Proof, if proof be needed, that The Gays have yet to Make It In America: Out magazine’s list of the “50 Most Powerful Gay Men and Women in America”. As with all listicles, of course, one can’t take it too seriously. But apparently the 15th most powerful homosexual in America is, er, Fred Hochberg. Who’s so powerful he doesn’t even make it into Wikipedia. Apparently he runs some subsidiary of the New School in New York called Milano, and used to run the Small Business Administration in the Clinton years.
And — get this — the 22nd most powerful homosexual in America is none other than our very own Nick Denton! Nick comes one notch beneath James B Stewart, who is a financial journalist, of all things. In fact, the list is full of bloggers and journalists: something called the “New York Times Gay Mafia” comes in at number 7, Perez Hilton is at 15, John Aravosis is at 19. None of them, I don’t think, really count as powerful. Hell, #2 on the list is Anderson Cooper, who’s little more than a talking head on the telly and who isn’t even out!
In other words, there aren’t any powerful gay people in America. Certainly no one on the order of a Peter Mandelson, say.
(Interesting comparison: the Independent on Sunday’s Pink List of the top 101 gays in the UK.)
Well if you eliminate the entertainment industry, I suppose the pickings are slim, but it seems whoever drew up that list was daft, or maybe trying to curry favor. Let’s see, we just had David Geffen on the front page re Hillary and Obama. There’s Barry Diller and Dick Jenrette. Oh, please, there’s Barney Frank. Rosie O’Donnell has suddenly become quasi-political by questioning the official story on 9/11. I am straight and have no idea who is who, but even I can come up with better names.
Ken Mehlman doesn’t make it because he’s stepped down as head of the RNC?
I’m not sure that gay people refer to themselves collectively as ‘The Gays’, sounds a little perjorative.