By the way this is coming from someone who's gay themself. Now I like the obvious ones Katy Perry, Rihanna, Lady Gaga well not them as people but their music but I don't like Britney Spears/Madonna etc

Anyway I also like people like Ed Sheeran, Coldplay, The Killers and the first two i'm desperately trying to get tickets for.

I have about 4 gay friends that I see once in a while and all they talk about is Lady Gaga's new haircut or like Madonna coming back and I asked them do you like any male singers to which point I kid you not they said no

I've been to see Katy Perry & Lady Gaga and the audience was just quite simply girls and gay people.

It's not a dig at all I was just wondering really

Well I'm gay...my taste doesn't really fit any stereotype ~ although I can see what you are saying, I can't answer it tbh.

Just because loads of gay people were at Lady Gaga and Katy Perry's concerts doesn't mean that none of them like other artists too. You were there and you like male artists too.

I think that many gay men simply like the style of music and performance by artists such as Gaga and Madonna, I mean Katy Perry's tour was full of candy and rainbows which is as gay as it gets for me! But also there is the fact that women popstars do promte gay rights a lot, Gaga makes speeches and music about gay marriage so I'm sure some like that aspect too!

Well my music taste is extremely varied, I like Gaga but I'm no superfan of hers, my most favourite band has a female singer though.. (Florence+The Machine) but I also adore Coldplay, Mumford&Sons, The Vaccines, Queen, Ed Sheeran, James Morrison, Kanye West, Jay Z, Eminem.. the list goes on)

I think your stereotyping here and perhaps the friends you mention and the people you saw at the listed artists concerts fit the "typical gay stereotype" a bit more than the average person. Doesn't mean most gay guys do though.

I'd personally hate to be at a Katy Perry concert, I don't mind her music but the OTT campness of it all puts me off. I wouldn't mind seeing GaGa as she can be edgy with her stuff but I'd mostly rather go to gigs of indie artists as the atmosphere is always alot more chilled/relaxed than most other concerts.

I think female artists are more relatable to gay men especially because they sing about men themselves! But i think the style of music, the imagery on stage and the outfits they wear are also more appealing then say a guy sitting on a stool with a guitar for 2 hours. I think that the fact that alot of them promote gay rights and sing about equality and empowerment probably help also, e.g. Katy Perry's firework and Gaga's Born this way.
Obviously not all gay men like this kind of music however, because even though i like Gaga, Britney, Rihanna etc, i still like other artists like The Killers, Coldplay, Lana Del Rey, Maroon 5 and the Red hot chilli peppers, so on one side i guess im your stereotypical gay, but not completely lol.

i like every style of music from the smiths to kylie you my friend are sterotyping like saying why do most black people only like hip-hop

One of thing I do notice is that there always a lot us gay guys on these forums!?

Most people do fit their stereotypes though, to an extent at least. There's no need to get defensive

On topic, I'm the same. I predominantly listen to female artists, and prefer to listen to them to men. That said, the only men I listen to appear to be rather attractive...

I think it's a valid point, but I think the main thing is most female artists do pop music; happy, flamboyant, sexualised, fun... all what fit the gay male stereotype (in my eyes anyway).

As much as I'm a gay man, and listen to most pop music / female artists, I don't fit the stereotype. But I can see why you think it, and I agree and always wondered myself

Well I'm straight and I like mostly females so...

I think you listen with something other than your ears then

I agree that this is a bit of a stereotype and there are plenty of gay people who listen to male artists and don't listen to the likes of Gaga etc. However, as for why some gay people would only like female singers, I agree with others who have said that people like Gaga, Katy Perry and Madonna are all very gay-friendly artists, whether it's being camp, singing about equality or directly promoting gay rights. Aside from that though, I would simply argue that as far as pop music is concerned, the female singers are the best. I listen to a huge range of music, but almost all of the mainstream chart music that I listen to is performed by females, they really do seem to rule the roost when it comes to exciting pop music at the moment.

I am bisexual....Madonna is my favourite artist of all time! I love that she brought theatrics with the music she records...a raw eccentric energy that is unrivalled! And still so class!

I love a laod of female artists...and while i appreciate gaga and like the likes of RIhanna....i dont really associate modern Pop Females with a lot of females that i love music by! For instance i blast Born To Die and Ceremonials more than i would Born This Way or Teenage Dream or whatever you know? And Lana Del Rey, Janelle Monae also....I just love women in music that I can connect to and can speak to me....i love my women MAD, strong, eccentric and raw basically.

Madonna
Stevie Nicks/Christine McVie (Fleetwood years)
grace jones
Kate Bush
Bjork
Britney Spears
Cyndi Lauper

Those are the female artists in my time i have been alive and learnt what music was I associate and support and love more than all else.

But I also love male artists -

Marvin gaye
Prince
Lindsay Buckingham (also Fleetwood)
Mick Jagger
Lou Reed
Damon Albarn (gorillaz, Blur)

I think again, quirky, raw, unusual male vocalists do it for me....they can speak to me through the madness, the darkened walls of their lives and connect to me.

So yeah fave female artists - quirky, eccentric, mad, raw, theatrical

fave male artists - dark, quirky, raw, emotive, unusual

So dont "generalise" specific audiences with specific artists....it just is.

If needed for a more specific reason search "gay icon" in Wiki....and you will leanr about lgbt rights, Diva/Mannerisms, Associations, Stereotype, gay culture etc.

It is very interesting.

I suppose there's an eqivalence in the large number of straight guys that listen to exclusively male artists...

In the main a lot of gay men are drawn to female singers, usually of an 'iconic' status. It is a bit of a cliche but there it is. If you search the net I'm sure you can find out psychologically why this is, but my opinion is generally a woman looks powerful on stage and this is very appealing to gay men (and women, including lesbians).

Also lyrically women can express songs that a lot of gay men can identify with; heartbreak, loss, defiance, pride. Think of the biggest gay icons of all time - Judy Garland, Barbra Streisand, Cher, Diana Ross, Shirley Bassey, Dusty Springfield, Maria Callas, Liza Minnelli - torch singers singing about men they can't help loving, that got away, that treated them bad, still waiting for, they've got (babe), have nothing without, are wishin' and hopin', maybe this time they'll stay.There are some very definite crossover gay/female themes there.

Then there are the disco dollies/disco divas. Gloria Gaynor, Kylie, Blondie, Madonna, Britney, Bananarama, Gaga (...if you must...), Cher (again), the Abba girls, etc who will survive, can't help, spinning around, hanging on and hung up on the telephone, a slave 4 u, with a heart of glass, to lay all your love on, if you believe in love after love.

And it's no surprise that the last cetegory are usually the staple playlist of the local gay bar - so easily accessed.

Bit of an obvious/stereotypical answer but with some truth in there, as well as personal opinion I think!

Well, not sure about why some "only" like female singers (I personally like a broad range of genres, including both genders), but in my view the reason why gay men typically are drawn to female singers is a combination of a lot of things;

- Dance/pop music is very popular within the gay community, and until recently it was really only female popstars consistently fronting it (i.e. more than just one hit wonders and behind-the-scenes acts like Guetta/Tiesto etc)...so Madonna, Kylie, Cher, Britney and now Gaga, have a lot of exposure.

- For whatever reason, Gay men largely seem to be fans of pop music. Women run pop music, there are hardly any male pop singers, ergo: gay men like a lot of female pop singers.

- Gays typically respond best to those who show them support. It's not surprising that many would be less inclined to support notoriously homophobic and male orientated genres like hip/hop and even rock. Stereotypical of course, but on the flip side...notoriously pro-gay acts are discriminated against too. Said acts like Madonna, Kylie, Cher, Britney and increasingly Gaga, are often dismissed as "embarrassing" to like if you're a straight male. The ones who get away with it tend to be conventionally sexy pin ups like Katy Perry and Rihanna who haven't yet tipped the balance.

- May additionally have something to do with the common bond between gay men and straight women.

- I read something once that theorised that because the gay community really only came out of hiding in the late 70s/80s - and because the generations that are "in control" now experienced that era first hand - that gay culture continues to value sensibilities from then (i.e. dance/pop music, camp theatricality, divas etc) and influences newer generations. So, with that in mind, it returns to - within music, who embodies said sensibilities of dance/pop, camp theatricality, diva etc? Female pop singers.

- I also read that gay men seem to respond to strong women (I think it had something to do with their mothers), and often those that gay men idolise (the "gay icons") tend to be somewhat downtrodden/troubled/vulnerable in some way, they can't be perfect. Something to do with recognising struggle and overcoming adversity. Whether it be "damaged" or tragic like Marilyn, Judy Garland, perhaps Britney etc. or women who are unconventional in some respect like Barbara, Liza, Cher, Gaga.

Just my two cents.

Well Gay Guys have great tastes in music. Particularly Femal Singers.

I do however thinks there are 4 species of gay men.

1. Guys that love big ballad singers e.g Leona, Whitney, Mar Carey, Adele etc

2. Guys that love big personality singers e.g Gaga, RihRih, Katy, Beyonce etc

3. Guys that love the legends e.g Celine, Madonna, Britney etc

4. Guys that change species but have that one artist they prefer out them all.


I am a gay man that is species number 4.

However Leona has my heart haha


What's your species? :-P

This is probably more ridiculous than the OPs suggestion. Yours is just an extension on the original theory but you put gay people into 4 boxes instead of one.

Why can't people just like who they want to like? Some will like only female singers, some wont, everyones different.

Im defo number 4, i like a bit from all but Britney is my queen lol.

I live in the sticks, but in a very highly populated gay area, and my local gay bar still plays stereotypically 'gay party' music - Steps, Abba, Donna Summer, Diana Ross, Cher, Spice Girls, Kylie, Mariah, Madonna, Gaga, Girls Aloud, Bananarama, Britney, Whitney, Weather Girls. I guess that's the same all over.

I get what you are saying but its just a bit of fun, not meant in a serious kinda way i dont think.

Notice the 'haha' in my post! :-P

This Wikipedia entry supports what I've been saying ...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gay_anthem#Songs

I don't think it is. The poster might have done categories to put us in for fun but there's an element of truth in his post. If I think about my local scene, the community can be put into different boxes based on the music they play in the bars they go to so it sort of makes some sense. Some bars proud themselves to be indie and will play 'alternative' music - which is mainly 70's, 80's rock/pop music and the odd Madonna and so on tracks they'll find acceptable. And the crowd coming to these bars will be into this kind of music.
I see what you're saying but let's not kid ourselves, our gay identity is surrounded by stereotypes including those associations with our musical tastes and it's not everyone in the community who's comfortable with that - How many times I heard guys who are non-scene saying they wouldn't get on with guys who are into Madonna or Kylie?? for instance...

Anyway, perhaps it is obvious for us to like mainly Female singers because there's an easy connection on an emotional level. In their own way they talk about a subject that is relevant to us and we can easily relate to such or such Female singer in that respect. To me though, it's about the emotion I get from the music on a personal level therefore i have no problem liking Coldplay, Fleet Foxes, Richard Ashcroft (and some songs of The Verve), Gerard De Palmas (French singer) even if my devotion will always go to these ladies: Mylene Farmer, Vanessa Paradis, Lisa Stansfield, Roisin Murphy, Kate Bush and of course her Madgesty
Last edited by AlexMalgua : 02-02-2012 at 01:31

I'm gay and I enjoy stuff from Biffy Clyro, Guns N' Roses, Queen, The Beatles, The Killers, Adele, Nirvana and many others. Guess I don't fit the stereotype, if every Britney/Nicki Minaj/Justin Bieber song ever recorded was destroyed tomorrow it wouldn't be a bad thing

Overall I listen to more from male artists, but if I'm drunk I can even dance to the emotionless fun stuff by Girls Aloud - though I'd never choose to listen to it because theres nothing to it. I like stuff people have written themselves that comes from their life experiences... sadly many artists are just puppets.