The Gay Icons

Tony Guadagnino is a marketing consultant. Located in New Jersey, his clients are based across the country, focusing on social media to build their presence on the internet. He studied creative writing in college and is currently working his first novel on the subject of bullying. He lives with his partner Mark.

- Tony Guadagnino

As I reflect on the previous decades discussing the Gay Icon, I believe it was the 1990s when the gay community saw real change. The level of acceptance began to shift, and the topic of homosexuality became more mainstream. The “confirmed bachelors” and “spinsters” were able to come out of the closet without being labelled as the embarrassment of the family, or being ridiculed by strangers, or being nagged when you would find a relationship.

There are several people who helped this generational transformation, but the person who must be acknowledged as a Gay Icon of the 1990s is Ellen DeGeneres. Having started out as a stand-up comedian in the late 1980s, Ellen starred in her own comedy series in the mid-90s. Originally called These Friends of Mine (later changed to Ellen in Season 2), the show followed Ellen Morgan, a single woman in her 30s. It was during Season 4 when Ellen Morgan officially came out as a lesbian in the infamous “The Puppy Episode.” It was the 1st time a main character of a sitcom was a gay character. An astonishing 42 million people had tuned into the show that Wednesday night on April 30, 1997. (I was at a party in NYC that night.)