I posted something before about how being a Prince-fan made me an outcast to a degree. I spoke of a scenario of when I was in Kindergarten and I was singing "Rock Hard in a Funky Place". Mind you, this was when that legendary Black Album went into bootleg territory and if you got your hands on a copy at the time you were lucky. But anyways, I was singing but nobody knew what I was talking about. But then I mentioned it was Prince, and they all laughed. I guess he wasn't as cool as L.L. or DMC or MJ. But my question to the .orgers out there is, have you even been in a situation where you felt like an outcast simply because you were a Prince fan or had to deal with the biased opinions of your peers?

Never was I an outcast because of my and admiration 4 PRINCE...
I was simply interesting and fun and wacky about it...anyone who knows me knows 2 expect the optical illusion 2 come 2 life!
Besides, there aint a damn thang wrong with liking Prince's music..it should make you feel stronger, more mysterious and definetly a rebellion.
Those who dont know, may wind up tangled in the Digital Garden's weeds.

Ok, I'm cheating by responding to this thread since I'm over 20 (), but yeah, I've definitely encountered some nasty attitudes from peers...I grew UP loving Prince. I heard him all the time when I was growing up, since my older sister adored him and would play him constantly. My mom remembers me bouncing around the living room to "Let's Go Crazy" when I was about 7 years old, and the songs from Purple Rain were constantly on the radio.


My love for Prince's music persisted, all through my adolescence, and I found it hard to understand why people didn't love him as much as they did in his mid-80's heyday.

Schoolmates gave me a lot of flack, particularly when I was in high school and had a o(+> keyring hanging from my backpack, since the album of the same name had just come out. (CHRIST, I'm dating myself here! )

Mostly silly jocks and preps who thought he was just plain weird (remember when people thought he was weirder than Michael Jackson?!? ), and of course, I heard a lot of "Isn't he gaaay or something?", "He's a midget that dresses like a chick!", "He sings all high like a girl!" (It's called a falsetto, you musically-inept twit!),
and even one of my teachers sent a note home with me to give my parents because she was "concerned" about my listening to Prince and being a big fan because "his music seems to suggest promiscuity and irresponsible behavior".

...In HIGH SCHOOL, for godssakes! Not even parochial school! A regular, middle-class populated public school. Sheesh. I guess her heart was in the right place because I was an A.P. student and she didn't want to see me screw up behaviorally and lose the scholarships I was attempting to get for college.
[This message was edited Wed Feb 26 16:26:45 PST 2003 by VioletTheOrganGrinder]

CherrieMoonKisses said:

You're absolutely right! There is nothing wrong with Prince. I think he's one of the greatest artists ever. I'm just asking if anyone has ever felt like an outcast because, believe me, there are folks out there with biased opinions about the man, and unfortunately I had to deal with a lot of them.

NWF said:

Ohkays...in that case: I definetly have run in2 problems and/or weird looks because of my and admiration 4 Prince, but no one dared 2 tease, bully or rattle me on because they'd start wearing make-up like HE did! (that was 4 the guys)

VioletTheOrganGrinder said:

See, now this is what I mean. It almost seemed to you back then that it might have been shameful listening to Prince, as if he was the Devil or something. Prince is all about Peace & Love and more importantly, SEX!. But I guess to some folks there's no place in music for that.

Used to get knocked around about this - I still do!! People always rip on Prince for one reason or another. Personally I'm bored of it so it doesn't bother me.

NWF said:

Um, no, I never thought there was anything shameful about it at all...Otherwise I wouldn't have laughed when my teacher expressed her "concern" about it, and my family laughed too. WE knew better. Unfortunately, a few insipid people DIDN'T. If I was ashamed of it, I certainly wouldn't have advertised my love for him by wearing a o(+> out in the open for everyone to see.

Oh, OK

when i was 9... my mother found me listening to "jack u off" ... she kicked me out of the house... i lived on the streets for 3 days, before she allowed me back home

*I'm always being hasseled because I like Prince. I'm in 9th grade, and in love with a 44 year old and his music, I have him plastered all over a purple binder, people give me alot of shit. But hey, everyone likes different things, and I'm glad kids my age accept that! (Well most) But I've never 'hid' the fact taht I like him, and never will! When I tell people that I've just met that I'm into Prince they either poke fun at him, or say something like "Little Red Corvette rocks!" lol I'm always interested in what their response will be...*

Well, I've always gottten flack from friends and some family. My mom calls Prince "Princess" and says that he's gay. In high school, I wore my loves me, love T-Shirt, and had a lotta people go, OMG, that is so stupid, and what kinda freak are you. So, I told them that I was the kind of freak that appreciates good music, unlike you mindless teenybopper loving fools! I'm in college now and I still get harrased about it. I have a custom made bag that has something to do with Prince on it, and all these people are like, who's that. And when I tell them, they go, "Oh, ok", like "What's wrong with her. Hey, don't feel bad about singing dirty Prince songs as a kid. By the time I was six or seven, I could sing "Nasty Girl, Sex Shooter, and Kiss". My parents washed my mouth out with soap and took me to the doctor to see if I needed therapy. It didn't work, cuz I'm still jamming Prince everyday!!
[This message was edited Thu Feb 27 10:17:45 PST 2003 by NPGDiva]

i'm 22, but i'ma answer this anyway:

when i wuz in hi school, i got crap from some of my peers 4 two things:

a) i wuz a bit of a punky-type sista (still am!)
b) i liked prince

...yet nobody could ever muster up the courage 2 diss me hardcore. they admired me 4 my rebelliousness.

yeah of course u get that in our age.
i dont care.
i say i listen 2 p & im proud
it sonly music
ppl who give u shit 4 the music u listen 2
need 2 get a reality check.

I hear what u r saying, but u must remind them that they can't diss Prince when they probably haven't heard any of his music since the early 90's.

I got that from my friends a lot. In fact, some would say they were fans, but did not know he was still doing his thing and making music.

So see what they know, and throw it back in their faces .

"How many y'all never seen me before?"