Homosexual artists have had a long and complicated history within the music industry. While gay artists have continuously made contributions to music for centuries, these contributions have been continuously denied and erased as a reflection of our hetero-centric culture. This is due to the dominant view that heterosexual relationships are at the heart of human association and are the model for intergender relations. Despite this, queer artists have continued to have an insurmountable impact on the music industry. Artists such as Marc Blitzstein, David Diamond, Pawl Bowles, and many more have all released pieces that have stood the test of time and made significant impacts on the creation of \u201cAmerican sounding\u201d music. Even more than these figures, Aaron Copland was considered an acclaimed and distinguished composer. Despite his queer status at a time when being queer was taboo, he became known as America\u2019s most prominent composer, and provided film scores for films such as Of Mice and Men, The North Star, and The Heiress. He became known for the way in which he would provide his own spin on American Folk songs, innovating them with his own distinctive style. 31 years after the death of Copland, new homosexual artists are picking up his mantle and making their own contributions to their respective genres. Since coming out of the closet in 2017, rapper Tyler, the Creator has continued to be innovative within the rap community. However, his willingness to innovate is not the only trait he shares with Copland and respective homosexual artists. The denial and erasure of queer artists has created a community in which secrecy is promoted and bonds between gay artists are created, as is the case with Copland and Tyler.<\/p>\n
While Copland was never in the Army and simply made music that evoked American themes, his sexuality was treated with the same \u201cdon\u2019t ask, don\u2019t tell\u201d policy that the military instituted1<\/sup><\/a>HUBBS, NADINE. “INTRODUCTION.: Composing Oneself.” In\u00a0The Queer Composition of America\u2019s Sound: Gay Modernists, American Music, and National Identity<\/i>, 1-18. BERKELEY; LOS ANGELES; LONDON: University of California Press, 2004. Accessed April 26, 2021. http:\/\/www.jstor.org\/stable\/10.1525\/j.ctt1ppg9r.4.<\/span><\/span><\/span>