08/13/2026
Today’s QUEERSTORY takes a look back at what might be our first gay anthem…
“I’m walking through life in nature’s disguise
You laugh at me and you criticize
‘cause I’m happy, carefree and gay - Yes, I’m gay
It ain’t a fault it’s a fact
I was born this way, yeah
Now I won’t judge you
Don’t you judge me”. We’re all the way nature meant us to be”…
So begins the opening lines of the disco dance song “Born This Way”. The song was first recorded by Valentino in 1975 but it was Carl Bean who had the hit.
The writers, Spierer and Jones, wanted to write a gay anthem and make the plight on gay issues known and bring it to the forefront. The song’s lyrics are about a man who proclaims that he’s a homosexual and that he was “born this way”.
It was one of the first gay disco songs written specifically for the gay community, before the Village People wave. By 1978, the Carl Bean version on Motown Records became a club hit on the Billboard National Disco Action, Top 40 chart, peaking at #15.
Forty years later Lady Gaga would record her own “Born This Way” as a new anthem to a younger generation. She would credit this earlier near forgotten anthem with these words… “Born This Way’, my song and album, were inspired by Carl Bean, a gay black religious activist who preached, sung and wrote about being Born This Way.”
Many thanks to for putting this on our radar! 🙏💜🏳️🌈
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