10. "Your Disco Needs You" - Kylie Minogue
"Your Disco Needs You" was released in 2001 and has since been hailed as one of the greatest gay anthems of all time. Indeed, its inspiring tone and disco references resonated well with the gay community. Most recently, the song was used in a music video promoting equality in Russia during the Sochi Olympics. I recommend you give it a watch; the caricature of Vladimir Putin is entertaining and the video is quite heart-wrenching.
9. "Vogue" - Madonna
Madonna has been hailed as not only a gay icon, but "the greatest gay icon" according to the magazine The Advocate. So it's only fitting that one of her magnum opuses became well-received among the gay community. Madonna's own experiences with the gay community trace back to her days as a teenager, and has stated that she "wouldn't have a career if it weren't for the gay community". In celebration of this positive influence,
8. "Same Love" - Macklemore & Ryan Lewis ft. Mary Lambert
I put "Same Love" pretty low on this list, because I know a lot of people have problems with it. But I feel like the fact that the dialogue was introduced at all in the notoriously homophobic genre of hip hop earns it a spot on this list. I honestly don't really see what problems people have with this song. It's not completely from a straight guy's perspective. It has a gay singer on the chorus! Yes, gay rappers deserve more recognition. But it's a process, and the fact that Macklemore got the wheel rolling deserves recognition in itself.
7. "I Will Survive" - Gloria Gaynor
Honestly, this song could be used as an anthem for just about anybody. It's that powerful. The original meaning of the song is recovering after a bad breakup, and doing so with style. "I will survive" is just such a great mantra for the gay community, and like I said, anybody really, to use.
6. "I'm Coming Out" - Diana Ross
Both the lyrics and the fabulous beat really sell this one as a gay anthem. I mean, "I'm coming out" is kind of an easy comparison to make, but all the lyrics relate well. It's also a very positive-sounding song, which is good for a revolution.
5. "I Want to Break Free" - Queen
If there's anything to cement this as a gay anthem in people's eyes, it's the music video, which shows all four members of Queen gender-bending. Combine that with the iconic words of Freddie Mercury, "I want to break free", and you have yourself a statement. Maybe a silly statement, as the video was meant to be a parody of Coronation Street, but it still works. Actually, the song has been regarded worldwide as an anthem for fighting against oppression. The video has not been as widely regarded, but such a powerful song statement can be appropriated for the use of other fights against injustice.
4. "True Colors" - Cyndi Lauper
Throughout Cyndi Lauper's career, she has been a strong supporter of LGBT rights. So it might be surprising to know that her song that has been widely accepted as a gay anthem was never really intended that way, or at least not explicitly so. However, Cyndi has always loved the fact that her song was adopted by the gay community, and has since co-founded the True Colors Fund, an organization dedicated to eradicating LGBT youth homelessness.
3. "I Am What I Am" - Gloria Gaynor
The second of two Gloria Gaynor songs to make the list, this one was composed for the musical La Cage aux Folles. The musical focuses on the prejudice a gay couple faces, and the song illustrates one character's pride in being a drag queen, and how he refuses to change for anyone. Once Gloria Gaynor had covered it, it had shown itself as a rallying cry for the gay pride movement.
2. "Born This Way" - Lady Gaga
The only hit song I've ever heard to include the word "transgender", Lady Gaga's gay anthem is all-inclusive. It was one of the few gay anthems on here actually meant to be written as a gay anthem, which prompts some to call it one of the best. In 2012, Lady Gaga launched the Born This Way Foundation, an organization dedicated to the empowerment of youth. Both the foundation and the song help to empower LGBT youth.
1. "Beautiful" - Christina Aguilera
No song has empowered the gay community more than "Beautiful" during the 21st century. Its message of self-empowerment and feeling beautiful has definitely resonated with the LGBT community. It has been covered as part of the It Gets Better Project, and Stonewall, an LGBT rights organization in the United Kingdom, named it the most empowering song of the decade for lesbian, gay, and bisexual people. "Beautiful"'s simple yet powerful message and its effect on the gay community earns it the Number 1 spot.
5. "I Want to Break Free" - Queen
If there's anything to cement this as a gay anthem in people's eyes, it's the music video, which shows all four members of Queen gender-bending. Combine that with the iconic words of Freddie Mercury, "I want to break free", and you have yourself a statement. Maybe a silly statement, as the video was meant to be a parody of Coronation Street, but it still works. Actually, the song has been regarded worldwide as an anthem for fighting against oppression. The video has not been as widely regarded, but such a powerful song statement can be appropriated for the use of other fights against injustice.
4. "True Colors" - Cyndi Lauper
Throughout Cyndi Lauper's career, she has been a strong supporter of LGBT rights. So it might be surprising to know that her song that has been widely accepted as a gay anthem was never really intended that way, or at least not explicitly so. However, Cyndi has always loved the fact that her song was adopted by the gay community, and has since co-founded the True Colors Fund, an organization dedicated to eradicating LGBT youth homelessness.
3. "I Am What I Am" - Gloria Gaynor
The second of two Gloria Gaynor songs to make the list, this one was composed for the musical La Cage aux Folles. The musical focuses on the prejudice a gay couple faces, and the song illustrates one character's pride in being a drag queen, and how he refuses to change for anyone. Once Gloria Gaynor had covered it, it had shown itself as a rallying cry for the gay pride movement.
2. "Born This Way" - Lady Gaga
The only hit song I've ever heard to include the word "transgender", Lady Gaga's gay anthem is all-inclusive. It was one of the few gay anthems on here actually meant to be written as a gay anthem, which prompts some to call it one of the best. In 2012, Lady Gaga launched the Born This Way Foundation, an organization dedicated to the empowerment of youth. Both the foundation and the song help to empower LGBT youth.
1. "Beautiful" - Christina Aguilera
No song has empowered the gay community more than "Beautiful" during the 21st century. Its message of self-empowerment and feeling beautiful has definitely resonated with the LGBT community. It has been covered as part of the It Gets Better Project, and Stonewall, an LGBT rights organization in the United Kingdom, named it the most empowering song of the decade for lesbian, gay, and bisexual people. "Beautiful"'s simple yet powerful message and its effect on the gay community earns it the Number 1 spot.
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