Andrew wrote (a week ago):
> Of course there are gay men who hate Joni Mitchell, who can't stand her, who > can't even bear to hear a single note from one of her songs - I know a few! > Some gay men identify more strongly with the glitz and glamour of Barbra > Streisand or Liza Minnelli. Not me, but a LOT of gay men do! So, there > really is no rule or reason that we can apply to every gay man and every > gay woman where a love for Joni Mitchell's music is concerned, or any other > habits for that matter. Refer to the lines of "Borderline" to see what I > mean. "every measure, every gage..." > Basically, however, the majority of gay men find that female vocalists best > articulate their feelings - at least that's been my experience. Every gay > man I know has a vast collection of female artists and only a handful of > male artists, myself included. Maybe this is because women tend to sing > about men; maybe it's because gay men are more emotionally similar to women > than straight men; maybe it's because the female voice is more expressive. > There are no answers only theories. > A few related thoughts: 1. I think it would be really interesting to know the results of a demographic study of Joni's record buyers (a surrogate for who her fans are). Would it produce a gay/straight balance similar to the one on this list ? Or would it tell us that there is something 'extra' about the composition of this list, even within her fan base, such as what Lori (I believe) alluded to? 2. Let us hypothesize for a minute that there is a higher percentage of gays on this list than among her fan base. That might spawn any number of further hypotheses as to why that should be so, almost all of which might be tarnished by outside factors such as degree of acceptance/comfort level (which in itself could be subjected to "chicken or the egg" types of speculation). All of this is a reminder that we need to treat statistics very, very carefully when drawing conclusions about almost any topic where said statistics are presented as 'evidence'. 3. One thing I know for sure is that I personally have benefited in terms of my 'comfort level' by being part of this community (which is far more 'mixed' than my day-to-day connections, which - by my choice or others' - tend to be more homogeneous, er - heterosexual). That is not to say that I have no contact with the gay community in my life - I play tournament bridge, and have known dozens (and met hundreds) of gays in that context. But sharing thoughts and feelings on sensitive matters has generally not been part of those relationships. Here, I get the opportunity over time to become comfortable with and appreciate perspectives that previously discomfited me greatly - even those with which I continue to disagree. In this regard, I think the JMDL has an intrinsically positive aspect - one I do not otherwise find in my life. 4. As for my personal hypothesis on this topic, I think that it is possible that if one could conduct a definitive study (you know, like God has the answer), one might find that - within the bell curve - gays are on average more sensitive to external stimuli (hence, more artistically oriented and - in that way - more knowledgeable about what is going on around them, if not more intelligent) than straight people. I offer no explanation as to why that might be so - and in any event, I see that as a compliment (OK to offer, consistent with my theory that there is a difference between offering opinions or hypotheses that compliment rather than degrade). Also, I think that simply as a rite of passage, most gays have been forced to confront a truth about themselves that was - for whatever reasons, but at least in large part societally imposed - uncomfortable at first. Having passed that test of self effacement and self realization leaves gays one step ahead of us straight people, on balance, many of whom may go many years - even a lifetime - without being forced to confront such a profoundly uncomfortable realization (such as - yes, we really are assholes to the tips of our toes - to quote JM). 5. Andrew, I know you wrote you did not want to speak on behalf of gay women, but I do not see your conclusions about gay men's listening biases (namely, a positive one toward female artists) explaining my observations (of this list) about Joni's equal or greater appeal to gay women. Rather, I think that Joni's often ruthless self-examination and search for the truth within her (not that she or we always succeed) is a primary marker among her fan base. That a higher percentage of gays would find that more magnetically attactive does not surprise me. Bob's Art
