Abstract: This article explores how musician Little Richard’s image and persona were perceived historically and the extent to which historical observers associated his effeminacy with same-sex desire. Also scrutinized is Little Richard’s present-day status as a so-called LGBTQ icon and whether LGBTQ observers in the past felt a similar kinship with the musician. I illuminate the protean and utilitarian essence of LGBTQ iconicity and argue that, in the 1950s, the link between effeminacy in men and same-sex desire was not ubiquitously acknowledged and understood. I also assert that 1950s popular culture was more accommodating of different types of men, including unconventional men, than is typically acknowledged in retrospective assessments of the period.
Jacob Bloomfield (Thu,) studied this question.