One of the very first seminars at Pride Sergel was a conversation between Jan Göransson from the Swedish Film Institute (SFI) and Professor Tiina Rosenberg. They talked about the "legendary diva" phenomenon and about the classic star Zarah Leander.
Two years ago, Tiina publisher her book Bögarnas Zarah: diva, ikon, kult (Zarah of the Gays: Diva, Icon, Cult). The talk was mostly about Zarah Leander, the old Swedish singing and acting diva whose controversial career started to blossom in Germany during the 30s. Her songs are often full of fun and have numerous references to the gay culture. This is not least due to her collaborations with lyricist Karl Gerhard.
– I've been interested in the gay culture and its lack of political sensitivity with regard to pop culture, but I have also been envious of the accenpance of that culture. Of course, I myself would start to put up more boundaries, says Tiina.
As a culture worker Jan knows a lot about the diva phenomenon. He describes, with additions interspersed by Tiina, the diva phenomenon as women with no accepted place in popular culture. He describes them as often broken older ladies, traditionally not very beautiful but rather ragged.
– They tend to be full of one-liners, he says and tells a story about when he got to meet Zarah Leander before one of her shows. He himself was then a young and green journalist then.
– It's a darned pity that these women aren't appreciated more!
The purpose of the talk was to determine why these "ragged ladies" have such a great following among gay men in particular. Tiina explains her thoughts:
– The are seductively entertaining and witty. The grab you and thay have their specific styles. Their music may be regarded as fantastic. But for the feminists this means anxiety! The see no future and no development in these old divas.
The audience at Kulturhustaket (the roof of Kulturhuset, located at floor 5) listened attentively to Jan, and maybe even more so to Tiina who has a solid place in LGBT and feminist academical, political and cultural circles. One of the audience, Martin, said:
– You can never have too much of Tiina!