Homosexuality In Wayne Koestenbaum's The Callas Cult

Maria Callas was a famous opera singer who faced adversity from the very beginning of her career. She was ridiculed and dismissed because of both her looks and her style of singing. She however overtime became very popular for the same reasons that she was originality shunned for. Due to her resilience and attitude towards those who looked down upon her she became very popular among the homosexual community. Wayne Koestenbaum was one such person who found Callas’ personality to enough him to not be afraid to show his true feelings to the world around him. She showed him as well as others like him that no matter what the world may think of you the only opinion that matters is your own. Koestenbaum, in his work of “The Callas Cult”, shows through …show more content…
The meaning of the phrase is how a homosexual person had to hide their feelings to be accepted by society. Being a homosexual though out history was to be an outcast of society shunned by nearly everyone. It was due to the rise of Christianity that homosexuality was looked down upon. It was stated in the Bible that, “You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination” (Chapter 18 verse 22). It is because of the widespread popularity of this religion and the ideals it carried with that made homosexuals of the world forced to hide their true feelings. Koestenbaum and many other homosexuals however after listing to Callas “[made them] sick of camouflage…[because] who could tolerate the closet” (Koestenbaum 10). This singer did much more than just inspire gay people to be ok with their feelings but also to be unafraid to share those feeling with those around them. Koestenbaum wrote “The Callas Cult” as a sort of coming out of his own to show even after her death she still inspires so many to be proud of what they truly are even with the constant discrimination that they will