princess Diana, for similar reasons.

Sarah


From: "Lori Fye" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
It could have something to do with Joni's "confessional" writing about
love desired and lost. . .