Can't Adam Just be Adam?

I really hadn't paid much attention to the controversy surrounding Adam Lambert's recent cover story in Details Magazine, at least not until today. I certainly saw the pictures, which included Adam touching tongues with and caressing the naked breast of a female model, and which were the cause of a mild uproar in the gay community, where some felt like he was trying to head back into the closet.

They were attractive, artistic photos and Adam is an openly gay man. I didn't and don't see what the fuss was all about. Get back to me when Adam starts actually dating women instead of just doing photoshoots with them, and I'll be outraged then.

Adam doesn't seem to have the best of luck with magazine cover stories in general. He's included on the cover of the new issue of Out Magazine, for the annual Out 100 issue, and the Editor in Chief of the magazine, Aaron Hicklin, used the opportunity to write an open letter to Adam, chastising him for the way 'his people' are handling him.

"We’re curious whether you know that we made cover offers for you before American Idol was even halfway through its run. Apparently, Out was too gay, even for you. There was the issue of what it would do to your record sales, we were told. Imagine! A gay musician on the cover of a gay magazine. What might the parents think! It’s only because this cover is a group shot that includes a straight woman that your team would allow you to be photographed at all -- albeit with the caveat that we must avoid making you look “too gay.” (Is that a medical term? Just curious)."

I can easily believe that Adam's management team may want to minimize the whole 'gay thing'. There has never been a star of Adam's magnitude who was openly gay at the beginning of his career, so it's completely new territory. The people handling him are no doubt used to keeping their gay stars deeply closeted.

Adam himself, however, doesn't seem to be avoiding anything. If he'd wanted to downplay his sexuality, he could easily have used the old 'I don't discuss my private life' card and never officially come out. He chose to be honest about who he was, though, and that is a pretty amazing thing.

Hicklin's letter goes on to say:

"You’re a pioneer, an out gay pop idol at the start of his career. Someone has to be first, and we’re all counting on you not to mess this up. You have to find your own path and then others can follow. We just hope it’s a path that’s honest and true and that you choose to surround yourself with people who celebrate your individuality."

Adam certainly is a pioneer, but he doesn't owe the world, or the gay community, anything but the music he chooses to make. It really bothers me to have someone like Hicklin tell Adam that 'we're all counting on you not to mess this up', as if the Editor in Chief of Out Magazine speaks for the gay community as a whole. It's also interesting to see him write about celebrating Adam's individuality while chiding him for appearing on the cover of Details with a naked woman. Isn't that part of Adam's individuality, too?

We all bemoan the fact that more gay celebrities don't come out of the closet, but it would seem that they're not only up against a system designed to reward them for being- or seeming to be- straight, but also a gay community waiting to put pressure on them to conform to some crusading gay ideal the minute they do come out. Adam has already paved the path for others to follow him, simply by coming out. Whatever he does next is about being Adam Lambert, not about being gay and out.

The most amazing thing about the gay community is its diversity, since LGBT people come from all walks of life. There's no right or wrong way to live your life- or run your career- as an openly gay person. Yes, we should all be supportive of each other and of our community. I'm sorry that Adam (or, more likely, his people) didn't agree to do a solo cover story for Out, but he's clearly not avoiding the gay press since he did give the magazine an interview and posed for the cover in the group shot. Let's also not forget that he's at a stage in his career when he needs to reach as large an audience as possible, gay and straight, or there will be no career for Out Magazine or anyone to follow.

I guess what bothered me the most about the letter was the sniping about the Details cover, as if a gay man is letting down the community by posing in such a way with a woman. If Hicklin had left that out, I would have been more sympathetic to his overall point, which is that openly gay celebrities seem to have less to do with the gay press than straight celebrities looking for an edge do. That's certainly not the way it should be.

Oh, on a final note, Joe Vogel has a very funny take on this whole matter at The Huffington Post that's worth checking out.