Former REM frontman Michael Stipe has written a blog to commemorate the 2oth anniversary of his coming out as a homosexual.
The piece published in The Guardian, explores his feelings about being gay and discusses how society has progressed in the past two decades.
The singer announced his sexuality back in 1994, after the release of the band’s hugely successful album Automatic For The People.
Stipe wrote: “These 20 years of publicly speaking my truth have made me a better and easier person to be around. It helped develop the clarity of my voice and establish who I would be as an adult. I am proud to be who I am, and I am happy to have shared that with the world.”
Commenting on coming out in 1994, he wrote: “I said simply that I had enjoyed sex with men and women my entire adult life. It was a simple fact, and I’m happy I announced it. Not many public figures had stepped forward at this point to speak their truth. I was happy to stand beside those who had. What I had thought was fairly obvious the entire time I had been a public figure was now on record. It was a great relief.”
Stipe also dicussed how the perception of sexuality has changed. “In 1994, most people had a largely binary perception of sexuality – the message was complicated for them. I am thrilled to see how much this has changed in those 20 years. The 21st century has provided all of us, recent generations particularly, with a clearer idea of the breadth of fluidity with which sexuality and identity presents itself in each individual.”
