Looks like Illinois is seriously considering giving gay marriage a go. Obama wants it. Jesse Tyler Ferguson's there selling it. And hell, Illinois is so chock full of gay greatness, it deserves the honor of becoming the 10th state to approve gay marriage. Even the state's GOP chair Pat Brady backs it. Holler!
In order to help propel the issue further, I've concocted a quick list of wonderful gay (or quasi-gay) things to emerge from IL.
1. "Chicago, Illinois," from the gay classic Victor/Victoria
If my interview with Lesley Ann Warren didn't convince you the Clue alumna is ripe for canonization, please see yourself to this clip from Victor/Victoria where the Oscar-nominated thespian salutes the naughty joys of the Prairie State. Why did it take until 1982 for the world to notice that Chicago begins with C-H-I-C?
2. Dan Savage
The author, commentator, It Gets Better-er, and Savage Love columnist is a Chicago native, and I personally take pride in knowing his brand of no-nonsense, oft-incendiary punditry is the product of a Midwestern upbringing. He's brilliant and always an asset to the LGBT community. And let's not forget: angular too.
3. Happy Endings' lovable gay slacker Max Blum
I've always admired the interchangeability of Happy Endings' characters, because their homogenized style of spitfire humor is both hilarious and alienating to acquaintances. It's hard not to love Max Blum the most though, and not just because he's gay, adorable, unlucky in love: He's also routinely the weirdest member of the Chicago-based gang, and I'm still getting over the time he growled like a bear for an entire episode.
4. Mystique Summers' immortal Untucked threat: "B*tch, I am from Chicago!"
Sometimes RuPaul's Drag Race and Untucked are so good, I literally clasp my hands over my face and guffaw like a cartoon dog. In this unbelievable instance from Untucked, beleaguered, splits-loving queen Mystique defended her honor by bullishly proclaiming her Chicago roots. The best part is how vague the claim is. Imagine if someone screamed, "You better watch out! I'm from the state of New York!" That's the level of unspecific anger going on here.
5. Rock Hudson
Rock Hudson's name simply means way more than that Oscar nomination for Giant: The Winnetka, IL son was the first major celebrity associated with AIDS, and if you haven't seen Rock Hudson's Home Movies, treat yourself to an education. Did I mention that I think Doris Day is kickass? I've just always thought that.
6. Boystown
Hope you realize that Chicago has a thriving, beautiful LGBT epicenter. Boystown on Halsted St. features a versatile mix of charming local favorites including the gigantic Sidetrack and the hard clubber paradise Hydrate. There's a lovely passage about the area's pride parade at the beginning of Neil Steinberg's fabulous new book You've Never Been to Chicago, which I recommend you pick up.
7. Oprah Winfrey invites on NKOTB's sexy, hyperventilating Jonathan Knight
I needed to include Oprah on this list somehow, and I think this is the most delectable way to fulfill the urgent need: Of all the gay guests Oprah ever had on her Chicago-set talk show, my favorite is probably the hyperventilating, jittery Jonathan Knight of New Kids on the Block, who came on the show to discuss his apparent panic disorder. The important thing here: God, he is hot. Look at that fit on that shirt! Look at those vulnerable glances! I want to sympathize with his condition, except I'm too busy interpreting each of his heavy breaths as a window into his carnal nature.
8. Perhaps the single most awesome celebrity LGBT advocate, Billie Jean King, spends half her time in Chicago.
Here's how awesome Billie Jean King is: She not only clobbered Bobby Riggs in the insane Battle of the Sexes tennis demonstration, she then befriended Bobby Riggs and kept contact with him until his death. She's also a smart, open, and consummate LGBT advocate and hero, and she and her partner Ilana Kloss split their time between Chicago and New York. Could she be more righteous? Or esteemed in the tennis world? Flawless, flawless icon.
9. Damian from Mean Girls is IL's most lovable high school gay guy.
Mean Girls may have taken place in a fictional suburban Chicago high school, but the film's resident homosexual Damien (played by Daniel Franzese) was a legitimately Midwestern snarker with a wonderful heart and pink polo shirt. You have to love the man who correctly diagnosed Gretchen Weiners'"big" hair as "full of secrets."
10. This guy is a pretty good president.
Thank you, Chicago, and the University of Chicago! Did he just say the words "gays and lesbians" as if they existed? Well!
As a bonus, I'd like to add: The single greatest album of all time, Exile in Guyville, is by Chicago native Liz Phair. It's not particularly gay, but she's about as defiant and nervy an artist as they come, and I feel the LGBT crowd has a gift for appreciating that. And hey, Paul Lynde graduated from Northwestern!
What are your IL-set LGBT faves?
