It’s not about man-on-man action anymore. In order to truly be gay, it appears, a homosexual man must name a “diva” – a famous female performer – with whom he feels a special connection.
Ours is Cher, the 1960s bad girl Cher, with the bangs and the eyeliner, who recorded Bob Dylan covers and songs about pregnant teens. But Michael Montlack wasn’t asking which diva we most admired when he compiled My Diva: 65 Gay Men on the Women Who Inspire Them, an anthology of what the Village Voice calls “deeply personal, campy, and insightful essays that illuminate the eternal bond between gay men and their fabulous diva icons.” Montlack has assembled writers to moon over the usual suspects – Liz Taylor, Bette Midler, and Diana Ross – as well as some interesting surprises, like Julia Child, Princess Leia, and the first Queen Mum.
Despite our absence from this almost certainly faboo collection, Montlack is coming to town to read from the book.
Tue., Dec. 29, 7 p.m., 2009
