Does American Idol matter?
There are wars, an economic depression, disease, global warming and much more ailing our country and the planet.
But when it comes down to it, quality of life day-to-day for people also involves having dreams and hopes, and being allowed life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
Whole groups of people have been denied those rights. Anti-LGBT behavior takes many forms, and sometimes that behavior is actually from within: internalized homophobia. This manifests in substance abuse and other self-destructive behaviors, but also in trying to drag others down with a group. Attacking drag queens as bad images for our movement, saying lesbians should not be too butch, or attacking leaders for not following an exact party line. Or even using loaded words against an American Idol contestant like Adam Lambert.
But most anti-LGBT actions come from outside the movement. It can be institutionalized homophobia, as evidenced by marriage laws or the military's government-sanctioned bias against LGBTs. Like racism and sexism, it can also be behavior that is so subtle as to be questionable. Some people don't even recognize it in themselves. There are code words for "gay," such as flamboyant, theatrical, etc. And gays and non-gays often value "straight-acting" LGBTs over those who more easily cross gender boundaries.
All this leads us to American Idol. The media, blogs, Facebook and Twitter were blazing for weeks about Adam Lambert's sexuality, with Entertainment Weekly even devoting a cover story to the Idol favorite. Bill O'Reilly questioned whether America was ready for such an Idol. We all know what he meant, because O'Reilly is far from subtle. Last week, when Lambert lost to kris Allen, there were online battles about whether Adam's losing was homophobia or not.
But if you look at the raw numbers, allegedly less than one million votes separated Lambert from winner Allen. There were 100 million votes cast. That means Lambert maybe received more than 49 million votes. [ To give perspective: John McCain got 59 million in the presidential election, while Barack Obama received 69 million. ] The difference for Allen? Reportedly there were 38 million votes for Allen from his home state of Arkansas—far more than the number of people who live there. If you take out those 38 million votes, that leaves 62 million votes, and Lambert would easily have won; he was the American Idol for the rest of the states.
What does this mean? That Idol continues to be a popularity contest, and the best singer does not always win. We know this from past Idol winners: Ask Jennifer Hudson. Stacking the votes clearly happens—some people may have voted dozens or even hundreds of times. While Chicago is known for its cemetery-based votes, American Idol takes that to a way higher level.
Allen himself was very gracious, even saying he thought Lambert had just as much right to win as he did. He probably didn't even OK the massive Christian vote that was launched in his favor. He just benefited from it. Lambert, too, was a pro, congratulating Allen.
Lambert said "you know, probably,' and laughed when asked if the talk about his sexual orientation had any impact on the voting. But he said not to dwell on the negative, "we should look forward." During the competition he never denied or confirmed being gay, preferring to focus on his music.
Ultimately, it does not matter if Adam won or lost, his career will be fine. Hopefully, LGBT youth will not view this as a setback, but as a success, to have someone get 49 million votes despite the sometimes-subtle homophobia of the judges and the media, and despite a Christian push for votes to Kris.
The bigger picture for the LGBT movement is the mainstreaming of our debates and dialogue. Years ago, when it came to discussions of celebrity sexuality, it was don't ask, don't tell, except in the LGBT media. Now, it's OK for major newspapers and magazines to run articles on someone like Adam, just assuming he is gay. Treating it as just another facet of this talented young man. And Adam has the courage to stay above the attacks, and be comfortable in his own skin ( and skin-tight outfits ) .
So symbols do mean something. Millions of straight people voting for a ( probably ) gay man means something. Ellen DeGeneres coming out on the cover of Time magazine did mean something. It all helps add up to a more progressive country, one person at a time. Just as marriage laws are important to change, it is also very important to win the hearts and minds of people across America. That means even American Idol does matter.
Tracy Baim is publisher and executive editor of Windy City Times.
