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Thread started 10/13/16 2:49pm

Astasheiks

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Prince was Never called P, F, Sissy, Queer, or Punk in High School was he?

For taking Piano lessons was he? I ask for the cruelty and bullying of some country folk! mad If I took Piano lessons like he did I would been called all that and then some. sad Anybody else grown up in town that have a few individuals that would treated you like that? I guess you all can guess what the first P and F stand for

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Reply #1 posted 10/13/16 2:52pm

Revolution

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Never
Thanks for the laughs, arguments and overall enjoyment for the last umpteen years. It's time for me to retire from Prince.org and engage in the real world...lol. Above all, I appreciated the talent Prince. You were one of a kind.
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Reply #2 posted 10/13/16 2:57pm

dance4me3121

Well he has mentioned he was bullied in school a lot so when he would get home he would go to his room and "create his own universe". That's what he said on tavis smiley show back in 2009
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Reply #3 posted 10/13/16 3:06pm

Astasheiks

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That bullying in school, I wonder was that for his short stature only or playing the piano or both? Some assholes believe that only women should play the piano! biggrin

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Reply #4 posted 10/13/16 3:06pm

rogifan

I thought the teasing was about his height.
Paisley Park is in your heart
#PrinceForever πŸ’œ
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Reply #5 posted 10/13/16 3:08pm

gandorb

I would be surprised if he wasn't? What kid isn't harrassed by someone who picks on how they are different from the norm. My take on the op question would be more how widespread it was, or did he have a lot of friends who had his back (or one extra beefy freind)?

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Reply #6 posted 10/13/16 3:10pm

purplethunder3
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Wow, what kind of town did you live in to get called hateful names just for taking piano lessons? eek

I didn't live in the most open-minded place but boys certainly weren't called names just for studying the piano...

"Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything." --Plato

https://youtu.be/CVwv9LZMah0
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Reply #7 posted 10/13/16 3:11pm

CuddlyBear

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Astasheiks said:

For taking Piano lessons was he? I ask for the cruelty and bullying of some country folk! mad If I took Piano lessons like he did I would been called all that and then some. sad Anybody else grown up in town that have a few individuals that would treated you like that? I guess you all can guess what the first P and F stand for

Ironically, I think I was called all those things for being a fan.

Christopher damn!
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Reply #8 posted 10/13/16 3:20pm

gandorb

purplethunder3121 said:

Wow, what kind of town did you live in to get called hateful names just for taking piano lessons? eek

I didn't live in the most open-minded place but boys certainly weren't called names just for studying the piano...

Prince being a piano player was problably the least of reasons for him to be targeted by a bully as a teenager. His slight built and somewhat angrogynous look on top of being shy would put him at risk unless he was popular or he was befriended by others seen as cool. I doubt he was extroverted enough when not playing music to be popular. Just look at all the comments directed towards him by non-fans. If you don't believe this, look at the threads about how family and friends dealt with orgers' love of Prince.

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Reply #9 posted 10/13/16 5:17pm

jdcxc

He was called all those things and more as he opened for the Rolling Stones.
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Reply #10 posted 10/13/16 5:25pm

803

gandorb said:



purplethunder3121 said:


Wow, what kind of town did you live in to get called hateful names just for taking piano lessons? eek


I didn't live in the most open-minded place but boys certainly weren't called names just for studying the piano...



Prince being a piano player was problably the least of reasons for him to be targeted by a bully as a teenager. His slight built and somewhat angrogynous look on top of being shy would put him at risk unless he was popular or he was befriended by others seen as cool. I doubt he was extroverted enough when not playing music to be popular. Just look at all the comments directed towards him by non-fans. If you don't believe this, look at the threads about how family and friends dealt with orgers' love of Prince.



He also participated in a ballet outreach program plus he was bussed from his neighborhood school in an integration effort. One of his biographers mentions that the kids were occasionally taunted and chased to their busses after school. According to biographers, this was a difficult period for him.. He writes about the effects of desegregation efforts in the Sacrifice of Victor.
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Reply #11 posted 10/13/16 6:53pm

Asenath0607

I also thought in an interview he stated he was picked on and that he retreated into his own world, and as he got better with his music and he became known for his talent, the bullying stopped. I believe it is the Tavis Smiley interview where he revealed that he had seizures as a child.
I also read in another interview, don't know if it was P or his sister's interview, where it was revealed that they also experienced some racial taunts and harrassement
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Reply #12 posted 10/13/16 9:19pm

gandorb

Asenath0607 said:

I also thought in an interview he stated he was picked on and that he retreated into his own world, and as he got better with his music and he became known for his talent, the bullying stopped. I believe it is the Tavis Smiley interview where he revealed that he had seizures as a child. I also read in another interview, don't know if it was P or his sister's interview, where it was revealed that they also experienced some racial taunts and harrassement

I wonder if he ever had seizures at school. That is the kiss of death for some kids in terms of acceptance. Whatever he went though, I am sure glad that he had his music and creativity to help him!

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Reply #13 posted 10/13/16 10:11pm

PeteSilas

I don't know but people often don't consider the fact that he was at one time, just another kid, albeit a musically talented one. I really don't think he was thought of as queer or gay or feminine in school. He probably did get bullied. My point is, the adrogyny was an act, just how much of it was an act, who the hell knows. My best friend knew someone who knew Prince in high school and claimed he was a normal kid and that all the wierdness/androgyny was just an act. I do not believe Prince looked that feminine before he started with the processes, the makeup and the wardrobe. On his first album and even in his early pics, he looks like a young black male of the time, even darker in those days and with a huge afro. Also, music was such a part of his peers lives and communities that I would think it would just help him socialize, look at all the talent that came from that HS. I get your point, in certain quarters and neighborhoods and communities and interest in music would be considered soft and feminine but I really don't think Prince lived in a hard area. Rick James said something that I think is true, how his band and Prince's almost got into it and how the guys from Buffalo would have just been to rough for those Minneapolis kids.

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Reply #14 posted 10/13/16 10:25pm

daKotaGeNesis

Astasheiks said:

For taking Piano lessons was he? I ask for the cruelty and bullying of some country folk! mad If I took Piano lessons like he did I would been called all that and then some. sad Anybody else grown up in town that have a few individuals that would treated you like that? I guess you all can guess what the first P and F stand for


You can clearly see I was bullied on this forum. Even more so as to cyberbullied too to the point where some even thought it was funny to make accounts using my real name and being stalked in real life. Or making me look horrible to people on the internet. They go around from website to website with the incessant need for my personal business and is always saying something about me to other people that isn't the truth. I'm friends with a health care professional. If he thought something was wrong with me he would've told me. He is my friend and TRUE friends don't play games with each or belittle each other.
Glad I'm able to be that TRUE Friend.
[Edited 10/13/16 23:01pm]
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Reply #15 posted 10/14/16 1:41am

databank

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eek eek eek eek eek

In what sort of shithole did u grow up?!When I was in high school there were all sorts of arts options, including music, and many guys played the piano. Heck, even in SECONDARY school it wouldn't have crossed anyone's mind to make fun of a dude who'd play a music instrument. A guy doing dance? Maybe, and still it would have had to be ballet because being able to do hip-hop and modern jazz was cool thanks to MJ and music videos, and ballet could only have been an issue in sec school, never in high school. There, at most, it'd have been considered unusual and maybe odd, but no reason for bullying!When I come 2 think of it there was no bullying at all in my high school. In sec school yes, there was a lot, but in high school we were kind of grow-ups enough, and the bullies from sec school had all either matured or failed and gone to some technical school at that point.

A COMPREHENSIVE PRINCE DISCOGRAPHY (work in progress ^^): https://sites.google.com/...scography/
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Reply #16 posted 10/14/16 1:47am

Dibblekins

He said in the Oprah interview he was bullied for his height; that people would make fun of him, and say all sorts of things that involved his being 'short'. As a result, he claimed, he created an internalised imaginary friend / alternate self who would always be there for him.

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Reply #17 posted 10/14/16 4:31am

Guitarhero

Astasheiks said:

That bullying in school, I wonder was that for his short stature only or playing the piano or both? Some assholes believe that only women should play the piano! biggrin

hmmm Never heard of anything like that in the UK or Europe. Piano is for everybody. Prince was called all the nasty names under the sun even on the org by so called Prince fans and it's even worst by none Prince fans. Just look on the internet , Youtube etc. Even i was called all the nasty names at school for being Prince fan , my response was middle finger and turn the music up louder. I think Prince was the same, middle finger to the haters and he played by his rules. Once a friend of mine wore a Queen t-shirt and i had my Prince t-shirt on guess who got all the weird looks. That does not even make sense when Freddie was openly gay but apparently being a Queen fan and male you must be ok and straight and being a Prince fan you must be weird and gay or something. That's how it felt to me.

[Edited 10/14/16 4:50am]

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Reply #18 posted 10/14/16 4:53am

rogifan

PeteSilas said:

I don't know but people often don't consider the fact that he was at one time, just another kid, albeit a musically talented one. I really don't think he was thought of as queer or gay or feminine in school. He probably did get bullied. My point is, the adrogyny was an act, just how much of it was an act, who the hell knows. My best friend knew someone who knew Prince in high school and claimed he was a normal kid and that all the wierdness/androgyny was just an act. I do not believe Prince looked that feminine before he started with the processes, the makeup and the wardrobe. On his first album and even in his early pics, he looks like a young black male of the time, even darker in those days and with a huge afro. Also, music was such a part of his peers lives and communities that I would think it would just help him socialize, look at all the talent that came from that HS. I get your point, in certain quarters and neighborhoods and communities and interest in music would be considered soft and feminine but I really don't think Prince lived in a hard area. Rick James said something that I think is true, how his band and Prince's almost got into it and how the guys from Buffalo would have just been to rough for those Minneapolis kids.


This. All the photos I've seen of Prince from high school he looks like a typical black male, not the least bit androgynous or feminine. He was very short and quite shy. Those two things alone would no doubt cause bullying in school. I think that's one of the reasons he was so successful; he had an internal drive to prove everyone wrong. A photographer who toured with Prince on the Welcome 2 Europe shows said he asked Prince about his guitar playing which seemed so effortless. Prince said it was because as a kid he would play in his bedroom until his fingers bled. I think the bullying in school along with how hard his father was on him made him all that more determined to get really good at music and master his craft.
Paisley Park is in your heart
#PrinceForever πŸ’œ
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Reply #19 posted 10/14/16 5:14am

MD431Madcat

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everything i've heard points to Prince having a rough time in all aspcts -

when he was younger... sad

[Edited 10/14/16 5:14am]

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Reply #20 posted 10/14/16 5:26am

PurpleColossus

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rogifan said:

I thought the teasing was about his height.

.

That's what I thought as well.

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Reply #21 posted 10/14/16 6:50am

Graycap23

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Lol.........Prince was a baller and musician in H.S.

Not a chance in hell he was called any of those things.

FOOLS multiply when WISE Men & Women are silent.
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Reply #22 posted 10/14/16 10:27am

Astasheiks

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purplethunder3121 said:

Wow, what kind of town did you live in to get called hateful names just for taking piano lessons? eek

I didn't live in the most open-minded place but boys certainly weren't called names just for studying the piano...

Some small country Texas town, less than 10, 000. I didn't take piano lessons but if I had I would been called those names, 100% guranteed, heehee lol! Would have came from mainly 3-4 dudes and one partricular. My parents think its a good town for the very low crime rate. haha

[Edited 10/14/16 10:32am]

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Reply #23 posted 10/14/16 1:58pm

purplethunder3
121

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Astasheiks said:

purplethunder3121 said:

Wow, what kind of town did you live in to get called hateful names just for taking piano lessons? eek

I didn't live in the most open-minded place but boys certainly weren't called names just for studying the piano...

Some small country Texas town, less than 10, 000. I didn't take piano lessons but if I had I would been called those names, 100% guranteed, heehee lol! Would have came from mainly 3-4 dudes and one partricular. My parents think its a good town for the very low crime rate. haha

[Edited 10/14/16 10:32am]

Geez, I thought where I grew up was bad enough--your's was worse. razz Bet you got the hell outa there!

"Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything." --Plato

https://youtu.be/CVwv9LZMah0
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Reply #24 posted 10/15/16 10:05am

wisdom7

Astasheiks said:

For taking Piano lessons was he? I ask for the cruelty and bullying of some country folk! mad If I took Piano lessons like he did I would been called all that and then some. sad Anybody else grown up in town that have a few individuals that would treated you like that? I guess you all can guess what the first P and F stand for

Forgive me if some of these points are being repeated but this is what came to mind when I read your question:

.

On Oprah he said he was teased for being short. (She specifically asked if as a child he was ridiculed about his size.)

.

On The Tavis Smiley Show, Tavis asked Prince how he overcame teasing when he was a child. P didn't say what he was teased about, but said he went into himself and taught himself music. When people saw what he could do musically, people began to admire him for his musical gifting. (So it doesn't seem he was ever teased for playing piano, rather admired instead.)

.

Jimmy Jam did an interview with Access Hollywood shortly after P's death (it's on YouTube) and they asked him about his Jr High/HS days. Jimmy said the girls loved P and would shout his name when he dribbled down the basketball court. He said P was respected for his talent (music and basketball). They asked him specifically about the way P dressed and Jimmy said he didn't dress that way in school. That didn't come until later. (It seems he created that look for his "Rock Star" image.)

.

Speaking of his clothing, P explained to Tavis that in his early career he tried to compensate for childhood teasing by dressing as flashy as he could and being as loud as he could. (His quote after sharing that he was epileptic as a child: "From that point on I've been having to deal with a lot of things, getting teased a lot in school and early in my career I tried to compensate for that by being as flashy as I could and as noisy as I could." )

.

These are interesting and insightful interviews.

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Reply #25 posted 10/15/16 10:35am

Genesia

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He was probably called all of those things for being short or for preferring music or because his parents were divorced or any number of other reasons - just like everyone who grew up in that era. You could be picked on for any reason - or no reason, at all.

It was probably worse for him in middle school than in high school - by high school, he would have had a clear idea of where he was headed. When your talent is clear-cut and you have a well-defined goal, it's a lot easier to give (at least) a mental "fuck you" to people who give you a hard time - and work harder to make them eat your dust - and their own words.

We don’t mourn artists because we knew them. We mourn them because they helped us know ourselves.
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Reply #26 posted 10/15/16 4:03pm

babynoz

Read Tyka's book. She details how they were both teased.

Prince, in you I found a kindred spirit...Rest In Paradise.
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