George Michael encouraged us all to stand tall and reject the shame the media had fed us; he fought the bullies rather than hiding in the corner and encouraged us to shout “fuck you” from the top of our lungs. George Michael: Outed is now streaming on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom.
I was 21 in 1998 and on a University placement in Cork, Ireland, when I heard about George Michael, the secret policeman and the Los Angeles public toilet. Just a few days before, I had been wondering how to find the hidden gay club on the harbour as my confidence slowly grew in my sexuality. I had known I was gay from about thirteen, but I feared the atmosphere around me so much that I lived in secrecy as much as possible, even as I entered my early twenties.
On hearing the news about George, I was filled with fear; after all, the British media was vicious and vile in their treatment of gay men. I remembered how they had treated Freddie Mercury, Kenny Everett and others as they died of AIDS and the fear they instilled in me as a young gay man. George Michael: Outed brought those memories flooding back as it explored a blatantly homophobic media circus and a pop star who wasn’t willing to let the bastards tear him down.
George Michael encouraged us all to stand tall and reject the shame the media had fed us; he fought the bullies rather than hiding in the corner and encouraged us to shout “fuck you” from the top of our lungs. Thank you, George. I also recommend you watch Outed Stories, three profoundly moving accounts of ordinary men who were Outed by a press built on hate and oppression that has yet to apologise for its actions.
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