Ask the Flying Monkey! (August 31, 2009)

Have a question about gay male entertainment? Ask the Monkey! (Please include your city and state and/or country.)

Q: One of my friends has recently turned me on to country music (I am not sure whether to thank him yet or not). Are there any who are out, or who are known to have a positive relationship with the LGBT community? -- Megan, Canton, Ohio

A: No out mainstream acts, but some country acts have been open, vocal supporters of us – most notably, Dolly Parton, The Dixie Chicks, Faith Hill and her husband Tim McGraw, and even Marie Osmond (who, as we all know, is both “a little bit country” and the mother of a lesbian). And, of course, most of the cool alt-country acts that I personally adore are on record as supporting us: Jimmy Dale Gilmore, Roseanne Cash, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Emmylou Harris, etc.

But can I just say? The more likely a country star is to be an out-and-proud supporter of our community, the less likely they are to be played on country radio stations.

Mainstream gay-supportive country acts: Dolly Parton,
Faith Hill and Tim McGraw, the Dixie Chicks

Which came first: the pro-gay views or the lack of country radio play – the chicken or the egg? I’m sure they influence each other, but let’s face it: the country industry has more than played its bigoted role, such as when Garth Brooks courageously included a nod to our community in the 1992 song, “We Shall Be Free” – only to see many stations refuse to play it, precisely for that reason.

Now we’re in this weird situation where many country stars are finally deigning to acknowledge their gay fans, but they’ll only go so far.

Take Reba McEntire’s recent interview with Out. The magazine dresses it up, and makes it sound like McEntire is suddenly this rapidly pro-gay icon. But what does she actually say?

“I have gay friends,” she tells Out. “I have a lot of straight friends. I don’t judge them. I take them for what they are.” What does she say about her stand on same-sex marriage? "Again, I can't judge that. I have gay friends who have partners, and I see where they would want to get married. I understand why. So, I can't judge that."

Oh, Reba, stop! You have straight friends and gay ones? And you can’t judge them! Wow, all this flattery, all this buttering me up is going to go straight to my lil’ ol’ gay head!

 Reba McEntire

Look, we all know the game that Reba McEntire is playing: she wants GLBT fans to buy her records, and she wants the street or camp cred we gay and bi folk provide all musicians, especially women (and especially women who occasionally do Broadway). At the same time, she doesn’t want to alienate her red state fans, many of whom – let’s face it – are still rabidly, profoundly anti-gay.

That’s fine as far as it goes – hey, we all got bills to pay. But let’s stop all of Out’s nonsense about how Reba is “bridging the gap” between gay and straight fans, okay? I like Reba, I really do. But she’s just a hair away from pissing on us and telling us it’s raining. And I’d like to think our community isn’t into those kinds of water sports.

Next page! Who's actually gay on Dante's Cove? Plus, don't we celebrate actors enough?