[Edited 9/10/05 14:12pm]

I have been a dedicated fan of Prince for over 14 years now, but
in all that time I have never seen an article or even a letter referring to
the impact of the Artist on his gay audience. So I though I would write to
redress this imbalance!


Prince has been a huge influence in my life in terms of the development of
my gay self-identity. Whether I realised it at the time or not, Prince
showed me that the line between girls and boys is as blurred as those
between black and white, or straight and gay. He articulated the
'controversy' that I experienced as I tried to make sense of my burgeoning
sexuality, personnifying the confusion I felt inside. Here was a MAN who
looked, sang and danced like an angel, and a pretty one at that! Was he
straight or gay? It didn't really matter- you just got the impression that
he would be an expert lover, able to satisfy you whatever sex you were. He
represented liberation, assuring you that when you got to Uptown or Paisley
Park, all you'd find would be love, acceptance and sexual emancipation. But
this (gay?) club was not limited by a geographical location: it was more a
state of mind, a philosophy. The New Power Generation flouted traditional
sexual boundaries; join, and you could be what you wanted to be, the
colourful person that all gay men dream of being, somewhere over the purple
rainbow.


However, Prince also embodied the flip-side of gay experience: the guilt
and internal conflict by which many young gay men are consumed as they
become aware of their same-sex feelings. Prince knew all about Temptation.
He had 2 sides, and though he tried to make them friends, his divide
loyalties to both God and Sex were often a source of dramatic conflict. For
me, this reflected the battle I felt as an adolescent between what I was
naively praying for - 'Please God, I don't want to be gay!' - and what my
body insisted upon - 'Sorry, but you are!'. Prince seemed to understand this
battle between 'lust' and spirituality. He knew the guilt, the turmoil, the
self-deprecation that causes us to volunteer to be sent to the Electric
Chair. Sadly, in a world where it is still very difficult to be gay, there
aren't many gay men who can say honestly that they have never succumbed to
this insidious, negative view of their sexuality.


Thank God we eventually grow out of that phase, and hopefully move on to
become proud, happy gay people who accept and love ourselves as we were
created. But, if I am honest, I am not sure that Prince/the Artist has
helped me to reach that stage. When I was emerging as a gay man, Prince
represented a 'staging post' between living a straight and gay lifestyle. He
was the bridge between two cultures, and for that I am grateful. But, at the
end of the day, he is straight (I think!) and so he can never be a true gay
role model for me. This means that since I have accepted my sexuality, I
feel slightly differently towards the Artist because I am interpreting his
music on a metaphorical level, rather than a literal one. I would be really
interested to hear if other gay Prince fans have had a similar
experience.

Juice said:

-----
"I wish there was no black & white " Don't you think he meant that figurativly.
As in I wish there was no color line.

I can't believe you are taking that lyric that way. P just did not want to be stuck on the RnB chart for the rest of his life. I think sometimes people forget that back in 1978 RnB acts stayed on the RnB charts.

.
[Edited 9/10/05 16:55pm]

meow85 said:

-----
Don't you think we the crappy why he has treated people someone would have outed him a long time ago.

Boy George was outing George Michael before he got busted in the that mens room.

I just don't see how it would have been a secret this long. You hear more stuff about Tom Cruise and Eddie Murphy than you do about Prince.

laurarichardson said:

Do we have to go over this again? Prince does not need you or any other fan jumping to defend his assumed heterosexuality. If he cared that people think he's gay or bi, he'd have dropped the makeup and women's clothes long ago. Get over it, he has.

As for his shitty treatment of associates: he also makes everyone sign a legally binding confidentiality agreement, no? If someone blabbed about anything personal he could haul their asses to court. I'm not saying that means he's anything, gay, straight, or otherwise. What I'm saying is that all we have to base our guesses on is what we know of him as complete strangers -which is really a whole lot of nothing.

He could be straight; he could be gay; he could be bi. I don't know for sure, and neither do you.
[Edited 9/10/05 17:12pm]

What if Prince "had a" nose a job....

Now I know how not to get locked.

meow85 said:

-----
He has said numerous times that he is a heterosexual. So I am not defending his assumed sexual preference.

Those agreements have a end date as serveral associates are flapping their jaws 20 years later and I don't hear anyone saying he is gay.

I am sorry that just does not make any fucking sense to me.
Your right none of know for sure and it really is not any of our business anyway.

Now go calm yourself as this is nothing to get upset over.
[Edited 9/11/05 14:28pm]

laurarichardson said:

I'm not upset, just confused as to why you and others like you think you need to defend his sexuality.

meow85 said:

-----
Well I am confused as to why people like you are so eager to P on the gay list?
When it is obvious he don't want to be on the gay list.

Eye don't care what they said -
“He don't play the hits no more
Plus eye thought he was gay.”

laurarichardson said:

I'm not eager to see him on any list. I don't know what he prefers, and you don't either.

I'm only going to say it one more time since you obviously missed it before:

If he cared if people thought he was gay or bi, he'd have dropped the makeup and women's clothes a long time ago. Get over it. He has.

Bobby gets up, the others follow him to the door-- BOBBY Z : What difference does it make, Prince. We're still a group, right?

mrwigglesdaw1rm said:

HE'S NOT. COULD BE, SHOULD BE, WOULD BE. HE'S NOT. ACCEPT REALITY. LOSE THE FANTASY, EVEN THOUGH IT HUURRRTTTSSS.

Juice said:

[b]

He is not gay. If he was, SO WHAT!!!!! That is his business.

Pondwater said:

Yeah..his business cos his life should be private right

meow85 said:

-----
Lot's of stars wear make-up and lot's of rock stars are wearing make-up today.
I could name dozens. Why don't you go worry about those guys and why don't you think the rest of the public does not sit around worrying about it?

It is called showbiz baby. Stop taking everything P does seriously. I sure don't and maybe your to young to remember but P stole the revolutionary blouse look from the new wave groups back in the 80's. So you get over it or go back to your dream of trying to make P a gay icon (LOL)

laurarichardson said:

Well Said.

AsylumUtopia said:

Is that the one where the "ladies" in the video weren't ladies at all?

id root him

NouveauDance said:

I really agree with that. Prince obviously got a fetish for women's clothes, high heels, stockings, lingerie and so on... And like most closet transvestite is certainly straight ! He loves women so much he wants to look like them, nothing new under the sun.

Nevertheless I must confess i got a tranny video featuring a "girl" that looks a lot like him (it's not him, don't wanna spread false rumours), and that made my hetero brain says : "hmm, if Prince could look like "her", i would certainly bone his ass !"

ChimChimBadass said:

Speaking of which, Camille Paglia says, in Sexual Personae:

"A woman putting on men’s clothes merely steals social power, but a man putting on women’s clothes is searching for God. [...] Mothers and fathers are not in the same cosmic league. Fatherhood is short, motherhood long, for earth is a mother of ever-changing costume..." (p. 90)

I happen to be finishing up an essay about Prince, the Camille persona and its masks.

jonty1975 said:

As a lil' child would say : dat's nasty

mrwigglesdaw1rm said:

My wife reckons i would turn for him, so does my dad..actually so does everyone i know

sosgemini said:

[Edited 9/13/05 16:46pm]

jonty1975 said:

You gay people would like that, wouldnt you?

Juice said:

What if pink elephants flew out of Prince's ass

rudeboynpg said:

Caption time: Prince is thinking, "Hmmm pink elephants flying out of my ass would definitely not b cool!"