Today we #TakeBackPride for George Michael, one of the most successful musical artists of all time. George and his voice are known all around the world thanks to his early hits with Wham!, his wildly successful solo albums such as Faith, and his multiple sold-out world tours.
Having concealed his homosexuality for the first decade of his career, George eventually came out publicly on television in 1998 after being arrested for cruising in a public toilet. On being gay he said, "I don’t feel any shame whatsoever," and went on to parody his own arrest and the public's reaction to his coming out in the video for his song Outside.
On coming out George claimed, "I had very little fear about it, but basically, my straight friends talked me out of it."
These days LGB people are still dictated to by straight people; more sinister yet is the growing number of so-called "queer"-identifying heterosexuals who speak over and drown out gay and bisexual voices, redefining same-sex attraction as "same-gender" attraction and rubbishing the idea that sexuality is primarily biology-driven. George Michael knew his own sexuality and so do we - not all gays feel comfortable with these nebulous redefinitions of sexuality and gender.
