alright its really long but here is my letter to the Editor of Entertainment Weekly that I am mailing:

RE: Review of Adam Lambert album dd May 9, 2012

I am still fairly in shock as I sit here writing this; I am quite literally astounded that a professional writer in a reputable magazine, or for that matter a normal intelligent person from ANY background, would write the things I have read in this review. Are there no editorial controls at your magazine? The writer is most surely at fault but anyone who reviewed this and ok’d it for print is equally at fault for the insensitive, narrow minded stereotyping muck you subjected me to.

The first sentence is silly but not entirely devoid of a certain mean spirited humor. Then the second sentence slaps you in the face. I am fairly certain I made a comical face that said REALLY???? to anyone that might have seen me.

This should have been my key to stop reading but then it was like slowing down to look at an accident.
I am being at my kindest in assuming the writer thought she was being funny but in all honesty the vileness of this homophobic tripe is fairly astounding and only the densest and most clueless and unintelligent person would not see that. Who agreed to let this be printed?

In this day and age in particular, when we as a society are trying to progress, when we are telling our young people, different is ok, do not fear different, do not judge, do not bully, you print an article that limits this singer solely to his sexual orientation. There is no other way to view this, if Adam Lambert was straight, the review would be ENTIRELY DIFFERENT.

You limit what you think this singer can and SHOULD do based on his sexual orientation only: only “gay”dance music, how dare he try to flirt with the “straight crowd” in rock? Does he not know that gay guys can only do gay things and dance music is gay, rock is not (bad on you Freddie Mercury and Rob Halford but to be fair you had us fooled well).
Why did it take him so long to see this? He’s so silly trying to do “straight” people things…don’t try this at home kids, no straight things for you, don’t try to be a police officer or doctor, you are a fabulous gay boy, embrace it!!! Don’t fight it!! You are allowed to do gay things: hairdresser, florist, clothing designer.

He left the closet behind, now since he has been openly gay the whole time – this implies again that being openly gay but doing non gay things like trying to do rock is somehow denying the true essence of who you are, being in a virtual closet. This is homophobia and stereotyping at its very very worst: See? We are not homophobic, we LOVE gay people, they need to embrace who they are be the very gayest they can. Don’t try to pretend to be straight, be that flaming fag and jump out of the closet; we won’t hate you – as long as you stay in your place. Like back in the 60’s when black singers were fine, they entertained us. But don’t try to go my school or sit next to me like you are my equal.

It is NO accident that contained in that sentence of coming out of the closet is then a reference to a song about S&M – leave the closet behind and “celebrate what happens when two consenting adults love each other enough to share their safe words”. Again, I am incredulous that the offensiveness of this comment does not jump out at a normal, rational person. I just thought REALLY????
Come out of the closet and embrace the sick twisted unhealthy gay sex lifestyle. I listened to this song and it is not about that, although it is interesting that Rhianna DOES have a song CALLED S&M that sings about it but this is not an issue for a straight person. My God, my blood is boiling as I type this at the stereotyping and the harmful message this sends to any gay person, particularly young gay people who might read this.

It is only half way through this pile of muck that the person actually gets into reviewing the music but her view through the HE IS GAY prism still makes her use lots of code words in the review: the “fabulosity” of the dance songs, because gays are “fabulous” (this needs to be said in a very high pitched voice and preferably with a few finger snaps I think, right?) We like our gays to fit the funny gay BFF stereotype and so the happy gay dance songs are great – he’s letting his “freak” flag wave….cuz of course gays are freaks (see sexual deviant tendencies discussed above as reference).
Then he is sad and this is laughable, because gays can be sooooooo dramatic (am I right?).
Then the crowning statement to sum up the entire review:

Cheer up, Glammy. It’s nothing a little makeup remover can’t fix.

Glammy??? Let’s not address the artist as anything but stilly glam boy (Glammy?? Really? do I need to insert the definition of condescending here?)
He is a silly gay boy in purple eyeliner (she makes sure to say purple to differentiate from black eyeliner which actually is very rock n roll and we have established above that gay boys should NOT pretend to be rock n roll, they need to embrace their “fabulosity” and we all know that purple = gay)
And if he just took off the silly gay make up he would feel better.

This last sentence is really fascinating to me.
The entire article is a study in someone saying hey you are gay, Im so glad you embraced that finally and stopped trying to act like a normal straight person. You now realize your natural place in the musical world, please stay there.

BUT THEN her true feelings could not help but come out Freudian style……

Yes you are sad but it’s nothing a little make up remover can’t fix: so REALLY she is saying ICK!, gays are gross, the eyeliner is gross, take it off and everything is much better.

So actually no, don’t be gay, don’t act gay, do NOT show me your gay, just no, please be invisible, clean your face and go away.

I have written two pages and actually I go still go on and on. I will admit that some of these points, while real and serious, are more subtle and a person lacking a certain sensitivity might miss the condescending discrimination behind them. But again, to open the review talking about the BIG GAY ALBUM needed to be a red flag to someone at your institution because that IS it THAT blatant, THAT offensive and I am seriously shocked and dismayed that this type of harmful nonsense is allowed at your magazine.

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