![vintage gay videos 1960s vintage gay videos 1960s](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2018/02/20/t-magazine/20tmag-bitb-slide-U4NJ/20tmag-bitb-slide-U4NJ-articleLarge.jpg)
Other cultural texts are particularly popular within queer communities because of ambiguous sexuality such as Xena: Warrior Princess, Batman, or High School Musical (particularly the character of Ryan Evans). Some individuals embody a struggle with adversity that strikes a chord with some members of the queer community (such as Courtney Love, or Tammy Faye Messner). Many artists and cultural texts are adopted for their direct championing of queer rights such as Daniel Radcliffe ( Harry Potter), Antonio Banderas ( Shrek), or Kathy Griffin ( Glee, Ugly Betty, Law & Order: SVU). Some very obvious examples of otherwise heterosexual mainstream media that have been embraced by subgroups within the queer community are television programs such as Xena: Warrior Princess or The Golden Girls films such as The Wizard of Oz or The Rocky Horror Picture Show and musical acts such as Hole (and lead singer Courtney Love), Dolly Parton, and more recently Lady Gaga. Queer media doesn’t necessarily rely on queer people being the intended audience, nor does it require that queer people be affiliated with a cultural product in any way other than as consumers. Reception: Has a media product been widely embraced by queer people?
![vintage gay videos 1960s vintage gay videos 1960s](https://i.pinimg.com/474x/fa/40/b2/fa40b262133780f872fc41702535edb4.jpg)
Artists such as Janelle Monáe, Cee-Lo Green, and the Scissor Sisters pull heavily from queer aesthetics, as do television programs such as Ugly Betty, and Glee. The music industry is rife with examples of the use of queer aesthetics. Even without relying on an identification of queer aesthetics, queer media can be recognized by the fact that it engages with and is interested in events and ideas that are of concern to the queer community or a large segment of it. Queer aesthetics typically rely on distinctive visual vocabularies – symbols and images that other queer people will recognize. Camp aesthetics are generally extreme, exaggerated and showy and always involve an element of mockery. Camp can be defined as the purposeful and ironic adoption of stylistic elements that would otherwise be considered bad taste. For instance, “camp” is considered a queer aesthetic because of its traditional use in many queer cultural products.
![vintage gay videos 1960s vintage gay videos 1960s](https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/976/cpsprodpb/1404C/production/_108369918_393c6a43-2a4f-4ef8-b113-983b552b98e2.jpg)
While it is impossible to completely define “queer aesthetics” there are certain styles and modes that are more often employed in queer art. Queer aesthetics typically challenge conventional ideas of what is thought to be universally true. Forms: Does a media product rely on “queer aesthetics”? Is it concerned with queer issues? Although cultural products in this category may not be overtly queer in theme, some auteurs find ways of inserting queer issues into their mainstream productions through more subtle references such as Singer’s use of the coming-out trope in X2 or Ball’s deployment of the contemporary vampire myth in True Blood. The works of television and film creators such as Alan Ball ( Six Feet Under and True Blood), John Waters ( Hairspray), John Cameron Mitchell ( Shortbus, Hedwig and the Angry Inch), Clive Barker ( Hellraiser, Gods and Monsters, Dread) and Bryan Singer ( House, Superman Returns, X-Men and X2) fit into this category. Web sites, films, magazines and other cultural products made by out queer people can usually be defined as being queer media. Auteurs: Has this media product been created by queer people? Benshoff and Sean Griffin, in their book Queer Cinema: the film reader, elaborate three general criteria for identifying cultural products as queer: Auteurs, Forms, and Reception. Because of this shift, seriously engaging with and thinking about the images we consume has become more important than ever. With the exception of the most simplistically supportive or bigoted representations, there is room for much discussion and debate in determining a positive or negative LGBTQ presence. One of the most difficult things about approaching film and television’s use of queerness is that there will rarely be a single verdict on any given cultural product.