LGBT social movements and gays. Veteran activists such as Sylvia Rivera and Beth Elliot were sidelined or expelled because they were transgender. In 1974, Maureen Colquhoun came out as the first Lesbian MP for the Labour Party in the UK. When elected she was married in a heterosexual marriage. In 1975, the groundbreaking film portraying homosexual gay icon Quentin Crisp's life, The Naked Civil Servant was transmitted by Thames Television for the British Television channel ITV. The British journal Gay Left also began publication. After British Home Stores sacked an openly gay trainee Tony Whitehead, a national campaign subsequently picketed their stores in
Gay icon a "gay icon" has come under criticism in recent years for a lack of substance. Paul Flynn of "The Guardian" wrote, "The concept of gay icon is a cheap ticket...[and] the idea of gay iconography itself is currently replaceable with the idea of popularity and the ability to carry a strong, identifiable, signature look." Author Michael Thomas Ford depicts a similar attitude in his work of fiction "Last Summer". Although the term "gay icon" is most commonly used in the United States, the concept is found in other cultures, as well. Dalida, an Egyptian singer of Italian origin, had a