purplethunder3121 said:

robertlove said:

Didn't GM make a very gay video after he came out? I really think when GM had just said he had a boyfriend, people would have made not such a big deal out of it....actually most people knew that already. It was the toilet scene and George Michael who started to act very gay after he came out!

Same goes with Elton John....wasn't he on divas live?

Most people knew Freddy Mercury was gay (ok, bisexual) but he was never labeled as a gay artist.

Freddy Mercury was bi?! Since when? I always knew him as gay for decades...

Didn't he have a relationship with a woman when he passed away?

I don't know, maybe he was gay, I never met him

johnart said:

Gunsnhalen said:

You guys may attack me for this but hear me out. I myself as a gay men can see why some people may not want to automatically come out.

Because whether we like it or not being gay is seen as a big thing when it shouldn't be.... And if i was releasing music or movies or just any kind of work i would want to be known for that work. Not for oh that gay guy who does this or that, it's true that once you come out you are seen as a ''gay artist'' And some artists want to appeal to everyone not just gay.

George Michael appealed to everyone but when he came out his music was quickly labeled as ''gay'' same with Elton.. and i remember Neil Tennant of the Pet Shop Boys saying he somewhat regrets coming out when he did. Because he didn't want PSB to be seen as stritctly a gay band.

So idk i can see why some artists or news people or whoever may feel the need to not make it a big announcement for reasons like that. It would be nice if someone coming out wasn't headline material as it's just a purely natural thing....

But we have a long way to go before that happens sadly

I half-get your point.
I suppose I get it fully, actually, just feel that gay folk should not be so resentful of being labeled "gay artists". Many Black artists do quite well, appealing to their own community and well beyond. I don't see too many who resist being called (or calling themselves) Black artists.

I find it kind of lame that any artist should regret their coming out due to being labeled a Gay artist. There is plenty of $$ in the Gay community (in the event that one should become a niche act) and the Pet Shop Boys are not hurting for a following, so get over it Mr. Tennant.

As a visual artist I WISH that I had just a small fraction of the following some of these folk do. Most of my work up to this point has not been particularly "gay"-themed (mostly women, music and Latin themes) but of course I am a Gay artist just as much as I am a Latino artist or a male artist. These are all parts of me which inform my work.

I ablosolutely agree with you. However, as long as being gay is not accepted, I do think it is important for the gay community to show the world that it is not a weird, evil or learned attituted.

This friday the Ukrainian governement, under influence of the christian church, want to pass a law that makes being gay a criminal act. As long as these kind of things are still going on, I support people who help the christians and homophobic people with overcoming their prejudices about gay people.

BTW, you can let the Ukrainian government know you are against their new law. Sign this petition before friday, and hopefully they will not criminilize being gay:

www.allout.org/ukraine

SUPRMAN said:

Deadflow3r said:

This is a bit like George Michael coming out; why bother except that gay men may think your avoidance of actually speaking about it is due to feeling ashamed of your sexuality. Both men could "pass" as bi I guess but few where ever fooled that they were straight.

What does pass as bi mean?

I am a masculine gay man that a lot of people don't assume is gay.

I've dated and slept with women but I am not bi, definitely gay.

To "passz' to me is short for " to pass for something that you are not".

Just because a person can "pass" doesn't mean that they are trying to.

If I go to a Greek cultural event, some people may talk to me in Greek. It is not because I am trying to pass, I just look like I could actually be Greek, at least I look more Greek than Anderson Cooper.

When women hit on Anderson Cooper in the past it was probably because they genuinely thought he dated women, not because they wanted to sway him to the other team. I have met some very masculine gay men who were hit on by women all the time. They took it in stride. They were not trying to pick women up AT ALL, it just happened that they were handsome and women noticed them.

musicjunky318 said:

Why do people feel the need to announce it? It's your business Anderson. The hell with anybody else.

I think it's important for cats like him to announce it to help break the stereotypes too many people still have about gay men. We don't all look or act like the guys on Rupaul's Drag Race or any of those shows on BRAVO. People believe that shit!

robertlove said:

purplethunder3121 said:

Freddy Mercury was bi?! Since when? I always knew him as gay for decades...

Didn't he have a relationship with a woman when he passed away?

I don't know, maybe he was gay, I never met him

Freddie was bi. He was in several relationships with women just as much as he was with men but I think he felt more emotionally connected to women than he did with men (until his last boyfriend that was with him until he died). He lived openly as bi but he didn't come out and say it because he felt "it's none of people's business what I do".

robertlove said:

Gunsnhalen said:

You guys may attack me for this but hear me out. I myself as a gay men can see why some people may not want to automatically come out.

Because whether we like it or not being gay is seen as a big thing when it shouldn't be.... And if i was releasing music or movies or just any kind of work i would want to be known for that work. Not for oh that gay guy who does this or that, it's true that once you come out you are seen as a ''gay artist'' And some artists want to appeal to everyone not just gay.

George Michael appealed to everyone but when he came out his music was quickly labeled as ''gay'' same with Elton.. and i remember Neil Tennant of the Pet Shop Boys saying he somewhat regrets coming out when he did. Because he didn't want PSB to be seen as stritctly a gay band.

So idk i can see why some artists or news people or whoever may feel the need to not make it a big announcement for reasons like that. It would be nice if someone coming out wasn't headline material as it's just a purely natural thing....

But we have a long way to go before that happens sadly

Didn't GM make a very gay video after he came out? I really think when GM had just said he had a boyfriend, people would have made not such a big deal out of it....actually most people knew that already. It was the toilet scene and George Michael who started to act very gay after he came out!

Same goes with Elton John....wasn't he on divas live?

Most people knew Freddy Mercury was gay (ok, bisexual) but he was never labeled as a gay artist.

Who believed Freddie Mercury was bi? He was always a gay artist to me like Morrissey, Elton John, Liberace, Michael Stipe.

robertlove said:

purplethunder3121 said:

Freddy Mercury was bi?! Since when? I always knew him as gay for decades...

Didn't he have a relationship with a woman when he passed away?

I don't know, maybe he was gay, I never met him

I don't think having relationships with women makes you bi.

I have had girlfriends and I am definitely gay. Being able to have sex with a woman doesn't make you hetero or bi.

SUPRMAN said:

robertlove said:

Didn't he have a relationship with a woman when he passed away?

I don't know, maybe he was gay, I never met him

I don't think having relationships with women makes you bi.

I have had girlfriends and I am definitely gay. Being able to have sex with a woman doesn't make you hetero or bi.

Huh? What? Do you mean you've had girlfriends and have sex with woman after you came out?

How does that not make you bi?

SUPRMAN said:

robertlove said:

Didn't GM make a very gay video after he came out? I really think when GM had just said he had a boyfriend, people would have made not such a big deal out of it....actually most people knew that already. It was the toilet scene and George Michael who started to act very gay after he came out!

Same goes with Elton John....wasn't he on divas live?

Most people knew Freddy Mercury was gay (ok, bisexual) but he was never labeled as a gay artist.

Who believed Freddie Mercury was bi? He was always a gay artist to me like Morrissey, Elton John, Liberace, Michael Stipe.

Freddy Mercury was hardly considered a gay artist.

Is Morrissey gay?

Genesia said:

Cerebus said:

Is Morrissey gay?

Nah. He's 100% a punk though.

robertlove said:

SUPRMAN said:

Who believed Freddie Mercury was bi? He was always a gay artist to me like Morrissey, Elton John, Liberace, Michael Stipe.

Freddy Mercury was hardly considered a gay artist.

I always thought Freddie was camp. But hell "hetero" artists can be camp too (Elvis anyone?). It don't necessarily mean you're put into the "gay box". Besides from the leather and the operatic vocal styles, you wouldn't have thought Rob Halford was only gunning for one party (gay).

To me Freddie was a gender bender and, in this case, he also blurred the lines between gay and straight, therefore he was neither gay nor straight. Openly bisexual to people in private but publicly he advised those to get off his jock about it.

Elton John, I also consider a camp artist. Hell I can't even cite him as a "gay artist" because he came out later in life. Initially he said he was bisexual but I think that was more acceptable than gay and even then he suffered in the press because to come out as anything other than hetero was still taboo but I think his career suffered because of bad musical choices rather than his sexuality. In fact his music success started to increase after he admitted he was gay and he was already a music legend by then.

Michael Stipe is definitely what he says he is: "a queer artist". He ain't camp but he don't strike me as "gay" either. And in his life, he basically lives by his own rules regardless of who he actually dates.

Liberace was too camp for his own good and I'm surprised he even HAD sex with ANYONE to be honest!

Morrissey, like I said, to call him gay, would be an insult to gay folks because he's just a whiny wuss who acted both camp (and sad) just so people can wonder why he was so mad (and sad) all the time.

Well with Freddie lets remember that it was the 70's and it was a time when sexuality was much more fluid.

robertlove said:

SUPRMAN said:

I don't think having relationships with women makes you bi.

I have had girlfriends and I am definitely gay. Being able to have sex with a woman doesn't make you hetero or bi.

Huh? What? Do you mean you've had girlfriends and have sex with woman after you came out?

How does that not make you bi?

Not after I came out.

Men are clearly my preference. Not bi at all.

lazycrockett said:

Well with Freddie lets remember that it was the 70's and it was a time when sexuality was much more fluid.

True!

SUPRMAN said:

robertlove said:

Didn't he have a relationship with a woman when he passed away?

I don't know, maybe he was gay, I never met him

I don't think having relationships with women makes you bi.

I have had girlfriends and I am definitely gay. Being able to have sex with a woman doesn't make you hetero or bi.

Agreed