Kylie! Kylie! Kylie!

Whereas in a lot of ways I do not fit into the typical gay stereotype, a lot of the time I do. Especially when it comes to Kylie Minogue. A friend of mine once said. “Cal, Cal, Cal. Stop being a gay stereotype for five minutes” when I mentioned my love for Kylie for one reason or another. So, to be sat at a desk 9-5 five days a week, in a job that constitutes a lot of Kylie based work, is a job I enjoy very, very much. Yes, I am only on work experience, and yes I only get paid £15 a day for it – which is great - I wasn’t expecting any pay, but compared to the gruelling, boring, mind-numbingly-dull retail work I have done in the past, it’s amazing. I’d take £15 a day of doing this, over £48 a day retail work any day of the week.

You see, not a day has gone by so far where I haven’t used the name Kylie. Whether it’s googling Kylie, looking for pictures of Kylie, writing about Kylie or talking about Kylie there’s always Kylie. When I was surveying the public about which MEN they fancied, Kylie cropped up repeatedly, when transcribing an interview with Gok Wan, there was a 30 second conversation about Kylie, and today, I was even told (not asked if I wanted to, told) to listen to Kylie’s new single ‘All The Lovers’ – Which is amazing. B-T-W.

So, why do gays love Kylie? Well, not all gays do. Today I approached the assistant editor and asked him a question. Within seconds the conversation turned to Kylie. “When I listen to her music, I just get this uncontrollable desire to dance! She makes me a bit crazy.” He told me with a smile. I replied. “Yeah, me too. I think that happens to all gays to be honest.”
“Not me. I don’t like Kylie.” Somebody chirped up behind me, to my disbelief, it was another gay.

Shock horror. A gay man who doesn’t like Kylie? *falls over with utter disbelief*.
Seriously though, why do I love Kylie? Well. My parents have always been big fans of Kylie, whenever my mother has had a few she will always say “Put on some Kylie.” and my father has always pretended to dislike it, but secretly like it. I vaguely remember when I was around ten, my Dad got a Kylie calendar as a gag gift and put it up inside his wardrobe. My Mum feigned jealousy, at least, I think that happened – I’ll have to check. Mother, you read my blog, comment and reiterate this story!

Anyway! I always remember that when I was young a lot of Kylie was played, and I remember my dad use to, and as far as I know still does, listen to Skunk Anansie – which today I found out have a lesbian lead singer – Did you know that Dad?

I digress. Although I’m sure my parents love for Kylie did somehow rub off onto me, that isn’t why I love her. The devastating period when she was diagnosed with cancer is when I became interested in her. I remember watching the documentary “White Diamond” and falling in love with the woman. It is a truly moving documentary, about a truly amazing woman, and it is for this reason she inspires me. Her compassion towards the gay community has always made me feel like I belong to something when I listen to her music. ‘I Believe In You’ famously played as the last song in G.A.Y speaks to all the gay people. I remember a scene in “White Diamond” where she and one of her gay best friends were sat on a bed taking silly photos of each other. It made me smile. I’ve watched several Kylie documentaries since then, and watched several dozen of her music videos. The earlier ones always intrigue me, no, not ‘The Locomotion’, which sadly does irritate me to tears, but everything else. Sadly though, and I blame this on the internet, downloading, and YouTube. I do not own any of her singles or albums. Nothing. I can guarantee I will be buying her new album though; I’ll be first in line at HMV!

So, that, to my friend who called me a gay stereotype for loving Kylie Minogue and also called her a "talentless sponge" is my response. You know who you are.

Back to my original point. I’ve enjoyed my first week of work experience immensely, a job that involves Kylie Minogue, topless men, and most importantly writing, is a dream come true. A job where, today I stumbled upon this homo-erotic censorship art, www.actart.co.uk and instead of quickly clicking away before anyone saw, forwarded it to the assistant editor as a possible image for the Act Art 8 section of the events calendar.

Brilliant, eh’?