Editing Spice Girls (section)

===1990s and gay icons===
{{blockquote
 |text = Much as the Spice Girls broke (and still retain) records for chart-climbing in their prime, they remain an anomaly of the pop machine—still household-name famous two decades on. Perhaps it was their original prowess, or the press's continued fascination with them, but the Spice Girls remain a cultural touchstone while their contemporaries{{nbsp}}... have struggled to.
 |source = ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'' in a 2018 article.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/music/artists/cancellations-fall-outs-no-posh-spice-girls-reuniting/|title=Cancellations, fall-outs, and no Posh: why are the Spice Girls reuniting?|first=Alice|last=Vincent|work=[[The Daily Telegraph]]|location=London|date=5 November 2018|access-date=12 May 2021|archive-url=https://archive.today/20210512114748/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/music/artists/cancellations-fall-outs-no-posh-spice-girls-reuniting/|archive-date=12 May 2021|url-status=live}}</ref>
}}

The Spice Girls have been labelled the biggest [[pop icon|pop phenomenon]] of the 1990s<ref name="spice girls form"/> due to the international record sales,<ref name="outstanding contribution"/> iconic symbolism, global cultural influence<ref name="iconic looks"/><ref name="slate"/> and apparent [[omnipresence]] they held during the decade.<ref name="spice girls bio">{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/spice-girls-mn0000008828/biography|title=Spice Girls: Biography by Stephen Thomas Erlewine|publisher=[[AllMusic]]|first=Stephen Thomas|last=Erlewine|author-link=Stephen Thomas Erlewine|access-date=8 August 2016|archive-url=https://archive.today/20210209090213/https://www.allmusic.com/artist/spice-girls-mn0000008828/biography|archive-date=9 February 2021|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=sinclair106113/> The group appeared on the cover of the July 1997 edition of ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' accompanied with the headline, "Spice Girls Conquer the World".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Dickerson |first1=James |title=Go, Girl, Go!: The Women's Revolution in Music |date=2005 |publisher=[[Schirmer Trade Books]] |page=124|isbn=978-0825673160}}</ref> At the [[2000 Brit Awards]], the group received the [[Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music|Outstanding Contribution to Music Award]] in honour of their success in the global music scene in the 1990s.<ref name="outstanding contribution">{{cite magazine|title=Brits: And The Nominees Are...|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |date=4 March 2000|last=Duffy|first=Thom|volume=112|issue=10|page=68|issn=0006-2510}}</ref> The iconic symbolism of the Spice Girls in the 1990s is partly attributed to their era-defining outfits,<ref name="iconic looks"/> the most notable being the [[Union Jack dress]] that Halliwell wore at the [[1997 Brit Awards]]. The dress has achieved iconic status, becoming one of the most prominent symbols of 1990s pop culture.<ref name="spice girls form"/><ref name=harpersbazaar/> The status of the Spice Girls as 1990s pop culture icons is also attributed to their vast marketing efforts and willingness to be a part of a media-driven world.<ref name="spice girls legacy"/> Their unprecedented appearances in adverts and the media solidified the group as a phenomenon—an icon of the decade and for British music.<ref name="sherrie"/><ref name="spice girls pop music"/>

A study conducted by the [[British Council]] in 2000 found that the Spice Girls were the second-best-known [[British people|Britons]] internationally—only behind then-Prime Minister [[Tony Blair]]—and the best-known Britons in Asia.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2000/nov/10/britishidentity.ewenmacaskill|title=World's youth sees Britons as racist drunks|work=[[The Guardian]]|first=Ewen|last=MacAskill|author-link=Ewen MacAskill|date=9 November 2000|access-date=13 February 2017|archive-url=https://archive.today/20210301120523/https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2000/nov/10/britishidentity.ewenmacaskill|archive-date=1 March 2021|url-status=live}}</ref> The group were featured in [[VH1]]'s ''[[I Love the '90s (American TV series)|I Love the '90s]]'' and the sequel ''[[I Love the '90s: Part Deux]]''; the series covered cultural moments from 1990s with the Spice Girls' rise to fame representing the year 1997, while Halliwell quitting the group represented 1998.<ref>{{Cite episode |title= 1997 |series=I Love the '90s |network=[[VH1]] |date= 15 July 2004|season=1 |series-no= |number=8}}</ref><ref>{{Cite episode |title= 1998 |series=I Love the '90s: Part Deux |network=[[VH1]] |date= 21 January 2005|season=1 |series-no= |number=9}}</ref> In 2006, ten years after the release of their debut single, the Spice Girls were voted the biggest cultural icons of the 1990s with 80 per cent of the votes in a UK poll of 1,000 people carried out for the board game ''[[Trivial Pursuit]]'', stating that "[[Girl Power]]" defined the decade.<ref name="90s icons">{{cite web|url=https://metro.co.uk/2006/04/03/spice-girls-are-icons-of-the-90s-40525/|title=Spice Girls are icons of the 90s|work=[[Metro (British newspaper)|Metro]]|first=Oliver|last=Stallwood|date=3 April 2006|access-date=13 February 2017|archive-url=https://archive.today/20210223171645/https://metro.co.uk/2006/04/03/spice-girls-are-icons-of-the-90s-40525/|archive-date=23 February 2021|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.contactmusic.net/spice-girls/news/spice-girls-top-cultural-icons-poll_28_03_2006 |title=Spice Girls Top Cultural Icons Poll |publisher=[[Contactmusic.com]] |date=28 March 2006 |access-date=13 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170211074134/http://www.contactmusic.net/spice-girls/news/spice-girls-top-cultural-icons-poll_28_03_2006 |archive-date=11 February 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The Spice Girls also ranked number ten in the [[E!]] TV special, ''The 101 Reasons the '90s Ruled''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tv.com/e!s-101/reasons-the-90s-ruled-20---1/episode/315329/summary.html |title=Reasons the '90s Ruled 20 – 1 |publisher=[[TV.com]] |access-date=8 August 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120207181848/http://www.tv.com/shows/es-101/reasons-the-90s-ruled-20-1-315329/|archive-date=7 February 2012|url-status=live}}</ref>

Some sources, especially those in the United Kingdom, regard the Spice Girls as [[gay icon]]s.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/9847145/G-A-Y-founder-takes-back-nightclub-chain-from-HMV.html|title=G-A-Y founder takes back nightclub chain from HMV|work=[[The Daily Telegraph]]|location=London|first=Denise|last=Roland|date=4 February 2013|access-date=20 February 2021|archive-date=20 February 2021|archive-url=https://archive.today/20210220083534/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/9847145/G-A-Y-founder-takes-back-nightclub-chain-from-HMV.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gaystarnews.com/article/how-old-does-microsoft-think-these-18-gay-icons-are010515/|title=How old does Microsoft think these 18 gay icons are?|work=[[Gay Star News]]|date=1 May 2015|first=Joe|last=Morgan|archive-date=20 February 2021|archive-url=https://archive.today/20210220083959/https://www.gaystarnews.com/article/how-old-does-microsoft-think-these-18-gay-icons-are010515/|url-status=live|access-date=22 March 2017}}</ref> In a 2007 UK survey of more than 5,000 gay men and women, Beckham placed 12th and Halliwell placed 43rd in a ranking of the top 50 gay icons.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2007/01/05/gordon-ramsay-50th-most-popular-gay-icon/|title=Gordon Ramsay 50th most popular gay icon|work=[[PinkNews]]|date=5 January 2007|first=Tony|last=Grew|access-date=20 February 2021|archive-url=https://archive.today/20210220085012/https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2007/01/05/gordon-ramsay-50th-most-popular-gay-icon/|archive-date=20 February 2021|url-status=live}}</ref> Halliwell was the recipient of the Honorary Gay Award at the 2016 [[Attitude (magazine)|Attitude Awards]]<ref name="attitude awards 2016">{{cite web|url=https://attitude.co.uk/article/interview-geri-horner-talks-spice-girls-solo-regrets-and-her-kinship-with-the-gay-community/13210/|title=Interview: Geri Horner talks Spice Girls, solo regrets, and her kinship with the gay community|work=[[Attitude (magazine)|Attitude]]|date=5 January 2017|access-date=13 February 2017|first=Juno|last=Dawson|archive-url=https://archive.today/20210220085620/https://attitude.co.uk/article/interview-geri-horner-talks-spice-girls-solo-regrets-and-her-kinship-with-the-gay-community/13210/|archive-date=20 February 2021|url-status=live}}</ref> and Chisholm was given the "Celebrity Ally" award at the 2021 [[British LGBT Awards]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Demi Lovato, Nicola Adams and Olly Alexander honoured at British LGBT Awards|url=https://www.msn.com/en-gb/entertainment/news/demi-lovato-nicola-adams-and-olly-alexander-honoured-at-british-lgbt-awards/ar-AANPh36?ocid=BingNewsSearch|access-date=1 September 2021|work=Evening Standard|location=London|language=en}}</ref> In a 2005 interview, Bunton attributed their large gay following to the group's fun-loving nature, open-mindedness and their love of fashion and dressing up.<ref name="Emma Bunton Interview">{{cite web |url=http://dancemusic.about.com/od/artistshomepages/a/EmmaBuntonInt_3.htm |title=Emma Bunton Interview |publisher=[[About.com]]|first= DJ Ron|last=Slomowicz|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20050917141334/http://dancemusic.about.com/od/artistshomepages/a/EmmaBuntonInt_3.htm |archive-date=17 September 2005|access-date=13 February 2017}}</ref> The LGBTQ magazine ''[[Gay Times]]'' credits the Spice Girls as having been "ferocious advocates of the community" throughout their whole career.<ref name=gaytimesemma>{{cite web|url=https://www.gaytimes.com/amplify/emma-bunton-on-the-spice-girls-lyric-they-changed-to-be-more-inclusive-amplify-by-gay-times/|title=Emma Bunton on the Spice Girls lyric they changed to be more inclusive|work=[[Gay Times]]|first=Lewis|last=Corner|year=2019|access-date=3 March 2021|archive-url=https://archive.today/20210303044710/https://www.gaytimes.co.uk/amplify/emma-bunton-on-the-spice-girls-lyric-they-changed-to-be-more-inclusive-amplify-by-gay-times/|archive-date=3 March 2021|url-status=live}}</ref> According to Bunton, the LGBTQ community was a big influence on the group's music. A desire to be more inclusive also led the group to change the lyrics in "2 Become 1"; the lyric "Any deal that we endeavour/boys and girls feel good together" appears in their debut album but was changed to "Once again if we endeavour/love will bring us back together" for the single and music video release.<ref name=gaytimesemma/>