Girl Crush

When the race for the Democratic candidacy began there seemed to be only one woman in our heart. Her name is Hillary and I, along with the majority of the gay community threw our support behind her. We did so with good reason; she was the candidate that best represented our interests in her voting record and campaign promises. When Obama was eventually named the candidate, we dutifully switched our allegiance, and it didn’t take long for a new crush to emerge. Not just on the charismatic gentleman that took the oath of the highest office in the world yesterday, but on his equally charming and stunning wife, Michelle.

Now, it comes as no surprise or news that gays have a long history of worshiping divas in the entertainment industry. We help them rise to the pedestals on which we admire them, support them when they repeatedly fall off, and continue to show our unending support for them well into their multiple farewell tours and Vegas revues. Our love of women in politics may not be as well documented, but it almost certainly began before if not in conjunction with the rise of the Gay Rights movement.

Our adoration for women in the public eye who epitomize class (sometimes), glamour (usually), fame (always), and power is not difficult to understand. Call it envy, or simply our desire to harness our own inner diva, but the innate qualities of these women engender in us a bond that transcends the love we feel for our partners. Like a battered spouse, this love allows us to forgive their faults, their disappointing albums or attempts at acting, and their public failures in life and love. Like a phoenix from the ashes, we merely wait and bide our time until our diva rises again.

But these special feelings are not always reserved for celebrities. There are sometimes women in our lives, a friend, boss, or co-worker whose spirit strikes a chord within us and can make our heart go pitter-patter as easily as the luscious blue-eyed lifeguard, or gorgeous dark-haired grocery boy. Like our divas though, this crush is entirely non-sexual. They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and while that may manifest itself literally in drag celebrity impersonators,in our daily lives it resembles emulation or the aspiration to have our lives more closely resemble theirs.

We’re attracted to the women, in our lives that we respect, whether it be for their accomplishments, or simply their attitude towards life. They are our everyday divas, and in the absence of Madge, J. Lo, Whitney, Cher, Hill, Christina, Brit, and countless others , they make our lives just a little more fabulous, as we dream we can one day do the same for them. Of course a girl crush will never take the place of the one we love, since they obviously can’t satisfy all of our desires. But that’s what makes our love for them so pure. Free of the prurient interests of our loin, we champion them purely for the joy they bring us, if not the ecstasy.

I will always love Hillary in the way I love my PFLAG attending and doting mother, and couldn’t be prouder to have her soon be serving as Secretary of State, but I can’t help but be mesmerized by Michelle. More likely to wear Prada than pantsuits, like only Jackie O before her, she brings to the White House what we really wanted all along: a diva.

Appeared originally on homo-neurotic.com on 1/21/09