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Rona Cran, Associate Professor in Twentieth-Century American Literature, University of Birmingham

LGBT+ history: the story of camp, from Little Richard to Lil Nas X

UPI/Alamy

Although camp is difficult to define, it probably doesn’t need much description.

Ever since 1956 – when former teenage drag queen Little Richard began performing his tribute to anal sex, “Tutti Frutti”, while wearing a six-inch pompadour, plucked eyebrows, and eyeliner – camp has increasingly been accommodated into social acceptance and understanding. It has been adopted and adapted by celebrities including Dolly Parton, Prince, Elton John, Ru Paul, Lady Gaga, and Lil Nas X. It was the theme of the 2019 Met Gala, prompting widespread commentary about what camp is.

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