Spice Girls and Gay Guys

For many people growing up in the 90’s, music will be remembered as one super group – the Spice Girls. During their prime they were just about the coolest and most popular starlets on the planet. If you don’t believe me, just check the July 1997 cover of Rolling Stone magazine, headlined “Pop Tarts: Spice Girls Conquer the Planet”. Wherever the girls went, ‘Spicemania’ ensued. They were so inescapable and so influential to 90’s pop that even people who hated them would still be able to rattle off more than a few of their lyrics. Brilliantly packaged, the Spice Girls managed nine British #1 singles and sold upwards of 60 million records worldwide before dissolving in 2000. The girls became “Brit pop” icons, “girl power” icons, and enormous gay icons.

The Spice Girls nineties fandom could be segregated into three groups: teenybopper girls, gay men, and boys who would later come out as gay men. In his book Wannabe, David Sinclair writes: “It is said that as ABBA’s core fan base grew into adulthood, a disproportionate number of them turned out to be gay men. Could the same be true for the Spice Girls? A lot of the kids who loved the girls at the beginning are now in their late teens or early twenties and would be able to see a certain irony in still loving them.” (1)

And would it be any wonder?

All five girls—‘Scary’, ‘Ginger’, ‘Baby’, ‘Posh’ and ‘Sporty’—were larger than life characters. Their clothing, interactions, stage antics and film (they had a film, remember?) were all undeniably, unashamedly camp. Given that camp is often equated with “gay sensibility”, their gay icon status was inevitable. Their flamboyant theatricality and kitsch aesthetic style was bound to land them in gay terrain.

Importantly, the Spice Girls weren’t just all of these things on the surface. They didn’t just parade queerness, they preached it. They were consistently feisty and outspoken about expressing yourself, whoever you may be. With their mantra ‘Girl Power!” the group stood against the hegemony of the heterosexual man. “Girl power is giving yourself that little bit of liberation… You decide what kind of life you want to lead. Whether you’re black, white, gay, single parent, whatever. Just go for it.”, said ‘Scary’ Mel B (2). This gained them favor not only with young women, but with a gay audience as well. During an interview, Emma Bunton commented on their enthusiastic gay following: "We were really flattered with having such a huge gay fan base because they know about fashion and they know about songs ... I'm so flattered that we've got such a huge gay following, it's amazing.” (3) Their use of camp and celebration of liberty (regardless of gender, race of sexual orientation) go toward explaining the mass adulation they have won from the gay community.

Even after they split, each girl remained a gay icon in her own right, especially Geri Halliwell and Victoria Beckham, who said: “I love women. I like them as friends, as interesting people to speak with. But I love gay men. I always say it. Inside me there is a gay man who wants to come out!” (4) This would explain why more than half the time the girls looked so over-the-top and costumed that they could be confused for drag queens. Everything the girls said, sung, wore and represented could be read from a queer perspective. If nineties music taught us one thing, it’s that Spice Girls and gay guys go hand in hand.

For more Spice Girls visit http://www.thespicegirls.com/