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TIME asks, "What makes a gay song?"

TIME is running an interesting article and podcast from the True Colors Tour, asking people to define what a "gay song" is. One of the people they ask is radio DJ J.D. Doyle, who hosts a show called "Queer Voices", and takes umbrage with a popular perception:

"I could be describing my radio show to someone who hasn't heard of it, and I'd say its purpose is to share and preserve the history of gay music," Doyle said on a show a few years ago. "They'd say, 'Oh, disco music.' No, no. And I'd climb up on my soapbox and ask why they would think disco music is gay music, since most of it is by straight artists, mostly women, and only a tiny percent is lyrically gay. Very little of it is actually about our lives. By this time their eyes are quickly glazing over, and I realize once again I've taken the purist approach. But I certainly can't deny that to most people disco or dance music is the genre most associated with gay culture."

So what is a gay song, exactly? Is it any song by a gay artist? Is it a song by a gay artist that's explicitly gay? Can it be a song by a straight artist that has a gay sensibility to it? Or is there no such thing anymore as a "gay" or "straight" song? One of the people interviewed in the podcast is a teenage girl, who says that her generation doesn't really think like that. To them, a good song is a good song, and as long as it speaks to them, it doesn't matter who the artist is, or what the intention of the song is.

Do you agree with that sentiment, or do you have a list of favorite gay songs? Feel free to use the comments section to name your favorites, or explain why you don't think in those terms. Do you think that "Beautiful" by Christina Aguilara is a gay song? What about "Secret Love" by Doris Day, or "Father Figure" by George Michael?

And what about "Sugar Walls" by Sheena Easton, is that a gay song? It certainly was when I performed it at karaoke.

Discuss!

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In a continued effort to bring you all that is important in the world of gay entertainment and ensure that you are being spoon-fed images of gorgeous, commoditized manflesh, we present the newly-minted AfterElton Briefs. Following the usual assortment of carefully-selected news items, interested readers can find a refreshing pic of a hot man in underwear after the jump. Yes, we're serious.

  • Probably the funniest thing I've read all week: Stuff White People Like #88: Having Gay Friends
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  • Above, another preview clip from tomorrow's Make Me a Supermodel featuring special guest mentor ... Christian Siriano! He's there to help make their catwalks ... wait for it ... fierce.
  • The Stranger's Dan Savage uses this week's column as an opportunity to answer some young readers' questions about coming out, and doesn't bother sugar-coating anything: "In two short years ... you'll be able to come out to your mom and dad - and, even better, you'll be able to tell them to suck it."

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