So Adam Lambert didn’t win first place on American Idol. Was it because of his sexuality?

Lots of people think homophobia played a role in Adam’s second-place finish. Rick Ketterer—a frequent reader of The Critical Condition that you may know as Ferretrick—disagrees. After the jump, you can read his excellent essay on why its ludicrous (and possibly harmful) to blame hate for Idol 8.

Adam Lambert Loses: The Problems with the Homophobia Excuse

By RICK KETTERER

In the week since Adam “emo boy” Lambert lost to Kris “white bread” Allen on American Idol, the web has exploded with people blaming the outcome on homophobia. Brush aside the fact that Lambert has not come out. He certainly presents a “gay” image on stage, and if homophobia was a factor, gay-in-fact or gay-in-appearance would not make much difference.

Internet commenters think it was. Examine the Idol threads on Television Without Pity. Brin writes, “Well love, hope and tolerance all just kind of took a sucker punch from the narrow minded hate filled bigots in this country.” Jerseytrash comments, “We all know that part of the reason Adam lost was the huge push by certain noninclusive Christian leaders…It’s a competition to find the most acceptable persona for Conservative Middle America.” Suann even throws in an Obama reference: “Just when we thought America may not be as prejudiced after the Obama victory.” Responding to an NPR article on things Allen did to win, Patrick Cleary says, “Don’t forget, ‘Be straight, while the guy you’re competing against is on magazine covers asking ‘Is America Ready for a Gay American Idol?” because that’s also important.”

Lest these be dismissed as the sour grapes of pissed off fans, consider some professional opinions. From the New York Daily News…“There was talk of “red state-blue state” politics at work, with Lambert’s painted fingernails, “guyliner,” and uncertain sexuality against Allen’s down-home, churchgoing sensibilities. Given the current political climate, that matchup appeared to favor Lambert, but a number of blue-state types may be “too cool” for Idol’s mass appeal, and unlikely to vote.” Omar Hassan of Pink News ramps up the hysteria by invoking in the patriarchy and the loss of Proposition 8 (while conveniently ignoring five states where gay marriage is legal). “If the passage of Proposition 8…has anything to say about the American public, it is that they tend to relate to those who share the same traditional family values as themselves. Debatably, it wouldn’t be too much of a leap to assume that voters stuck with a conventional singer, who wouldn’t threaten traditional patriarchy.”

The problems with the homophobia explanation are multi-faceted. First off, it is impossible to prove. Unless someone actually and surveys people on why they voted for Kris, amassing some actual statistical proof, people can (and will, and have) make up any reason to explain the results. I can claim that Adam lost because aliens sent mind control beams that made his fans forget how to text message, and there is as much credible, scientific proof of my explanation. Really, is it that much more of a stretch to believe that there were homophobes so dedicated to making sure Lambert wouldn’t win, that they voted FOR HOURS for Allen? It’s laughable to believe that more than a handful of people are that dedicated. Plus, blaming homophobia ignores the fact that America has been voting on the results since 32 contestants remained (including ultra-Christian minister Danny Gokey) and Adam Lambert made it to 2nd place. If homophobia played a role, Adam would have been eliminated before the finale.

More importantly, the homophobia line insults both finalists. It dismisses Kris’ talent and ignores many things he did well…like “Falling Slowly,” “Heartless,” and “She Works Hard for the Money.” He took a not-that-memorable disco song, arranged it in a completely different style to suit his voice, and made it sound wholly new and exciting. Kara DioGuardi, who so often had no boundaries to her inanity (rimshot!), actually summed up Kris’ appeal quite well on finale night. “You have a way of creating an intimate bond with everybody in the audience…you make us feel like you’re singing it to us.” That ability made him a formidable and worthy competitor. Whatever Adam’s talents, creating intimacy with the audience isn’t one of them.

Adam himself does not buy the homophobia explanation, or want it. On Larry King Live he was asked that question and replied “Sexuality aside, I think it more had to do with maybe my appearance and what songs I gravitated toward and my performance style.” To make excuses for Adam’s loss is to make Adam a victim and denigrate his accomplishment, the equivalent of giving a ribbon to everyone just for participating. It is a copout that Adam himself has too much pride to accept. The fans who indulge in righteous anger and scream “Homophobia!” would do well to follow his example.

Whenever a gay man suffers defeat, there is a natural reaction to blame prejudice. However, it is that mentality that ultimately keeps homosexuals down. It is saying that, no matter how hard we try, we will never gain full acceptance, so we shouldn’t try at all. It is patting us on the head, and saying, “Well, you’re great, but you just can’t be gay and win in America. You’ll only be second best.” Fuck that. It is exactly that defeatist mentality that makes us afraid to fight for things far more important than winning American Idol-things like equal marriage rights and equal protection under the law.

Even if homophobia had cost Adam the win, which it didn’t, it would not matter. Adam placed runner up in a nationwide competition, without compromising or conforming. That is something to take pride in and celebrate, not to make excuses for, cry over, or belittle. Thousands of teenagers watch American Idol; many of them are gay and struggling with their sexuality. Is the message of this Idol season “If you want to win, don’t be who you are” or is it, “You can be exactly who you are and millions of people will love you for it.” Don’t make excuses for why Adam lost. To paraphrase Michelle Kwan, Adam didn’t lose the gold. He won the silver.

Note from Mark: Rick’s argument is only strengthened by the sales of Lambert and Allen’s music on iTunes. The service has been ranking their recordings on its sales charts since the winner was announced, and both are doing very well. In fact, though Kris’ singles are outselling Adam’s, Adam has had the higher-ranked album all week. That means more people are buying the complete set of his Idol performances—which iTunes counts as an album–than are buying Kris’.

As of Tuesday afternoon, Adam’s album is ranked #2 (behind Eminem), while Kris has two singles in the top ten. There seems to be enough love to go around.

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Rick Ketterer has a Bachelor’s in English from Xavier University and an MBA from the University of Cincinnati.  He works as an accountant in Cincinnati, where he and his partner try to maintain their sanity taking care of one fat black hole of emotional need cat, one skinny bitch from hell cat, and one diabetic, nuerotic dog.