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Gayflation: When Being Gay is No Longer Enough

gaynflación demi lovato

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Inflation, in economics, reflects the decrease in the purchasing power of money. As inflation increases, it takes more money to buy the same amount of goods and services. Ever since being gay became a currency – in the entertainment industry – it has been suffering from the same inflationary process: gayflation.

In the 80s it was fashionable to look gay, but not so much to acknowledge it. With the exception of Martina Navratilova, who made it public in 1981, or Elton John and Ian McKellen, who said so in 1988, other obviously gay celebrities never acknowledged it. Despite the obvious, Freddie Mercury never acknowledged it, or Liberace even went so far as to sue those who claimed it. In this decade, at most, they admitted to being bisexual. So did Elton John from 1976 to 1988; or Boy George, who claimed to be bisexual until 1995, when he admitted to being homosexual.

Looking back, it can be said that at that time, officially coming out of the closet was something that only the really talented could afford. Not knowing if they were putting their professional careers at stake, they had the audacity to admit it. Since there were no real negative consequences for doing so, in the 1990s, both long-time celebrities – such as George Michael – and new celebrities – such as Ellen DeGeneres – began to admit it.

Coming out of the closet was no longer seen as a stigma and even began to bring publicity. So much so that from the year 2000 onwards, a process of inflation of this new currency began. If we consult the lists of celebrities who’ve come out since the new millennium, we will find them full of celebrities, and many of them with homosexuality as their main or only curricular merit.

Declaring oneself homosexual had become an easy way to gain fame for newcomers who failed to make it big, or a way to regain lost attention for those entering the decline of their careers.

At the beginning of the last decade there was a turning point in the gay economy. In 2010, Ricky Martin came out as gay… to no one’s surprise. It didn’t generate much outrage, no great praise extolling his bravery or anything of the sort. The healthy indifference it produced sent a clear message: the process of hypergaynflation had begun.

So much was this used as a promotional gimmick, that lately it has entered an unstoppable process of inflation, bordering on hyperinflation. Because of this “gayinflation”, it is no longer enough to declare oneself homosexual to attract the attention of the press and the public.

Much more is necessary today, it is no longer enough to simply be homosexual. You have to raise the bet say you are pansexual or transgender, to get about the same amount of attention as years ago.

Gayflation: when being gay is no longer enough

Getting the attention of the media now requires more effort. Demi Lovato, the one-time Disney girl turned drug addict, recently got back in the headlines for claiming she is “pansexual.”

gaynflation
Demi Lovato. Note the raised right fist. (Image: EFE)

What is this pansexual thing? Precisely because it is a concept that has just started to become fashionable and still needs to be explained, becoming an ambassador of pansexuality gives you some media attention.

Pansexuality is the sexual, romantic or emotional attraction to other people regardless of their sex or gender identity.

Although to someone unversed in the woke language it may seem so, pansexuality is not bisexuality. In fact, one can be bisexual and at the same time be considered a retrograde transphobe if, for example, you are not attracted to a transsexual.

Precisely, the best example to understand this gayflation is the case of the actress formerly known as Ellen Page, who after declaring herself transgender and undergoing surgery, is now Elliot. When she started in the industry, people talked about her great role in the 2007 film Juno, but since Inception in 2010, she was hardly talked about… until she became a man.

Where is this gayflationary process of woke culture taking us? It’s hard to predict, but what seems clear is that sober, traditional homosexuality is no longer progressive or daring enough. Even bisexuality, which once greatly expanded the range of possibilities, now falls short, and pansexuality is already beginning to show signs of devaluation.

Miley Cyrus, Bella Thorne and Demi Lovato – all Disney girls – have declared themselves pansexual. Perhaps Disney is setting itself up as a sort of central bank that prints too many rainbow bills that devalue the entire movement.

The fact that Gay Pride Day is already a month long celebration is perhaps one more sign of the unstoppable political devaluation of everything related to woke culture.

Ignacio Manuel García Medina, Business Management teacher. Artist and lecturer specialized in Popular Culture for various platforms. Presenter of the program "Pop Libertario" for the Juan de Mariana Institute. Lives in the Canary Islands, Spain // Ignacio M. García Medina es profesor de Gestión de Empresas. Es miembro del Instituto Juan de Mariana y conferenciante especializado en Cultura Popular e ideas de la Libertad.

Social Networks: @ignaciomgm

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