What does "gay radio" sound like? Starting tomorrow, listeners in Toronto will be able to find out for themselves with the launch of Proud FM 103.9, which claims to be the world's first commercially licensed radio station to specifically target gay, lesbian, and transgender communities. So far the station's calling card appears to be its morning show What's For Breakfast, hosted by (out TV host) Ken Kostick and Mary Jo Eustace, a.k.a. the woman that Dean McDermott left for Tori Spelling. Kostick expressed his joy over his new position thusly: "I'm going to be able to say, 'Hey, I think Justin Timberlake is pretty hot.'"
And what, exactly, does a "gay" radio station play anyway? Gay artists like Elton John and staples like Cher and Madonna, naturally, but the station's emphasis on adult contempo fare seems to mostly be targeting gay yuppies (guppies?), so people hoping to hear hipper bands—the article cites "local queer acts" Hidden Cameras and Final Fantasy—will have to stick with their iPods.
"Do we have to go `we're gay, we're gay, we're gay!' Wouldn't that be just as annoying as someone saying `we're straight, we're straight, we're straight!'?" says James Collins, Proud's music director. "We all like the same music…Yes, we'll play more dancey stuff, and we're playing lots of openly gay artists and closeted gay artists, but it's just not discussed, like no one says, "We're playing Erasure, he's gay.'"
Erasure, wherever "he" is, could not be reached for comment.