Billy Porter in Christian Siriano 80th Annual Golden Globe Awards

This still from the THATS WHAT I WANT music video makes me realize just how happy I am that people like Lil Nas X are around for queer kids to look up to (especially Black queer kids). I know for a fact I would have benefitted from having people like him in my childhood and I'm just not over the fact that it's a reality now???

If i speak

Last night the Pittsburgh Film Office (PFO) celebrated 32 years of accomplishments in attracting major film and TV series projects to film in Pittsburgh. Pictured at the event is Dr. Harry Clark (PFO board member), actor/director Billy Porter and Russ Streiner, PFO board chair. Mr. Streiner is better known as Johnny in the original Night of the Living Dead, filmed in Pittsburgh.

Billy Porter absolutely serving at the VMAs. If you haven't, read or listen to his memoir! If you listen to the audiobook, he's the one who narrates it

Photos: Inside Carol Burnett's NBC Special With Julie Andrews, Bernadette Peters & More

Paying tribute to a beloved national icon for her birthday, NBC will celebrate Carol Burnett's illustrious career with "Carol Burnett: 90 Years of Laughter + Love." The two-hour special will air Wednesday, April 26 at 8 p.m. ET/PT and will also stream next day on Peacock. The star-studded event will feature an A-list lineup of musical performances and special guests who will come together to share their love for one of the most cherished comediennes in television history. New photos from inside the event taping in Los Angeles feature Bernadette Peters, Billy Porter, Jane Lynch, Katy Perry, Kristin Chenoweth, Sutton Foster and Darren Criss filming musical numbers that pay homage to Carol's renowned career performances, including: "Old Friends," dedicated to Carol's 60-year friendship with Julie Andrews; "Only an Octave Apart," which Carol sang alongside Beverly Sills in the 1976 television special "Sills and Burnett at the Met"; Carol's memorable songs from the hit film "Annie"; and a tribute to her classic theme song, "I'm So Glad We Had This Time Together" from "The Carol Burnett Show."

[HQ] CAROL BURNETT: 90 YEARS OF LAUGHTER + LOVE -- Pictured: Darren Criss, Sutton Foster -- (Photo by: Casey Durkin/NBC)

80 FOR BRADY (2023, USA)

A film starring iconic legends Sally Field, Jane Fonda, Rita Moreno and Lilly Tomlin.

And with a cameo as GuGu a choreographer....a person I respect and adore. The wonderful Billy Porter. Anyone who knows me knows I love me some Billy Porter. He is amazing and so talented.

Gotta Love Billy Porter and these beautiful iconic actresses.

In this scene 4 ladies over 80 (except Sally Field) go to see the Super Bowl and Tom Brady but their tickets are fake and they can't get in. BILLY PORTER helps them claiming they are his dancers. So they cook up this number to get pass security.

If you look up Clown and the word cult, quite a few articles pop up. There is a small group of media recognizing the toxicity of his cult hood.

Vinay Khosla | The cult of Harry Styles

Iskra (The Spark) | Parasocial relationships damage our ability to hold public figures accountable

By Vinay Khosla 10/19/22 11:29pmCredit: Becky Lee

The meteoric rise of Harry Styles has been undeniable in the past few years, recently culminating in his record-setting fifteen-day residency at Madison Square Garden and release of the star-studded film Don’t Worry Darling. However, while his following has grown into the tens of millions and provided a community for many, there have been arguably complex and damaging manifestations of this fandom.

The obsession with the singer is a clear example of a mass parasocial relationship, a situation in which people exert a disproportionate amount of energy and interest in a relationship in which the other party is largely unaware of their existence. Often mediated through social media, this fosters highly idealized, virtually infallible, versions of public figures.

While there is absolutely nothing wrong with enjoying Styles’ music or other work, the dynamic created can result in a critical lack of public accountability while facilitating Styles’ ability to take advantage of his fan base, through manipulating his image to garner ever-increasing profits and stardom.

Whether intentionally or not, there has been very little discourse on what I consider remains a harmful and intentional aspect of Styles’ messaging and brand: his co-opting of queer identity. Behind his apparent earned success is a calculated image which is arguably the reason he has skyrocketed to fame. This very image, finding an obsessive audience after his 2020 Vogue cover in which he was clothed in a dress (heaven forbid!), is one which associates him with the queer community while maintaining just enough distance for a necessary ambiguity. 

Styles’ choice to appear on the cover of the famed fashion magazine in a dress was merely a prelude to what would become a trend for the artist who is now widely known for his bending of gender norms in his confident wearing of dresses, stockings, makeup, and other typically (what are considered) feminine items. While gender is certainly a social construct that is maintained by the invented division in items of expression — like clothing — it cannot be ignored that queer communities have been engaging in these distortions of norms for decades. So much so that it has become part and parcel of queer expression. 

Here we get into the tricky question of whether Styles’ continued fashion choices — that could be said to appropriate those of the queer community — constitutes queerbaiting and, more importantly, whether identifying them as such is a slippery slope. Either way, because of the brand he has curated, Styles has become somewhat of a queer icon — without being queer himself. And therein lies the issue. 

While profiting off his gender-bending image, and by extension the queer community, he has insistently denied being queer (or straight), opting to remain unlabeled. After all, wouldn’t it destroy his brand if millions of teenage girls couldn’t realistically fawn over him? Equally problematic, he has never given credit to the trailblazers of this identity in the entertainment industry including Elton John, David Bowie, Billy Porter, and countless others. 

Of course, it is Harry’s prerogative to keep his sexuality private; fame should not require him to bare his identity for public consumption. But Harry has seemingly taken it upon himself to speak to the queer experience, pontificating in an interview leading up to the release of "My Policeman," “So much of gay sex in film is two guys going at it, and it kind of removes the tenderness from it.” But what does Harry Styles know about gay sex? And more importantly, as someone who’s consistently profited off of queer aesthetics and identity while refusing to explicitly align himself with the community, what ethos does he have to speak on the subject? 

All of this taken together, Styles has understandably become a problematic figure for many queer people, and yet all of this has been eclipsed by a perpetual mass obsession with him. 

This parasocial relationship also shields Styles, and his fans, from interrogating the effect his comments or image have on various communities. The phenomenon, however, does not start and end with Styles. Increasingly, exacerbated by mediation through social media, mass obsession has shielded celebrities like Taylor Swift or the Kardashians from being held meaningfully accountable for their environmentally damaging behavior, for example. 

Additionally, one could see how this becomes crucially more dangerous when applied to politicians who have amassed cult-like followings including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Donald Trump. To empower individuals with representing, and legislating for, our country on the basis of their personas as opposed to their policies or body of work poses a grave threat to the very purpose of elections. This mechanism of accountability cannot be tainted by blinding biases. Our politicians and representatives must work for us, not in the interest of creating a cult of personality to sidestep accountability. 

Parasocial relationships can quickly find their way out of Twitter or Reddit and into the real world, where they insulate public figures from necessary criticism — but as digital citizens we must be vigilant of this fact and work to extract ourselves from the cults of Harry Styles and others. 

Well written!

One Dress a Day - bonus challenges

Anything Goes December Billy Porter

Billy Porter’s tuxedo dress is iconic at this point! I love the sheer volume of the skirt. I can’t imagine how heavy that much velvet must have been, but it’s so striking to look at.

man like. ok. I'm really really frustrated at the ongoing fallout about the gaylor stuff (because i hate hearing about it, i was fed up with this years ago) but the last few days has also shifted things into perspective for me about representation and why it matters. More and more lately I've been trying to get a read on what I find offputting or unsettling about summaries or explanations of media that get boiled down to what representation they have, right? Because that still doesn't tell me anything about the actual media. And that has been met with varying levels of emotion when I talk about it, but mostly ranging from apathy to frustration.

Celebrities are fandom and that's been the case for decades. The public eye and coverage of events or interviews generates material for fandom to feed off of. Fanart, fic, and other media follows, because it is media-space to play in. I chalk it up to kayfabe and move on. Right now these particular fan bases are falling apart because of this built up over arching rampant speculation about her personal life had turned into personal stakes for those fans, who needed her to be gay and queer and closeted and struggling, basically. They needed it to be a reality. But why did it need to be a reality to the point it had personal stakes?

Taylor's one of the wealthiest pop stars in history, has been active for over 15 years making commercial music, and consistently been successful in the mainstream. She's not an underdog. She's put in work, sure. She's still not an underdog, is not queer, is not secretly crying out to her fans for help, does not need saving from a cruel uncaring world.

Now combine all that with the need to have representation, the conflation of an identity being a hallmark of quality. All I can think right now is that quite a few people needed their pop superhero to be gay because that's what representation is, right? Because someone that they find so wonderful and relatable and charming or whatever, needs to be like them, and needs to have the hallmark stamp of Representation. Because something that seems so perfectly crafted about you the listener's life, clearly needs to be also directly, in real life, not a production not a crafted storyline way, Actually Gay.

I think her music's fine. It's inoffensive at best. I know very little about her except for her record of commercial success and various publicity stunts she maintains for her kayfabe and image. I do know she's been frustrated at the blurring of reality and public storyline, and addressed how not every song has to be rooted in reality and sometimes she can just be a storyteller writing fiction. She's also been very public throughout her career about publicity stunts sparking this or that song/fashion choice/era/album, so hey, it's not entirely on the fans here, aside from the fact that in this case there's basically nothing to it except projection.

Representation matters for the sake of understanding different points of view to get nuanced stories and experiences told. The lion's share of my frustration comes from the idea that:

1) a checkbox being hit automatically means a media is good

2) it's led more than a few times to someone telling me to check out media and giving me literally no information about it

3) people are really out here inventing oppression conspiracy theories for literal billionaires so they can do mental gymnastics to explain liking the work produced instead of just liking it

4) All this is used to prop up white straight artists to make them out to be intrepid underdogs bravely pretending to be straight so they can have careers

like holy shit! what the fuck!

Billy Porter has called out the racism and privilege of Harry Styles being given opportunities long denied to GNC men, especially men of color. Meanwhile a lot of Harry's outfits pull from different queer non white communities and he's hailed as an icon the likes which has never been seen before. Katy Perry's been routinely awarded for lgbt activism over literal out queer artists.

Taylor herself been noted as an icon of feminism and a queer ally, and it comes across as the same level of shallow - carefully crafted kayfabe to push a business narrative. Nothing especially noteworthy to indicate that previous gaffes were one-offs. It comes off as incredibly callous to me as a whole, but hey, I don't have to steer the ship of a literal billion dollar brand that revolves around my likeness.

Representation matters because it gives opportunity, voice, and paying work to those with less privilege than straight white cis artists. It's not that you as the consumer have a moral imperative to only consume media by underprivileged artists or else It Sucks And Is Bad, and you consumed the media wrong. Enjoy Taylor's stuff if you want but if it is this mentally distressing to come to terms with your commercially successfully pop star fave not being gay, I really recommend using this as a chance to look up other artists - queer artists, artists of color. It very clearly matters to you on a personal level, and you can find fulfillment elsewhere while still listening to and enjoying your favorite white blonde cis straight billionaire popstar.

my hot take on the golden globes pt 2 👍

next up: the outfits

seriously i have not been this in awe of the fits at an award show in a LONG time. Every dress was stunning. The makeup - glowy and perfect. the suits were handsome!

I could not stop staring at Margot Robbie in the front! Her and Brad were severe eye candy. And lemme just show a FEW of the icons that I gasped at seeing tonight:

Jenna Ortega in Gucci!

Letitia Wright in Prada dress! With matching glowy blush!

This isn't capturing the full beauty but Margot Robbie! And she's in *gasp* Chanel! And it actually looks good for once!

Michelle Yeoh in this glittery dress ahh!

Jeremy Pope serving a LOOK!

The iconic Billy Porter in his ballgown-tux!

And Austin Butler looking classy and just so handsome dammit.

I keep flitting between fully painted and just straight up flat colours for these for some reason :' ) Anyway! Here's day 5 of Pinktober - Billy Porter's iconic golden globe look <3

@tashabilities @meanmisscharles @russianspacegeckosexparty

heres my thing i wrote specifically because my teacher wrote a huge paragraph about this exhibition on historical mens fashion (sorry to link a vogue article, i do so only for the photo i need) specifically the following photo;

in which she discussed the dress on the left at LENGTH, around 200 or so words at least, talking about how revolutionary it was for harry styles to wear this dress on vogue. not mentioning ONCE even in passing the dress on the right worn by billie porter a full year prior that kicked up its own media frenzy a year prior.

this pissed me off to no end so i submitted the following for one of my module essays, sorry some of the citations are so lame and there are so few they had to be from coursework. and sorry i couldnt discuss more i only had 500 words give or take

skip the first two paragraphs if you only want to see the rant.

Module 2

2.2 How has masculine dress changed throughout history?

A great quote to describe the history of western masculine fashion ideals comes from a symposium by Dr. Valerie Steele on the colour pink and its history, when she discussed how the colour officially became feminine in the west she said; “The reason pink became feminised, that colour became feminized, was that it left the masculine wardrobe.” (1:23- 1:30). This quote quickly encapsules a reoccurring trend in attitude toward fashion trends that is repeated throughout history in regard to what clothing is considered to be ‘masculine’. The item is masculine until it is considered feminine. 

Another example of this rule of this given in the High Heels, Wigs, and Beauty lecture is the feminine appearance of a heel or a high boot. Both of these attributes originally were associated with masculinity because they were practical (as most modern masculine fashion is, anything impractical is feminine), their length protected the leg and the heel could be used to anchor a horse rider’s foot to the stirrup, giving them better control. As well as aesthetic achievements of the heel increasing the wearers height, a masculine ideal.

Women originally adopted heels into their wardrobe to add masculinity to their style, and once they started to do so it was observed that the heel could serve to enhance the appearance of the wearer’s legs and rear end the style was quickly sexualised and lost all staying power in the masculine wardrobe. While there are ways for men to dress in an erotically evocative style the heel became synonymous with a sensual sexuality, that is not compatible with a strong masculine sexual energy. And as a result, heels left the masculine wardrobe in the west. 

The fashion cycle has been trending more androgynous for quite some time now, and with the revitalised memory of historical queer, androgynous male icons such as Prince and David Bowie coming back into the public conscious with their deaths, as a contrast to the heavy heterosexual masculinity of the early 2000’s, androgynous male fashion is coming back into style. Coming off of the backs of black, queer American men such as the dress displayed at the end of the LACMA’s collection Reigning men, worn by black, gay, androgynous champion and icon Billy Porter to a 2019 red carpet event, who has worn many dresses to events before and since. That same exhibition also highlights how feminine fashions have even been adopted by white cishet men such as Harry Styles on the cover of Vouge, which at the time kicked up a huge media frenzy. Him being an excellent contrast to Billy Porter, who dresses the way he does as a product of his pride in his identity, as Harry Styles, as an ex-boyband member, is someone happy to mold himself to fit whatever aesthetic is most marketable, even if to outsiders his choice is a perceived risk the amount of backing he received from his core audience is undeniable evidence in the shift on public opinions of masculinity that have been built by queer people for the past few decades. 

But ultimately, as is often the case, he reaped all the benefits and cultural relevance from left leaning media built off of a history of androgyny built and fought for by queer black people while their efforts are quietly forgotten. While his iconic cover is an example of a shift in public opinion, attaching him to the head of the movement is wholly attributed to the wrong source.

Steele, Valerie (19 Oct, 2018) “Pink: The history of a Color” The museum at FIT www.YouTube.com. Last Accessed 24/10/2022

King, Emerald (2022) “High Heels, Wigs and Beauty” HAF234, Masculinities, University of Tasmania, Tasmania

https://www.lacma.org/art/exhibition/reigning-men-fashion-menswear-1715-2015 2016, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 5905 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90036

i recommend the pink: history of color video, its very fun and interesting.

given more time and space i wouldve explored the neutralisation of mens bodies and fashion and the power this holds, the relationships race and sexuality play and butchness in non-men i think. my other 3 essays all included butch and stud women though so dont be sad. the rant also left no room for a conclusion but this was not an essay it was a short response, feel free to look up my lecturer whos name is included in my citations to see her cosplay which she advertised in every class she taught. also feel free to notice that she only cosplays japanese characters in traditional edo or earlier clothing. i think thats weird for no reason other than i do not like her

Queer are being stabbed, berated, and killed on a daily basis, and he uses this community for his profit, because he knows it gets him attention and money. He’s greedy. He’s not a part of the community at all. He just uses it for his advantage, and he has a horrible fan base that backs him up, and somehow in their heads have convinced themselves, that he is a queer icon and he’s helping with community by doing absolutely nothing. He’s a coward, point-blank, if he was about what he says he’s about he would’ve spoke up years ago but he’s profited so he’s never going to. He’s just gonna keep this going. His world, would not crumble or drastically change if he came out as gay at this very moment it wouldn’t and that’s a cop out if you say that. He speaks up about absolutely nothing, but gets awarded, and praised while he’s taking a place for openly queer people that are about their truth and honest, that’s the sickening part about all of this he’s a nasty person.

their justifications are just always disgusting.

it's like oh these other celebrity men will be put in internment camps for gay men but NOT harry, isn't harry a genius? aren't you grateful he's decided to not get himself caught like all the other dumb queer celebrities?

and then on the other hand they insist harry is so loud and gay and out that everyone on the planet should know it and award harry for his bravery for it.

if he's so closeted he's looking to avoid getting put on fantasy lists, shouldn't they be happy when billy porter calls him straight? maybe billy is just looking to protect the one true gay superstar from being put in prison!