If you rep the Barbs for the queen of rap Nikki Minaj, the Lambily of multi-talented glamour goddess Mariah Carey, a monster to the Motha Monster, Lady Gaga, or the fierce Beehive with Beyoncé, then you are one of many black queers who love a great diva.
I am not sure when my love for divas started, but I am pretty sure it was when I saw Madonna on the 1990 MTV Music Awards performing “Vogue.” Madonna captured the official definition of the word diva: “a successful woman who is confident and fashionable.” For a little black boy from North Philadelphia, this resonated to the core of my being. Madonna taught me how to appreciate my inner diva and take pride in working as hard as you can to achieve success.
Black LGBTQ folks love divas because they do what we all wish we could do: Break down social constructs, focus on themselves and their futures, rather than living in the past. Divas like Patti LaBelle won’t be dealing with drama, but she will deal with her business and talent with pinpoint precision and focus. Black queers admire these attributes, and we attempt to emulate our diva of choice. Who has not tried to walk into a room like Naomi Campbell and command the attention of everyone?
Black queers live in a world where confidence and loving yourself is not as prevalent. Our world and society try to fill our minds with impossible standards that we need to reach. The odds are, we will never reach the social constructs forced upon us. In this world, it is difficult to look at your reflection in the mirror and love yourself, but you need to work towards a goal that will make you believe, “I am a bad bitch!” That’s one of many answers to becoming a strong and independent diva.
Remember what they told you as a child: “It takes a diva to know a diva.”