The great Italian fashion designer whose name is all but synonymous with men’s suits.
Alexander the Great
The Macedonian king and warrior who rose to power while a young man and whose conquests are still considered among the most searingly brilliant in classical history.
Dag Hammarskjöld
Posthumous Nobel Peace Prize winner and former Secretary General of the United Nations, Hammarskjöld was one of the most revered and preeminent diplomats of our times. His legacy on the world stage of diplomacy and politics is incalculable.
Martina Navratilova
The great Czech athlete who at 48 is still at the top of her game. With nine Wimbeldon singles championships, six of them in a row (for a total of 20 Wimbledon wins) and 58 Grand Slam titles, she’s the second most winning woman in the history of tennis.
Freddy Mercury
The British powerhouse whose “We Will Rock You” will no doubt be heard in football stadiums forever. His haunting voice and no-holds-barred performances are the stuff that rock and roll legends are made of.
Ellen Degeneres
As the daffy and loveable Dory in "Finding Nemo," Degeneres has won over a whole new generation of fans, while her edgy and self-deprecating humor continues to draw sell-out crowds and lift her to the top of the heap of talk show hosts.
Greg Louganis
The greatest diver who’s ever lived, Louganis’ five world championships and gold-studded, perfect 10 performances at the ’84 and ‘88 Olympics wowed several generations of sports enthusiasts.
Elton John
The outrageous and wildly popular British singer/songwriter whose music helped shape and define rock & roll.
Michelangelo Buonarotti
Five hundred years later he is still regarded as the greatest artist who’s ever lived. His Sistine Chapel Frescoes, his David and his Pieta` are timeless testaments to his far-ranging genius. Painter, sculptor, colorist and writer, Michelangelo is virtually without peers in the recorded history of humankind.
Leonardo DaVinci
A contemporary of Michelangelo’s whose designs for flying machines and submarines were centuries ahead of their time. His Mona Lisa that hangs in the Louvre is quite possibly the most famous and easily recognized painting in the world, with his interpretation of The Last Supper not far behind it.
Melissa Etheridge
When it comes to girls with guitars, Melissa stands toe-to-toe with the guys and lets it rip with the best of ‘em. “Come To My Window” is one of the most popular rock & roll ballads of the past twenty years.
Peter Ilyic Tchaikovsky
Imagine a world without the Nutcracker Suite or Swan Lake.
Cole Porter
A gifted and prolific American songwriter, Porter penned such classics as Beguine The Beguine, I Get A Kick Out Of You, In The Still Of The Night and Do I Love You Because You’re Beautiful.
Hans Christian Andersen
The prolific Danish storyteller whose legacy includes some of the world’s most beloved and popular fairy tales. Among them; The Little Mermaid, The Princess and the Pea, The Ugly Duckling, Thumbelina and of course The Emperor’s New Clothes.
Walt Whitman
Long heralded as America’s national poet, Whitman’s "Leaves of Grass" is considered one of the great masterpieces of world literature.
Sir Francis Bacon
Originator of the expression, "Knowledge is Power," Bacon was one of the eminent philosophers and scientific innovators of his day. Along with Galileo he is known as one of the "great anti-Aristotelians’ who created the modern scientific view of nature.
Emperor Hadrian
The beloved Roman Emperor whose camaraderie with his soldiers inspired a loyalty unlike any ever known in the empire. His unapologetic relationship with a young Greek named Antinous has intrigued and polarized historians for centuries.
Tennessee Williams
The southern playwright who gave us A Streetcar Named Desire, The Glass Menagerie and Cat On A Hot Tin Roof and who helped craft the unique voice of the American theatre.
Gore Vidal
The curmudgeonly and controversial expatriate American novelist whose portrait of Abraham Lincoln is considered one of the definitive works on the subject.
Oscar Wilde
The witty Irish writer and playwright whose productions like “The Importance of Being Earnest, still bring down the house whenever they’re performed.
Lily Tomlin
The comedian and actress with a thousand faces whose appearances on Laugh-In gave birth to characters like Edith Ann and the snorting switchboard operator Ernestine. Her one-woman show, "The Search For Signs Of Intelligent Life In The Universe" sealed her reputation as a comedic and visionary force of nature.
Rosie O'Donnell
Rising to fame as a ballsy comedian and popular talk show host, Rosie is an outspoken and hard-working children’s advocate in addition to being a mother, producer, actor and writer.
Written & Compiled by Tom Clark
The world listens to our music, laughs at our jokes, wears our suits, watches our movies, thrills at our athletic performances, reads our books, attends our plays, utilizes our scientific and political thoughts and stands in awe in front of our works of art; while at the same time saying that who we love is reason enough to deny us full and equal participation in the culture that we've contributed so generously to.
What becomes apparent then, in sifting through the legions of people who've made a difference in our cultures, is that those who love outside of the realm of heterosexuality have the same capacity as anyone else for leaving legacies that enrichen our lives and forever change the way we experience the world around us.
Most religious thought holds tightly to the notion that there is something inherently wrong with homosexuality. Pope John Paul II has himself declared that homosexuals are "objectively disordered" - a thought that is echoed throughout most of Christianity and other major world religions. I think our history proves them wrong though, as does our contemporary community of gay women and men who bring so much richness, texture, color and enjoyment to our lives.
Having contributed so much to the essence of our cultures both past and present then, it seems like it's time to rethink the limitations we've placed on gay men and women who wish to participate fully at the table of privelage.
