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From: jools (Original Message) Sent: 15/04/2004 09:57
For Lang, it's an accepting world
By GINA VIVINETTO, Times Pop Music Critic
Published April 15, 2004
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K.D. Lang: "I try to make (my sexuality) as low-key and elegant as possible."
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I recently gave props to rock stars who have come out of the closet, sharing with the rest of the world that they are gay, lesbian or bisexual. That list included genre-busting singer K.D. Lang, whom I chatted with this week when she called from her Los Angeles home to discuss her May 19 Ruth Eckerd Hall performance. (A separate interview on that will run next month.)

I got many letters about my column, in which I also mentioned that I am gay. Not one of the letters was nasty. Some were from gay folks, and several were from mothers of "wonderful" gay kids. Many were from straight people who just thought the column was cool.
I wondered what Lang's experience has been living as one of the most famous gay people on the planet for the past 12 years. Has she noticed people becoming more enlightened?
"Oh, definitely," she said. Lang said people are more relaxed around her these days, even the journalists who interview her. "Now we can talk about music," she said, laughing. "But for a long time, it was, "So, you're gay? What's it like to be gay?' "
Gay folks, thankfully, are no longer like unimaginable six-headed aliens, with TV shows such as The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Will & Grace and Showtime's The L Word. Lang doesn't watch that last one, but not because her ex Leisha Hailey is one of its stars.
"I don't have Showtime," Lang said.
Lang and I discussed another hot topic in the queer world: the Madonna-Britney kiss.
"In the realm of pop music," Lang said, "I didn't think anything of it.
"As a gay woman, I thought it was a bit exploitive and boring."
Lang and I agreed that this supposedly sapphic moment - two straight women French kissing - was staged mostly for men.
Lang said she's not one for stunts. "Well, except for the Vanity Fair thing," she said, laughing, referring to the 1993 magazine cover that showed the singer sitting in a barber's chair with shaving cream on her face - and supermodel Cindy Crawford doing the shaving.
"I try to make (my sexuality) as low-key and elegant as possible," Lang said.
"The most important thing I can do is to have public friendships with people like Tony Bennett and show the world that we are comfortable with each other."
I had to ask: After the gigs Lang performs with Bennett, do more ladies rush to her or Tony backstage?
"Well," Lang said, "it depends on their persuasions."