By Cassie Balle-Delaunay, Media and Communications
Edited by Ben Jamieson, BA Broadcast and Digital Journalism
Over the last decade, LGBTQA+ artists have slowly come from side-lined talents to massive chart-topping hitmakers, but it's still not nearly enough.
Despite queer artists finally being put under the spotlight they deserve, what’s missing as mentioned by Rayne Barone (AKA Ladyfag, the talented mind behind Brooklyn’s first queer music festival) is an actual seat at the table.
But who are these awesome humans who didn’t wait for said seat and created their own table through decades of ignorance?
Ma Rainey (1886-1939) created what is now known as “classic blues” while also portraying black life like never before.
Often referred to as ‘Mother of the Blues’, Ma proudly sang of her nights enjoying the love of other black women in her song, “Prove It on Me Blues.”
Her legacy remains forever enshrined after her induction into the Rock & Roll Hall Fame in 1990.
Josephine Baker (1906-1975) Black bisexual goddess who dated Frida Kahlo, and led one queer life.
It’s not just that she was bisexual, though her sexuality was an important part of it; it’s the fact that nearly everything she did deviated significantly from the prescribed social norms of her times.
In 2021 (46 years after she passed away) she became the first Black woman honoured with a place in the Panthéon, where France enshrines its greatest heroes.
Sylvester (1947-1988) With his glamorous androgynous stage looks and iconic falsetto, San Francisco's self-described 'disco queen' blurred binary gender lines, not only vocally but musically. Sylvester powered futuristic disco hits “You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)” and “Do Ya Wanna Funk”. He is still known to this day as one of the most uncategorized talents of the late ‘70s and early ‘80s.
As an openly gay man throughout his career, Sylvester came to be seen as an unabashedly queer presence in an era not terribly warm to LGBTQ voices, and an artist who embraced the gender spectrum decades before ‘gender queer’ became part of the national conversation.
Freddie Mercury (1946-1991) Rock’s most distinctive showman was the one who suggested naming the band Queen, which at the time was a derogatory term for a gay man.
While performing, he wore outfits that left gender and societal norms. Mercury was and continues to be a beacon of visibility for all queer people.
His ability to be unabashedly himself in a time where hatred for queers was at an all-time high is truly inspirational.
Elton John (1947-present) The ‘Rocketman' who announced he was bisexual in 1976 and has been openly gay since 1988, shook the world up with his talent and fearlessness.
He has been heavily involved in the fight against AIDS since the late 1980s, and in 1992 je established the Elton John AIDS Foundation. Since its inception, the foundation has raised over $200 million.
He continues to be a champion for LGBTQ+ social movements worldwide and same-sex marriage.
RuPaul Charles (1960-present) RuPaul’s cultural impact has been monumental, and it is fair to say that without these pioneering steps, the LGBTQA+ community wouldn’t have the same voice within the heteronormative dominated mainstream.
In 1993, he shared the dance album ‘Supermodel of the World’ which he released through the label Tommy Boy Records, the hit ‘Supermodel (You Better Work)’, and its surprising level of success made RuPaul a queer icon almost overnight.
One of the most recent and youngest additions to the LGBTQA+ community in the music industry is 18 year old Jojo Siwa. Jojo made history being the first ‘Dancing with the Stars’ contestant to compete with a same-sex partner. Jojo is everywhere right now and for good reason, as she represents queer youth everywhere. Jojo has also mentioned how much she looked up to Freddie Mercury, with Freddy being the person that made her say ‘I see me in you’. This proves how much queer representation is needed in the music industry.
These icons fought fearlessly to allow people like Jojo Siwa to not be scared to be their true selves. Don’t fight for a seat that won’t be given to you. Create your own table.
About the Writer: Cassie Balle-Delaunay is a Media & Communications student at UWL. Cassie is French born and raised, but has now been living in London for almost 7 years. When she’s not live on BLAST RADIO, you can find her singing at a gig or simply watching movies in bed. Cassie is on Instagram.