Des Moines Gay Men’s Chorus, Queer Spaces, Collectives Styles, and Activist Dress, 1984 to the Present

Abstract During the 1970s, people in the United States founded gay and lesbian choruses for political activism, coming out, and celebration. We examined the history of one of these choruses, the Des Moines Gay Men’s Chorus (DMGMC). We asked, how do their bodies in motion and styling-fashioning-dressing produce, distribute, and negotiate queer representations? How do they appear across space and time? How can these style-fashion-dress acts open multiple interpretations and dialectical subtleties? To answer these questions, we analyzed the original DMGMC slogan T-shirt, the digital archive of historical LGBT T-shirts, performance videos and imagery, song lyrics, news articles, and oral histories. The chorus members negotiated queer sensibilities, choral traditions, activism, and community building through their T-shirts and performance costumes in complex ways. They negotiated queer representations by creating temporary queer spaces during the AIDS crisis and highlighting how community and visibility have been significant in gay history. However, the chorus often prioritized an appropriate kind of gay man via dress, which they reinforced through racial-power dynamics, complex-gender associations related to tuxedos, and cabaret performance outfits that included nun’s habits. The chorus’ various collective styles esthetically represent how gay men’s choruses navigate entanglements of tradition, gayness, and music while reclaiming oppressive symbology.