David bowie was he gay
David Bowie: Did he transform attitudes to sexuality?
The fresh David Bowie exhibition at the Victoria & Albert Museum was already a hot ticket even before the show opens to the public this weekend. "David Bowie is" shows how, in the 1970s, David Bowie's passport to fame was his daringly ambiguous sexuality. But did appearances deceive?
These days Dylan Jones is editor of British GQ magazine and very accustomed to living the high-life. But in July 1972 he was an ordinary 12-year-old living with his parents in an ordinary part of Kent. Then one evening, his life changed.
"I can picture the correct moment: my father was away and my mother was out in the garden," he says. "So I was alone in a terrace house in Deal watching Top of the Pops.
"Normally it would have been a forgettable Thursday but I was about to be astounded. It was the first time we were exposed to Ziggy Stardust in all his androgynous glory.
Bowie, with flaming red hair and a skin-tight body-suit, played the song Starman, external. Last year, Dylan Jones published a bo
Was David Bowie Gay?
Throughout his life, David Bowie—who died on Sunday at the age of 69—played adj to get with sexuality. Not that he was shy about sex; by all accounts (including his own), he got plenty of that. But when it came to labeling his desires, Bowie pioneered the now-common pop star strategy of dropping hints and claiming identities in passing—only to discard them later—with the (probably intended) effect of maintaining the straight public’s interest and the queer public’s devotion.
In 1972, just before the release of Ziggy Stardust and while married to first wife Angela, Bowie was gay: “I’m gay, and always have been, even when I was David Jones,” he assured Melody Maker, which described him as a “swishy queen … as camp as a row of tents.” (Bisexuality was also proposed, due to the wife.) Then, in 1976, he was definitely bisexual: “It’s true–I am a bisexual,” he told a skeptical Playboy. “But I can’t deny that I’ve used that fact very well. I suppose it’s the best thing that ever happened to me. Fun, too.” Fun or no, 1983 came and Rolling Stone bore the hea
How David Bowie’s “I’m Gay” Interview Helped Redefine Sexuality
Fabulous, indeed. A little more than a month on from the release of Hunky Dory, Bowie had discarded the Marlene Dietrich-inspired look he sported on its sleeve, even though his interview with Melody Maker was ostensibly to promote that record. Moving with increasing speed, he now dressed in adj Ziggy Stardust Mk I regalia: quilted jumpsuit; shorn, spiky hair “Vidal Sassooned into such impeccable shape”; and bright red boots which would soon straddle the world. His other coloured eyes only enhanced his otherworldly appearance. Bowie was just a week away from making his debut Ziggy Stardust performance, at Friars Aylesbury, in Buckinghamshire, just outside of London, and his “I’m gay” admission to Melody Maker perfectly laid the groundwork for future shocks to come.
Watts noted Bowie’s follow-up comments: “It’s just so happened, he remarks, that in the past two years people have loosened up to the fact that there are bisexuals in the world – ‘and – horrible fact – homosexuals’.” This jab at rule figu
Despite being married to the model Iman, David Bowie stated at several points in that he was gay, while at other points he said that he was bisexual (1). The ambiguity of his sexuality allowed him to project a feeling of “otherness”, which many in the LGBTQ+ community could relate to and were empowered by. His androgynous persona furthermore showed people how a flamboyant man who cross-dresses and wears makeup is not necessarily gay, and one who is married to a woman is not necessarily straight. His sexuality was not only shown through the outfits he wore while performing and what he said in interviews regarding it: he also frequently discussed LGBTQ+ topics in his lyrics. In John, I’m Only Dancing the line “John, I’m only dancing; She turns me on; but I’m only dancing” has been interpreted by many as meaning that John is his lover, who gets jealous when he dances with women because he knows that Bowie is attracted to them as well (2). An alternative interpretation of this line is that he is speaking to John Lennon about his jealousy when he saw Bowie dancin