Gays go Maude.

Thanks to TV Land, the '70s sitcom is back in fashion with lesbians too. Star Bea Arthur says she has a clue why

"I have become some kind of an icon," marvels Beatrice Arthur. She's referring to her Big Gay Following, a phenomenon sparked in the '70s by her bold turn as wild liberal Maude in the loud landmark sitcom of the same name. And since cable's TV Land brought back the "uncompromising, enterprising" dame (as its theme song goes) in August, after a 21-year hiatus, she's in the gaygeist again.

Case in point: Martin Short recently brought up Arthur's gay and lesbian fan base when she made a quest appearance on his new talk show. And TV Guide's openly gay consulting editor Frank DeCaro felt compelled to interview the veteran actress about her classic show for the magazine's September 3 issue. Arthur, 76, has an explanation for all the fuss: "You play strong, honest people, and gays buy it because it's real and it's slightly antiestablishment."

So perhaps it was in a fit of wishful nostalgia that TV Guide reported that the bitter-funny Maude threw gay rights into its grab bag of issues like abortion and manic-depressive illness. Actually, Arthur says that while "homosexual rights came up in writing meetings," CBS never sanctioned a gay-themed episode during its 1972-1978 run. "We weren't quite ready for [gay stories] yet," says Marlene Warfield, who played Maude's ever-present maid for ten episodes (and who now happens to be on staff at LPI, which publishes The Advocate). "I think people think we did a gay show because it was so ahead of its time. Everybody was following it."

The open-minded, progressive sensibilities of its namesake character especially struck a chord with gay men, who may have been watching from the safety of the closet. Lesbians were paying special attention too. In fact, stand-up comic Elvira Kurt credits some of her bite to Maude Findlay's independent, pro-woman stance and withering stares paired with nimble comic timing. "I loved her attitude," says Kurt. "She had a labia, you know what I mean?"

Out comedienne Suzanne Westenhoefer is a fan too. "I love Bea Arthur," she squeals. Arthur, Westenhoefer swears, helped her form her burgeoning sexual identity. "I had the biggest crush on her in junior high," she says. (This, Arthur really doesn't buy: "No, my dear," she pooh-poohs. "I was terribly overweight. I had that awful hairdo.") Westenhoefer adds that she spent three hours on the couch during TV Land's recent week-long Maude-athon. "It was the most amazing show," Westenhoefer says. "You could never do it on television again. I don't think anybody actually pushes the envelope like that anymore."

Arthur, who lives in the tony Brentwood district of Los Angeles, saw her gay icon status grow to epic proportions in the late '80s during the run of The Golden Girls. She recalls that gay bars across the country even threw Saturday night parties and presented montages of Arthur zinging caustic put-downs with her cast mates Betty White, Rue McClanahan, and Estelle Getty. "People would even go dressed as us," she says.

"I think, What the hell," muses Arthur of her niche following. She pauses the way Maude would, adding, "And don't forget, I was on Broadway in Mame. Let's face it, it's not a genetic thing, but gay men sure dig musicals."