12/13/2007
Lance Bass Fronts Advocate's 1000th Issue
Lance Bass is featured on The Advocate's landmark 1000th issue. In the cover story, Bass discusses what he perceives as the gay community's love/hate relationship with him (discerned mainly via the comments left on gay blogs) He also talks about his training for space and the various relationships he's had since coming out.
Bass attributes much of the vitriol directed at him to remarks he made in his People magazine "coming out" article, in which he called himself "a straight-acting gay" and chalks the comment up to naïveté.
Says Bass to the magazine: "You know, every community is hard to please. Our community is very fickle. It’s a touchy community because it’s the last civil rights movement we have left here in America. So when someone new like myself comes along and says off-the-mark things, yeah, I can see how people would get pissed...When most people come out, they deal with it out of the public eye, and they start getting educated about it. Me, I had 24 hours to say what I had to say on a subject that I had no clue about... It was a very normal phrase among my circle of friends—and they’d always say, 'You’re such a SAG'—a straight-acting gay. So I reveal that to People magazine, and it looks like I created this phrase and [that] I’m trying to start this movement that you should be straight-acting if you’re gay. It’s just dumb!...I knew last year that when I came out, if I said, 'OK, I’m going to lead every parade and I’m going to speak at every engagement,' half of the community would say, 'Screw you! Who are you to come out and start speaking for every-one?' That’s why I held back and was like, OK, I said my piece now; I’m just gonna lay back and get way more educated about myself, about the community, and not pretend I know what I’m talking about.'"
Bass says that although some may criticize him because he remained closeted for so long, he plans to look the other way and forge ahead with a project that addresses just that subject: "The music business says you can’t be openly gay and be successful, which I think is crap. I want to go out and search for a musical act, develop them, make their first album, everything—and all that time they’re openly gay."
The double-issue is on newsstands December 18.
Posted 11:33 AM EST by Andy Towle in Lance Bass, Magazines, News | Permalink
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This is the best the Advocate could do? Come on, can't we do better than pump more hot air into the career of an untalented imp who does not understand the first thing about queer politics.
While I do not generally like to point out deficiencies in the intellect someone such as LB who obviously did not come about his fame due to any level of smarts, if LB is going to go on the cover of the Advocate and pretend to be a 'leader' of the queer community, he is asking for it. To wit, for LB to claim to not know that the use of the term "straight acting gay" would offend the vast majority of the queer community, he must have zero understanding of the history of queer activism or any knowledge of the ongoing debates amongst queers.
Come to think of it, maybe that ignorance explains why HRC gave him an award. HRC, along with the majority of male-gender normative gay white men, seem to forget that the queer civil rights movement is not soley about making sure gay white men who conform to normative male gender stereotypes (i.e. don't rock the gender boat) can become tokens of diversity. If that's all the queer civil rights movement stands for, no queer person is safe as it means that tolerance for difference has only been achieved in a minute manner.
Also, anyone who has picked up a newspaper in the past decade should know that the civil rights movements for black Americans, women, Asian-Americans and a host of other marginalized groups within society (in addition to the queers) are alive and well.
Posted by: bboy | Dec 13, 2007 2:41:02 PM
Oh get over yourself, BBoy. He's not going on the cover to become a "leader". He's going on the cover because The Advocate asked him to. They want to sell magazines so they put a mainstream celebrity on the cover, rather than their usual gay celebrities that mainstream America barely knows about.
And how is LB "conforming" to normative male stereotypes? By being monogamous and talking about wanting marriage and children? Why does he have to "rock the gender boat"? Not every gay person in the world is controversial.
Posted by: Rafael | Dec 13, 2007 2:51:27 PM
"The Advocate" has become a total rag; not fit to wipe one's proverbial ass on. They have an interview with Judy Shepard in which they write as if this is the tenth anniversary of Matthew's murder when that won't occur until October of NEXT year.
As for Sir Lancelot, I've certainly flamed him in the past, and might again, but most of the comments above are the typical, safe-from-a-distance squawking of magpies which the Internet breeds faster and faster. You all write as if you sprang from your mama’s loins already “out” and snapping your little gooey fingers for more teat. I’d bet most of you are STILL not out to everyone in your life; and certainly never felt that the livelihood of not just yourself but an entire group was dependent on your staying in the closet; or work in field like "show biz" where it is still absurdly career limiting to be out.
Elton John? How many know he not only first claimed to be "Bi" but married a woman? How many of the groups mentioned had the success that NSYNC had and with that demographic? And, sorry, kids, but Morrisey is STILL not officially out.
As for Lance being “forced out,” that’s a crock, too. He could easily still be outright denying it like Kevin Spacey or simply refusing “to talk about [his] private life” like Ricky Martin and, let me see, who is that that queens are always having waking wet dreams about here and elsewhere? Oh, yes! The person who mentioned Anderson Coward er, I mean, Cooper deserves the Reality Check Award! The rest of you should have the integrity [Santa’s listening] to admit that if you found Lance hot you’d be praising not panning him just as so many do his ex Reichenelly despite the fact that he’s such a tool.
I’ve heard lots of well-sourced, juicy stories about what Lance is like in private, but as long as he’s TRYING to do better publicly, I’ll cut him some slack while others cut farts. For those interested, rooms are still available on Reichen’s con, I mean, cruise.
Posted by: Leland Frances | Dec 13, 2007 2:57:41 PM
i think lance is getting better looking as he gets older. i don't have a problem with him.
the bitchy caterwauling against him is mystifying. he is not working against the gay community. he is an out, gay man who was part of a emmencely popular boy bands. that alone makes him an asset; fans who idolized the group are now more aware of the ubiquity and normality of gay people.
and though "straight-acting" is not a term i'm fond of, absent a better descriptive, that is how i might identify myself. not because i think that makes me more hetero-like (and thus more desireable), but because that is who i am. some of you guys seem to think that if one is not a loud, sassy flamer, one is not a good gay.
we need to be better to ourselves. leave lance alone already.
Posted by: nic | Dec 13, 2007 3:07:22 PM
"I think what you see is what you get and that is appealing."
I agree, Ed... Lance doesn't try to look smart or to look like this huge activist. He straight up says that he doesn't know what he's talking about, and that he doesn't know very much about the gay community. But he does resonate with a lot of teenagers, male and female, and at least he seems willing to learn. I know that Chad Allen has said nice things about Lance and considers him a friend, and Chad has done a lot of activism. So I really doubt Lance is all that evil.
Posted by: Brian B. | Dec 13, 2007 3:15:38 PM
omfg, i can't believe i posted that comment with so many typos.
Posted by: nic | Dec 13, 2007 3:23:19 PM
Lance Bass doesn't deserve the shit that many in the gay community have hoisted on him since coming out. Neither does TR Knight. When it comes to supporting our own, even the more famous ones, LGBT people are perhaps the worst in the world. Yes, Lance was 1/5 of NSync, and that is perhaps his biggest claim to fame. Yes, Lance has been consistently getting press since he came out. So?
There is one thing that I ask of Lance: since singing was his ticket out, I'd like to hear him sing SANS NSync. He may have a good voice in him - perhaps not enough to merit being a belting pop star, but serviceable and with potential. Lance Bass could be more talented than we give him credit for. Frankly, even though Timberlake is the most alumnus of NSync, I'd prefer to be in Lance's circle than JT's (mainly because Timbaland has practically enslaved him, but that's another story). :-)
Posted by: Alex Sarmiento | Dec 13, 2007 3:24:51 PM
Re: Leland. I know it's fun for some to critique The Advocate, but I must point out that your first sentence is incorrect. The online Judy Shepard interview reads as follows: "Judy Shepard Is Not Giving Up. Judy tells us why Congress dropped the Matthew Shepard Act, what her next step will be, and how the 10-year anniversary of Matt's murder will not pass quietly."
The question in the interview asks Judy what she and the foundation have planned for the upcoming anniversary in October.
Posted by: Simon | Dec 13, 2007 3:26:54 PM
A simple proposition, if you don't know what to say about a subject you know is incredibly volatile and important to a lot of people, keep your mouth shut, don't run to the media to get your story printed.
It appears he wants to be a gay mascot, at the very least he has allowed the media to make him one by granting many interviews, accepting visibility awards, etc, if he is going to accept the celebrity of it he has a duty to be more than "naive". There are plenty of professors in queer studies/gender studies along with tireless activists for equality that would have been more than happy to inform him of the actual issues at before he started granting interviews.
Posted by: John M | Dec 13, 2007 3:44:50 PM
Where are all the comments on the editor and the creative teams of the magazines that are traditionally part of the Towelroad banter? These comments have to actually do with the magazine.
Posted by: BBGay | Dec 13, 2007 4:11:11 PM
Rafael,
I did not say that LB necessarily conforms to male gender steretypes nor did I say that all gay men need to avoid conforming to male gender stereotypes (I, for one, appear quite standard in my gender presentation). What I am saying is that, in the use of the term "straight acting", LB displays an (unfortunately quite common) lack of comprehension of what queer politics is rooted in, which, as I (and many on the queer left) see it, it to undermine the expectation that men have to conform to normative male-gendered stereotypes (or, conversely, that women have to conform to normative female-gendered stereotypes). The Advocate claims to be a voice of the queer community and LB, by agreeing to appear in an issue devoted to 'looking back' on the queer civil rights movement, is tacitly attempting to be a leader of that movement. His appalling lack of any awareness of the history of the movement is typical of the ahistorical nature of the queer movement circa 2007. So long as the queer civil rights movement's 'leaders' have not a clue on how the current level of tolerance was achieved, we will continue to spin our wheels on DADTDP repeal, gay marriage and general societal acceptance of queer folks.
No one is asking that you give up on presenting a male gender persona, just understand that such should not be the defining characteristic for what is acceptable (whether in the queer community or without).
Words matter.
Posted by: bboy | Dec 13, 2007 4:14:14 PM
If SAG is so offensive, why is it forever being used in personal ads? Likewise, gay men subject each other to such scrutiny in general that this one area could hardly be more off limits than others: weight, age, hair, beauty, color, money, etc. Yeah, like you've never rejected anyone in your life. Admit it!
Posted by: anon (gmail.com) | Dec 13, 2007 4:16:01 PM
"It’s a touchy community because it’s the last civil rights movement we have left here in America."
Lance, honey, please stop. You sound like that poor beauty queen girl ("I believe most people can't do that because Iraq and...") Hows about you do a little more learnin' and get back to us.
Now about the hateration. It's easier to hate your own than to be pissed off at the world for still being in a marginalized, discriminated-against population.
If gay people were truly accepted, LB wouldn't even be a blip on the radar screen and that's what you hate: the fact that he's the youngest most well-known gay star (do not counter with Rufus because he wasn't hoofin' it in N'Sync for years) and that more people aren't comfortable with being out.
We are never going to get an "out" top-level gay personality (a gay Jake Gyllenhaal if you will) until the gay community supports gay people with gay money. So kill the hate.
Posted by: junior | Dec 13, 2007 4:41:53 PM
Did anyone notice that the title changed? Now it says, "But he loves you anyway."
Posted by: RG | Dec 13, 2007 5:49:49 PM
Can't agree with you more, Junior. Kill the hate, guys. There's none so nasty as we are to each other.
Keep on keepin' on, Lance!
Posted by: Jesse Archer | Dec 13, 2007 5:55:06 PM
I did not say that LB necessarily conforms to male gender steretypes nor did I say that all gay men need to avoid conforming to male gender stereotypes I was saying that because I am such a fat ass and have no life - I have to write a bunch of stupid shit to have my loser ass sound like I have a job,.
For one, my appearance is disgusting and I scare myself in the mirror.
What I am saying is that, in the use of the term "straight acting", LB displays an (unfortunately quite common) lack of comprehension of what queer politics is rooted in, which, as I (and many on the queer left) see it, it to undermine myself - because I am so full of shit. I have not life and no boyfriend, chain-smoke, have bad teeth and cannot keep a job.
This means, the expectation that men have to conform to normative male-gendered stereotypes (or, conversely, that women have to conform to normative female-gendered stereotypes) is wrong - because I am constipated in my ass because I have diarrhea of the mouth.
. T
Posted by: BBOYFATASS | Dec 13, 2007 6:13:18 PM
anyone who is forced out of the closet isn't that much of a hero...book sales i understand..
Posted by: alan brickman | Dec 13, 2007 7:56:34 PM
How appropriate that this increasingly irrelevant magazine has picked an utter non-entity to bespoil its 1000th cover.
Posted by: Miles | Dec 13, 2007 11:20:30 PM
Is it me or does the photo of him look odd? Like the expression in his eyes doesn't match the expression in his mouth... If you look closely, something about his face doesn't look right. How can someone raise just one eyebrow, but not have the any other facial muscles move as well?
Not criticizing Lance's 'real' appearance at all, but wondering how much airbrushing and shadowing the art department at the Advocate felt the need to do to this photo... and why? The top pic was much more real and appealing.
Posted by: k | Dec 14, 2007 12:59:27 AM
Unlike "BBoyFatAss," I would just like to somewhat more constructively say that there's a reason the "queer left" is so marginalized, even though it should be shining now. Getting so self-absorbed in "gender-normative" bullshit is not speaking to anyone other than the small, radical minority who even speaks like that. I share the politics, but we are living in an insane Bush world where the bigotry and ignorance is not going to be screamed away.
People like Lance Bass, for whatever he's worth, do incrementally bring people along to realize "the gays" are not so scary. I don't know that he's doing it intentionally, I would never call him a "leader" -- nor do I think he aspires to such notions. I haven't met him, although I would find it interesting, but guess what, guys? He's a pop star, he made a lot of money, he made a lot of teeny-bopper girls (and boys!) very wild and crazy. Nobody ever held him out as a queer activist or intellectual. His reference to the "last civil rights movement" is almost smart. It is not a complex statement. It is an obvious reality that American society is full of continuing and institutionalized racism, sexism and bigotry, but at least legally, civil rights have been largely established for other groups...all Lance was saying was that gays are, essentially, the last major "minority" that does not have legal rights. To tear him up over that is a little over the top.
Oh whatever, now I've blathered on too much. The Advocate is not a radical queer magazine, Lance Bass is not really very important, and I doubt he has a future as a great intellectual, but he's mildly cute and good for him.
Posted by: So Left I'm Right | Dec 14, 2007 1:01:44 AM
Is it me or does the photo of him look odd? Like the expression in his eyes doesn't match the expression in his mouth... If you look closely, something about his face doesn't look right. How can someone raise just one eyebrow, but not have the any other facial muscles move as well?
Not criticizing Lance's 'real' appearance at all, but wondering how much airbrushing and shadowing the art department at the Advocate felt the need to do to this photo... and why? The top pic was much more real and appealing.
Posted by: k | Dec 14, 2007 1:01:51 AM
Maybe, just maybe, if we stopped dividing our community between the "straight acting" and the "flamers" (a word the use of which by a queer person displays an internalized phobia that is disturbing) and realized that all of us are in this game of tearing up gender roles. If we do not recognize and support those on the front lines of the genderfuck that is our existence, any gains we make are built on the sand of tokenist 'tolerance'. Failure to recognize that critical point by LB and so many others (allowing LB and others to continue to perpetuate the destructive usage of gender normalizing terms like 'straight acting' and 'flamers') will prevent any real progress on the key issues of the queer movement.
Sorry if this sounds too radical, maybe it is. I don't have anything against LB personally. I'm sure he's quite a pleasant person and, from what I've heard, he is pleasant to hang out with. We obviously should support him and I adore that we have so many queers taking up magazine covers. The problem with THIS cover is that we're talking about a queer publication that, one would hope, would take on a more in-depth topic for a 'historic' issue.
Also, if gender norms are 'bullshit', why does our society deem it critical to wear clothes that conform to such norms. Also, for those reading this blog, you should note that it's gender normative to fuck someone of the opposite sex, so all us queers are right in the middle of gender normative 'bullshit'.
Posted by: bboy | Dec 14, 2007 1:48:10 AM
In response to K's question, Lance has a scar on his face under his right eyebrow... that's why it always looks like his right eyebrow is raised while the other is not.
But yes, it is severely airbrushed.
Posted by: Jay | Dec 14, 2007 2:00:33 AM
BBOY,
get a life and a clue. your pontificating is boring, and your outrage on this topic is simply ridiculous. be more discriminating when picking your fights. to correctly state the naacp motto, "it is a terrible thing to waste a mind." it is clear that you have a good one, otherwise.
Posted by: nic | Dec 14, 2007 7:24:44 AM
Having a celeb who is currently on Broadway on the cover, then having him in the pages in costume - how Genre two months ago with the Ritz. Genre at least let us see Terrence McNally and the entire cast.
Does the Advocate have any original idea? With all the incredible influencers they've featured over the years - this is the best they can do? It drives one to not read any magazines - and just pick up their information online. OR, is that what we are doing here? Safe Holiday Travels....
Posted by: inflight | Dec 14, 2007 9:21:59 AM