The Gay ‘90s // Season 3, Episode 3
In this final installment of our “decades” mini-series, Theresa, Jaime, and special guest Kevin Cozart dive into the 1990s, an era that saw LGBTQ culture burst out of the closet and into the mainstream. We reflect on the many milestones in queer literature, music, television, and film achieved in the ’90s—from Angels in America winning the Pulitzer Prize to Ellen DeGeneres coming out on national television. Our hosts discuss how these pop culture moments shaped their own relationships to queerness and how the ’90s have influenced contemporary LGBTQ culture. Whether it was through mainstream fare like The Birdcage and k.d. lang or more cult offerings like The Watermelon Woman and Kids in the Hall, the availability of LGBTQ culture was at an all-time high in the 1990s. Visibility didn’t always translate into acceptance, however, and this episode addresses the pitfalls of “mainstreaming” gay culture and upholds the importance of building strong queer communities.
SHOW NOTES & EXTRAS
TV Moments Mentioned in this Episode:
Ellen DeGeneres’s Groundbreaking Coming Out: 20 Years Later, Hillary Weaver
Pedro Zamora, A Hero in the Real World, Tim Teeman
MTV’s Real World Takes on Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, John Barrett
LGBTQ Films Mentioned in this Episode:
Reflecting on Queer Cinema’s Golden Age: The Gay ‘90s, The Advocate
Special Report: The Gay ‘90s, Jess Cagle
New Queer Cinema: The Director’s Cut, B. Ruby Rich
The Birdcage at 25: A Gay Comedy that Broke Boundaries, Emily Maskell
The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert: Why It Still Survives, Nathan Smith
Unwrapping the Homoeroticism of Interview with the Vampire, Attitude
Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt in Interview with the Vampire (1994)
Gina Gershon and Jennifer Tilly in Bound (1996)
Music Moments Mentioned in this Episode:
Vanity Fair’s iconic 1993 cover featuring k.d. lang and Cindy Crawford.
Madonna with the dancers from her Blonde Ambition tour.
The Historic, Mainstream Appropriation of Ballroom Culture, Elyssa Goodman
k.d. lang Was the Original Butch Heartthrob, Shervin Kayvon
Building a Mystery: An Oral History of Lilith Fair, Jessica Hopper