2 years, 4 months ago
What is the origin of the gay mafia?
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I'd never heard of the Gay Mafia, but then took a look and found that someone has made a really nice Mahalo page to demystify the subject...
From the Mahalo page (see source list below), an explanation of the origin: "An early use of the term was when the English critic Kenneth Tynan proposed an article to Playboy editor A.C. Spectorsky in late 1967 on the "Homosexual Mafia" in the arts.Kenneth Tynan Letters (Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1994)1 Spectorsky declined, although he admitted that 'culture hounds were paying homage to faggotismo as they have never done before.' Playboy would run a panel on homosexual issues in April 1971 ...The term 'Velvet Mafia' was first used by author Steven Gaines in an article in the entertainment section of the Sunday New York Daily News in the 1970s to describe the executives at a British film and record company. Gaines later used the phrase in a roman à clef about Studio 54 called The Club in reference to the influential gay crowd that became the club's habitués. This 'mafia' included Calvin Klein, David Geffen, Barry Diller, Truman Capote, Halston, Andy Warhol, Sandy Gallen, and Jann Wenner. The term was tongue-in-cheek, describing a 'powerful social clique, not some truly devious alliance ruling either an industry or our politics' ...The earliest mention of the term gay mafia in Google Book search is in 1977 in the book The homosexuals (book) by Alan Ebert. "
I have included some additional resources on the "Gay Mafia" in my sources list below.
In current use, "Gay Mafia" is most often used to reference individuals and groups who exercise power in the worlds of entertainment, fashion and politics. The terms tends to be used with a sense of humor when referencing gay influence upon the worlds of entertainment and fashion, but the political influence of a perceived "gay mafia" has been a subject for more serious journalism. See the Time magazine article linked below for a good example.
From the Mahalo page (see source list below), an explanation of the origin: "An early use of the term was when the English critic Kenneth Tynan proposed an article to Playboy editor A.C. Spectorsky in late 1967 on the "Homosexual Mafia" in the arts.Kenneth Tynan Letters (Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1994)1 Spectorsky declined, although he admitted that 'culture hounds were paying homage to faggotismo as they have never done before.' Playboy would run a panel on homosexual issues in April 1971 ...The term 'Velvet Mafia' was first used by author Steven Gaines in an article in the entertainment section of the Sunday New York Daily News in the 1970s to describe the executives at a British film and record company. Gaines later used the phrase in a roman à clef about Studio 54 called The Club in reference to the influential gay crowd that became the club's habitués. This 'mafia' included Calvin Klein, David Geffen, Barry Diller, Truman Capote, Halston, Andy Warhol, Sandy Gallen, and Jann Wenner. The term was tongue-in-cheek, describing a 'powerful social clique, not some truly devious alliance ruling either an industry or our politics' ...The earliest mention of the term gay mafia in Google Book search is in 1977 in the book The homosexuals (book) by Alan Ebert. "
I have included some additional resources on the "Gay Mafia" in my sources list below.
In current use, "Gay Mafia" is most often used to reference individuals and groups who exercise power in the worlds of entertainment, fashion and politics. The terms tends to be used with a sense of humor when referencing gay influence upon the worlds of entertainment and fashion, but the political influence of a perceived "gay mafia" has been a subject for more serious journalism. See the Time magazine article linked below for a good example.
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