LGBTQ+ ICONS

As this year marks Respect’s 15th Birthday, we wanted to celebrate it by recognising 15 prolific icons who’ve really made an impact in the LGBTQ+ community. Covering a wide cross-section of industries like acting, singing or activism to name a few, these individuals have really been trailblazers in championing our rights and leaving a lasting legacy in the LGBTQ+ history books...

PLEASE BE AWARE THAT THESE ARTICLES ARE ABOUT REAL PEOPLE AND REAL LIFE EVENTS THAT WE HAVE ATTEMPTED TO REPRESENT FAIRLY. SOME CONTENT CONTAINS REFERENCE TO DEATH/ SUICIDE, VIOLENCE, OR QUOTED LANGUAGE THAT SOME MAY FIND TRIGGERING OR OFFENSIVE

Madonna, though she introduction, is an American songwriter. Referred to as Pop’, she is known reinventing herself and her the boundaries of artistic has seen her sell over 300 worldwide and has the Number 1 singles by a woman Not only is she an icon in her she is an iconic ally for community.

On the 21st of March released her album ‘Like stirred up controversy as contained an information ‘The Facts About AIDS’ pamphlet safe sex guidelines and AIDS. This was at a time epidemic, when the disease ‘gay disease’ and the LGBTQ+ particularly gay men, were pamphlet stated facts about to the disease as ‘an equal

Lily Savage (AKA Paul O’Grady MBE) first rose to fame in the 1980s as his drag queen persona, touring England as part of drag duo “The Playgirls” with Sandra Hush. Wanting to keep the act diversified, Lily even learned fire-eating and developed a strip-tease act wearing a fat suit. Lily was the entertainer with a wardrobe full of leopard print and blonde wigs.

Known for using his entertainment platform as Lily to speak out on issues affecting the gay community and gay rights, particularly during the HIV/AIDS crisis. He marched against Section 28, a policy that many denounced as homophobic, and raised funds for HIV/AIDS research.

For eight years, Lily could be seen regularly performing at a South London gay bar, The Royal Tavern, before presenting his own shows up until 2001. Lily was seen as ahead of the times and credited for transforming the country’s attitude towards drag, speaking out publicly and even fronting the campaign for “Pretty Polly” tights. A stark comparison to today’s attitude towards TikTok star Dylan Mulvaney and recent drag bans occurring in the US.

In the mid-2000s, Lily decided to hang up the dresses and began to work solely as Paul, continuing his charity work and becoming known as an ambassador for Battersea Dogs & Cats home. Sadly, we saw the passing of Paul in March 2023, aged just 67, leaving behind his husband, Andre Portasio, five beloved dogs, and a large community of friends and fans.

By Kerry Jary

needs no real American singer and as the ‘Queen of for continually her music, pushing expression. This 300 million records record for most woman in the UK. her own right, but for the LGBTQ+ 1989, Madonna

A Prayer’, which as each CD case card about AIDS. pamphlet featured warnings about time of the AIDS disease was seen as a LGBTQ+ community, were demonised. The about AIDS, referring equal opportunity disease’ and advocated for safe sex, no matter your gender.

Another notable moment in her allyship was in June 2011. Madonna urged her fans to support same-sex marriage in New York, posting on her website ‘New Yorkers your voices must be heard. Tell your state Congressmen to support same sex marriage bill. All you need is love.’ The Marriage Equality Act passed one week later, legalising same-sex marriage in New York.

In March 2019, Madonna attended the 24th GLAAD Media Awards dressed as a Boy Scout. This was in protest to of the ‘Boy Scouts of America’ ban on homosexual Scouts and Scout Leaders. While presenting an award, she made a speech in which she said, ‘things like bigotry, homophobia, hate crimes, bullying and any form of discrimination always seem to be a manifestation of fear of the unknown" and ‘if we just took the time to get to know one another that we would find that we are not so different afterall.’

By Haydn Rothwell

The word legend gets thrown about a lot these days, but no one deserves this honour like Madonna, not only for her contribution to music, but for her continuous fight for the LGBTQ+ community and human equality as a whole. Madonna truly is an iconic LGBTQ+ ally.

By Lindsay Robinson

Dame Kelly Holmes DBE OLY is a retired British middle-distance athlete. Her events were the 800 and 1500 metres and won gold medals for both distances in her final Olympics in 2004.

She originally joined the British Army but turned professional athlete in 1993 going on to win many medals of all varieties including the Commonwealth Games, World and European Championships - taking silver at the European Championships in 2003. She retired from athletics in 2005 and has since been made an honorary colonel with the Royal Armoured Corps Training Regiment as well as a Dame Commander.

In June 2022 while doing an interview with the Sunday Mirror, Kelly spoke about being gay, saying she had known since 1988 but couldn’t come out because it was still illegal in the military. Kelly waited until this time to come out because she feared there still would be consequences from the army, and even though she was a huge public figure after her Olympic performance, she was afraid of being shunned by other athletes as she did not know of any other openly gay athletes at the time.

Kelly founded her own charity, ‘The Dame Kelly Holmes Legacy Trust’, in 2008 of which she is the chair. She now works as a motivational speaker and openly talks about her struggles with mental health. The documentary ‘Being Me’ describes her fears of her sexuality being exposed. On the documentary, she said “The documentary taught me so much about generational and social advancements when it comes to the LGBQT+ world”.

Born Marie Magdalene Dietrich on 27 December 1901, Marlene Dietrich became synonymous with the Golden Age of Hollywood. She got her first big break in 'The Blue Angel' – a German film that was filmed in both English and German at the same time – and was soon on her way to the USA with a contract at Paramount Pictures.

Both a singer and an actress, Marlene was known for her distinctive deep voice, glamorous looks, and manner. She starred in several big films such as 'Shanghai Express', 'A Foreign Affair', 'Stage Fright', 'Witness for the Prosecution', 'Destry Rides Again', and 'Judgment at Nuremberg'. Her most famous song is 'Lili Marlene'. This song was so popular that it was sung by soldiers on both sides of the Second World War!

She was an incredibly popular entertainer during the war, performing for the Allied troops all over the world and helping German and French exiles after the war in their journey for US citizenship. Unfortunately, not all of Germany fully accepted her in the years after the war, as many saw her as a traitor to her country for her stance against Nazism. Posthumously, Marlene-Dietrich-Platz was named in her honour in her hometown ofBerlin.