Welcome to March Madness, Watermark-style! Over the next month or so, you, our readers, will choose the ULTIMATE GAY ICON in a single elimination tournament.
We’ve narrowed the contenders down to 32 LGBT icons, divided into four brackets: Divas, Film, Television and Politics & Sports. Now, many of our icons are double or triple threats, so the category groupings are admittedly a little rough and we may or may not have moved some of our Divas into the Film bracket just so the numbers would even out. This isn’t science! It’s MADNESS!
Choosing the 32 contenders was also a difficult task, involving many heated debates where Watermark staffers both argued passionately and gestured wildly. Ultimately, we made our choices based on global cultural impact, universal beloved-ness among the LGBT community… and personal preference. Hey, we’re fans, too! But of course, feel free to comment and tell us who we missed and who doesn’t belong.
Below the bracket, find the polls for the first 16 match-ups. Place your bets and cast your vote in each until noon EST Friday, March 18. We’ll announce the winners later that afternoon then reset for the next round on Monday. (Right click the bracket below and open it in a new tab to see it larger)
There are 32 contenders but when the tournament is over, there will be just one ULTIMATE LGBT ICON. Vote now!
DIVAS
Lady Gaga vs. Adam Lambert
The House of Gaga goes up against the House of Glam in a battle to see who really owns the most eye-liner. Lady Gaga is Mother Monster to all her gaybies and gave us probably the best gay anthem ever with “Born This Way.” Adam Lambert has gotten even more glam since his appearance on American Idol as the lead singer of the legendary band Queen and will appear as Eddie in FOX’s The Rocky Horror Picture Show later this year.
[poll id = “5”]
Cher vs. Madonna
If we could turn back time to the 1980s and be like virgins again we could still throw these one-name powerhouses into the ring together and have one hell of a match. Cher has been the queen of flashy outfits, drama filled relationships and diva like behavior for six decades now. Madonna is a lightweight in no one’s eyes. The Material Girl is the best-selling female recording artist in history with more than 300 million records sold worldwide. She sells out every stadium she performs in and she taught us all how to “Vogue.”
[poll id = “6”]
Bette Midler vs. Liza Minnelli
This match-up is a contest of the diva born to Hollywood royalty against a bathhouse betty born to a working class family. Liza Minnelli is the daughter of screen legend Judy Garland and film director Vincente Minnelli. She has been in the spotlight since adolescence but stepped out of her mother’s shadow with a career defining role in Cabaret. She can sing. She can dance. With her, life is a cabaret. Bette Midler’s parents may not have been legends, but they sure as hell created one. Midler got her start with gay society much in the way most of us did, in bathhouses. Since then she has become a goddess with the gays being the wind beneath her wings as she conquered music, film and stage.
[poll id = “7”]
Adele vs. Elton John
Adele is a gay DARLING, make no mistake about that. We DEFY you to find a gay person who isn’t a fan. Elton isn’t as current, but that means he’s been out since 1988, he’s famous as all get-out, his AIDS Foundation has helped countless people living with HIV and he once called Jesus gay, which is pretty funny.
[poll id = “8”]
FILM
Jodie Foster vs. Rock Hudson
This is the battle of the Hollywood giants who came out later in life. Jodie Foster has been working her magic on the silver screen since she was in diapers. She went on the win two Oscars for Best Actress and is often cited as the example that child actors can grow up to be respectable, working adult actors. Foster kind of came out in a Golden Globe speech in 2013. Rock Hudson was a leading man and heartthrob in Hollywood’s Golden Age. Hudson could flawlessly move through different genres from drama to science fiction to romantic comedy, the latter most famously with Doris Day. Hudson was outted after it was discovered he had AIDS.
[poll id = “9”]
Ellen Page vs. Ian McKellen
This pairing not only matches up actors from different generations and actors who have Oscar nominations (but no wins), but it also matches up two opposing views from the X-Men film franchise. Ellen Page played the girl who could pass through walls, Kitty Pryde, and had the same views as Professor X that mutants and humans can live together peacefully. Ian McKellen played the leader of the mutant resistance Magneto who thought all humans were bad news. Opponents on film and now opponents in madness!
[poll id = “10”]
John Waters vs. Nathan Lane
The voices, the candor, the flamboyance! Both are arguably better represented by their involvement with Broadway, but film is where these two shine brightest. John Waters has been shocking audiences since Pink Flamingos and carried that tradition of shock and awe with hits like Hairspray, Cry Baby and Serial Mom. Nathan Lane did something no one thought possible; he upstaged comic legend Robin Williams when they starred in The Birdcage together. Lane is also known as the crazy mouth of Timon (The Lion King) and Max Bialystock (The Producers).
[poll id = “11”]
Barbra Streisand vs. Judy Garland
Most notably the first two mainstream gay icons, anyone in the community will know who you are talking about simply by saying Babs and Judy. Barbra Streisand is a rarity in entertainment; she is an EGOT, meaning she is one of the few to win an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony award. She is the star of Hollywood classics A Star is Born, The Way We Were and Funny Girl. Judy Garland is no slouch though and hopes to rain on poor Babs’ parade. Garland has such gay icon powers that she is the only one on this list to birth another gay icon. Thanks to her iconic performance in The Wizard of Oz, she is the reason we are called friends of Dorothy. Also, rumor has it that the birth of Pride can be traced back to her untimely passing.
[poll id = “12”]
TELEVISION
Neil Patrick Harris vs. Sean Hayes
One could argue that this is a match-up of the comeback kids. NPH struck it big with Doogie Howser then vanished for a few years before skyrocketing to fame with his role in How I Met Your Mother. He has a cute husband and cuter twins. Sean Hayes struck it big with Will & Grace then vanished for a few years before skyrocketing to social media fame with his role in the adorable Facebook films he lip syncs with his cute husband.
[poll id = “13”]
Ellen DeGeneres vs. Rosie O’Donnell
We couldn’t resist pairing up our daytime talk queens. Ellen made history back in 1997 by coming out on television and on the cover of TIME. She – and her talk show – are still extremely popular today, and she’s arguably done more than anyone to make being gay ordinary and mainstream among the larger population. Rosie is a bit more controversial and a favorite target of Donald Drumpf, but she’s been a consistent activist for lesbian rights, especially in regards to parenting.
[poll id = “14”]
George Takei vs. RuPaul
George Takei has social media CLOUT. Star Trek‘s Sulu now reigns over his own little galaxy to the tune of nearly 10 million followers on Facebook who tune in for his funny pics and witty remarks – many of them targeted snark toward those who fight against LGBT equality. RuPaul burst into the spotlight with his Supermodel single in 1993 and might have found himself relegated to the One Hit Wonder chapter of the history books if it wasn’t for a little show called RuPaul’s Drag Race. Its 8th season is set to air this year and there’s no sign of the drag-off slowing down.
[poll id = “16”]
Kathy Griffin vs. Kate McKinnon
Kathy Griffin’s gossipy comedy style feels like dishing about celebrities while having drinks with your pal who just happens to know famous people, and it is catnip to gays. She’s an outspoken advocate of LGBT rights both on and off the stage and has been for years. Kate McKinnon is Saturday Night Live‘s first openly lesbian cast member, a two-time Emmy nominee and a master of celebrity impressions, doing everyone from Billie Jean King (another contender in this tournament) to the notorious RGB. She’s an incredibly visible gay person and her star will only get brighter when the Ghostbusters reboot hits theaters this year.
[poll id = “17”]
SPORTS & POLITICS
Bernie Sanders vs. Harvey Milk
Bernie Sanders is lauded in many circles as an LGBT champion, especially when held up against the spottier record of Hillary Clinton. As the mayor of Burlington, Sanders signed a gay pride proclamation waaaaaaay back in 1983 and has consistently stood on the pro-LGBT side of national policy. He “came out” for marriage equality in 2009 and frequently advocates for LGBT rights on the campaign trail during his current run for POTUS. On the other hand, there is nothing spotty about Harvey Milk. He is unquestionably an LGBT rights pioneer and was the first openly gay person elected to public office in the state of California. He was assassinated in San Francisco and is arguable the LGBT community’s most consistent and beloved icon. He is a Presidential Medal of Freedom honoree, his face is on a stamp and there was an award-winning movie created about his life. Harvey Milk and LGBT history are intrinsically linked.
[poll id = “18”]
Billie Jean King vs. Caitlin Jenner
Billie Jean King is a CHAMPION, no matter how she does in this little tournament of icons. Outed via lawsuit in 1981, King has won 39 Grand Slam titles and in 2009, President Obama awarded her a little trinket called The Presidential Medal of Freedom for her LGBT advocacy work. Caitlin Jenner… well, she’s a tougher sell, given her recent clueless remarks endorsing Ted Cruz, an outright anti-gay. But Jenner is the most visible transgender woman on the planet and it could be argued that by merely living her truth, as problematic as it can be, she has moved awareness of transgender issues forward a great distance in a short amount of time. Love her or hate her, she’s iconic.
[poll id = “19”]
Greg Louganis vs. Tom Daley
Well let’s dive right in with this pair of Olympic winners. American diver Greg Louganis became a sports icon in the 80s when he became the first and only male diver to sweep the diving events in consecutive Olympic games. He also became an LGBT activist after it was discovered he was an HIV-positive gay man due to a diving accident in 1988. Tom Daley was seen by many as the British version of Louganis, going on to win medals in both the 2010 and 2012 Olympic games, also he is flippin’ hot. Have you seen those abs?
[poll id = “20”]
Hillary Clinton vs. President Obama
Hillary Clinton deserves – and receives – a LOT of criticism for her actions on LGBT rights. She waited till 2013 to publicly support marriage equality and as recently as last week, wildly misspoke and praised the Reagans for their (nonexistent) work to advance the conversation on the AIDS epidemic. However. Clinton has consistently apologized, and evolved, and shown a desire to grow. For every gay person who has zero patience with Clinton’s missteps, there’s another who considers her an iconic ally. President Obama’s story is also one of growth and change. He began his presidency openly unsupportive of marriage equality but since then, has pushed forward many pro-LGBT policies, including the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell and the Defense of Marriage Act. Whether you’re a fan of President Obama or not, his two terms in office have witnessed iconic growth for LGBT rights.
[poll id = “21”]
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