WWE began taking steps toward the eventual raunchiness of the Attitude Era in the mid-1990s, and there's no more evident example of that than the debut of Goldust. Goldust was a film buff obsessed with the golden age of Hollywood, but with a tight gold jumpsuit and long blond wig, he was more notable for possessing a sexual ambiguity that was intended to unnerve a pro wrestling audience. If Goldust's appearance didn't get the job done, his attitude did. He would make unwanted sexual advances toward his opponents - which announcers dismissed as "mind games" - in the form of innuendo or physical contact, and at WrestleMania XIII, a street fight with Roddy Piper ended with the revelation that Goldust was wearing women's lingerie under his wrestling gear. Though the character was not depicted as a gay man (or any human being with a healthy, non-predatory attitude toward sex), it was clearly meant to play off of audience homophobia in order to get heat. Goldust became one of the most controversial characters of the 1990s, but has remained an on-and-off part of WWE in the 20 years since his debut. Though the sexual nature of the gimmick has been toned down as the character has become more regularly regarding as a babyface, the initial shock of Goldust has been part of what has made his longevity possible.
Scott Fried is a Slammy Award-winning* writer living and working in New York City. He has been following/writing about professional wrestling for many years and is a graduate of Lance Storm's Storm Wrestling Academy. Follow him on Twitter at https://twitter.com/scottfried.
*Best Crowd of the Year, 2013
