What is it about?
The article examines how U.S. gay men negotiate femininity, feminism, and LGBTQ+ identity through online discussions of iconic pop divas such as Britney Spears, Cher, Ariana Grande, Lady Gaga, Madonna, and Barbra Streisand. Using critical discourse analysis, it explores how pop culture fandom intersects with broader questions of gender, sexuality, and identity.
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Why is it important?
After conducting in-depth interviews with gay men across different generations, I explored how diva worship goes far beyond simply liking pop music. From Britney and Cher to Madonna, Barbra, Ariana, and Lizzo, these cultural icons become sites where fans engage with questions of identity, empowerment, feminism, and LGBTQ+ politics. The findings suggest that besides serving vocals, looks, resilience, and cultural impact, these women have become powerful symbols through which many gay men make sense of gender, womanhood, belonging, and selfhood. So yes, this paper contains academic discussions of discourse analysis, feminist ideologies, and gay male subjectivity. But it also contains Britney, Cher, Mariah, Barbra, Ariana, and Lizzo. As scholarship should.
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: “Baby, we were born this way”, Journal of Language and Sexuality, June 2026, John Benjamins,
DOI: 10.1075/jls.24017.rua.
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