Hurrah for George Michael. There was much coverage in the media this week following his press conference in which he appeared to re-launch his career by reverting to nice George, the George granny could pop around and visit without fearing she might accidentally sit on a butt plug and get stoned on the tea and cake. He appeared to apologise for his behaviour that enabled the media to run homophobic stories, and this was interpreted as apologising for his public sex behaviour and drug use. Young people it seemed, needed only gay role models who looked decidedly straight and were the artificial clean-living shells that the media seeks to perpetuate.
An example of this media commentary can be found in this piece in the Guardian which Michael subsequently singled out for attack. His Twitter feed yesterday made great viewing. In the space of seven tweets, he clarified his position:
2. WHAT THE FUCK!!!!!!!
3. This is why I love twitter! MEDIA PAY ATTENTION!
4. I HAVE NEVER AND WILL NEVER APOLOGISE FOR MY SEX LIFE ! GAY SEX IS NATURAL, GAY SEX IS GOOD! NOT EVERYBODY DOES IT, BUT.....HA HA!
5. I apologised for my driving accidents and the homophobic language that they induced in a HOMOPHOBIC PRESS!
6. The GUARDIAN of all newspapers should know better. AMELIA HILL. Shouldn't you be working at The Daily Mail?
7. You see people, if you want the facts without distortion, COME TO TWITTER!!!!
Michael, whose various public sex exploits were celebrated in the song Outside, and who continued to feature in the media for his cruising activities is the closest we've come to a public sex celebrity advocate. He has a partner but it appears to be an open relationship. In truth, his relationship and sex life is just as true as Elton John's. For all the gay men embracing civil partnerships and surrogacy and the heteronormative, there are many more of us who prefer to shun those institutions and be, frankly, slutty.
That Michael explicitly defends his sex life, and makes it clear he wasn't apologising for it, provides a high-profile confident celebrity that people can look to for an alternative approach, and re-assure all those young people that do cruise and visit public sex environments that they are OK, and we shouldn't lose site that it's the queer-bashers and homophobes who visit these venues that should be the focus of police and community concern, not the men that use these spaces discretely for sexual purposes. That's real queer pride.
yes, Gay sex is good but not an exclusive gay lafe. Happiness is in the balance of Gay and marital love. As it occurs to be wanted.
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