The Naked Civil Servant (book) The Naked Civil Servant (book) The Naked Civil Servant is the 1968 autobiography of British gay icon Quentin Crisp, adapted into a 1975 film of the same name starring John Hurt. The book began as a 1964 radio interview with Crisp conducted by his friend and fellow eccentric Philip O'Connor. A managing director at Jonathan Cape heard the interview and commissioned the publication. Having sold only 3,500 copies when first released, the book became a success when it was republished following the television movie broadcast. The book contains many anecdotes about Crisp's life from childhood to middle age, including troubles
Gay icon and self-image in the 1950s and after. One critic has argued for Johnny Cash as a minor lesbian icon, attributing his appeal to "lesbian identification with troubled and suffering masculinity." Science fiction author Forrest J Ackerman was dubbed an "honorary lesbian" for his help during the early days of lesbian rights organisation Daughters of Bilitis. He also wrote lesbian-themed fiction under the pseudonym Laurajean Ermayne. Gay icons may be homosexual or heterosexual, out or in the closet, male or female. The women most commonly portrayed by drag queens are usually gay icons. The definition of what it means to be