PeteSilas said:

he was playing with the gay straight thing agin. I'm sure he regretted doing so later on.

Disagree with this and have since day one of hearing this great P joint. He was destroying societal norms by killing, and subsequently redefining, the gendered terms that those norms provided.

I hope he didn't regret too much of it. He helped so many of us learn that our generation had a voice; we weren't stuck with the norms of generations past. It was all pure joy and a freedom and inclusiveness for all. A little shock value gets the message across loud and clear. He later spoke about concern over swearing for shock value. But, Prince opened a door for millions to follow in reshaping popular culture. I certainly followed him for 35 years without regret