{"id":252,"date":"2018-12-10T18:50:32","date_gmt":"2018-12-10T18:50:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wordpress.clarku.edu\/musc099-04\/?page_id=252"},"modified":"2018-12-13T16:38:31","modified_gmt":"2018-12-13T16:38:31","slug":"david-bowie","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/wordpress.clarku.edu\/musc099-04\/david-bowie\/","title":{"rendered":"David Bowie"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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 \u201cotherness\u201d, which many in the LGBTQ+ community could <\/span><\/span>relate<\/span><\/span> 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 <\/span><\/span>John, I\u2019m Only Dancing<\/span><\/span> the line \u201cJohn, I\u2019m only dancing; She turns me on; but I\u2019m only dancing\u201d 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 dancing with Yoko Ono. Due to the lack of a music video to further define this line as well as the entire song’s meaning, it is very easy for it to be interpreted in both ways. Another one of the many songs in which he expresses queer ideology is <\/span><\/span>Rebel <\/span><\/span>Rebel<\/span><\/span>. One of the lyrics in this song states: \u201cYou\u2019ve got your mother in a whirl; She\u2019s not sure if you\u2019re a boy or girl<\/span><\/span>\u201d, and<\/span><\/span> is perhaps a reference to his own gender fluidity, if not that of the subject of the song whom he is singing to (3). <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n