David Bowie was a very influential artist who resisted the norms in the ‘dominant’ ideology of 1970’s Great Britain. In the late 60’s and the decades before it, the ideas of homosexuality were very different to how they were today. Homosexuality was forbidden by the law and even dressing in a certain way could mean being sent to prison. [1] However in the late 60’s the law was passed and homosexuality became decriminalised in both England and Wales, this then led to famous names starting to come out in public as being gay just after the law was changed. “As an artistic and cultural form music can be a valuable tool for reading ideological intentions and the changing political and economic tenor of the times. This is evident in its own development and written history as music itself has been endlessly categorised and divided against itself.” [2] This is shown throughout Bowie’s music, performances, dress style in which he helped pave the way for the LGBTQ community, as well as being one of the first to come out with artists such as Elton John, Lou Reed, Andy Warhol, Boy George all to follow on later. “Otherness was also how Bowie was able to connect with the LGBTQ community over the years. Whether he was attracted to men or not is hardly the point: he projected an otherness that thousands of LGBT people could relate to.” [3]
What is a Dominant Ideology? The dictionary definition states that a dominant ideology is “The ideas, attitudes, values, beliefs, and culture of the ruling class in a society; usually also the function of these in validating the status quo”. [4] In 60’s Great Britain homosexuality was illegal causing a great struggle for both men and women at the time who’s sexuality was ‘different’ from that of the majority. In 1957 the Wolfenden Report was published by the government which showed that by 1954 the amount of men being arrested for homosexuality was over one thousand per year, in it it stated that there ‘must remain a realm of private morality and immorality which is, in brief and crude terms, not the law’s business’ and that homosexuality should not be a crime. [5] This picked up a lot attraction from publicity and 10 years later, on May the 22nd 1967 the British parliament decriminalised homosexuality in both England and Wales. On October 13th 1970 the first Gay Liberation Front (GLF) meeting in the UK took place in a basement classroom. This was inspired by the GLF movement in the United States which had started in 1969 only a year before. The British GLF created and focused on group activities to help propel the movement and get more people to speak up about LGBTQ rights. The events grew and led into London’s first Gay Pride march in 1972, where 700 people walked from Trafalgar square to Hyde Park [6], this was the same year in which David Bowie announced to the world that he was gay. He would use this in his art: “earlier performances by David Bowie, Iggy Pop and Lou Reed where camp, drag, sexual diversity, gender controversies and violence were an integral and conscious part of their artistic strategy.” [7]
On the 22nd of January 1972, merely five years after the decriminalisation of homosexuality, David Bowie disclosed to a reporter Michael Watts from the British music magazine ‘Melody Makers’ and to the rest of the world, “I’m gay and always have been, even when I was David Jones”. Bowie wasn’t the first British musician to publicly come out after the change in laws, this was in fact Dusty Springfield in 1970. However he announced it whilst being married to his wife Angie Bowie and only a couple months after his son Duncan Jones was born. [8] The month before he announced to the world of his sexuality he had just released his 4th album ‘Hunky Dory’ and instead of hurting his career which someone might expect from a world in which a lot of people would still consider it to be a taboo matter, it only boosted it and from there he helped to start boosting the progress of the LGBTQ community. In July that same year Bowie created his first alter ego, Ziggy Stardust, a “bisexual alien rock superstar”. Playing Starman on top of the pops in a multicoloured jumpsuit, red mullet and with a bright blue guitar, Bowie puts his arm around his guitarist Mark Ronson, at the time this caused controversy due to the closed minded homophobia, but for most people it showed that he was a rebel and would not stand down to the social norms of the time and would stand up to his own beliefs and feelings. From then on Bowie became a LGBT icon, inspiring many people to be more accepting and open about themselves and of the others around them.
Released in December 1971 Hunky Dory was not his most successful album but it did alter his career and reinvented Bowie as the artist he became. With the opening song Changes about opposing the critics of society, there are a few signs of Bowies struggle of his identity and views on sexuality, “But I've never caught a glimpse, of how the others must see the faker” this line was about how Bowie imaged himself, he didn’t know who he was and felt like a fake, whether it was his sexuality, gender identity or as a musician. Bowie then went on to create different characters and personas that he played, this allowed him to be something different every time and he didn’t have to worry about his own identity because he could become fluid and malleable. Another line in changes, “And these children that you spit on, as they try to change their worlds, are immune to your consultations, they’re quite aware of what they're going through”, here he is talking about how it is the old that dislike change and hate the people trying to create social differences even if it is for the better. This could easily be interpreted as the hateful homophobia going around as the LGBTQ community becomes more accepted, times were changing, so was music and so were men and women.
Ziggy Stardust the first of Bowies multiple alter egos, and perhaps one of the most remembered, “The album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (1972) is now considered one of the greatest albums of all time”. The reason behind Bowie creating Ziggy as a bisexual alien, was to do with acceptance in a non accepting time. [10] Ziggys first album and the album tour helped propel a new form of glam rock into popular culture. The mostly masculine-dominated rock scene that once was, Ziggy helped change that into a far more cross-sexual genre, with performers experimenting with their appearance, lyrics as well as their identities. He did this through inspiring people
What is a counterculture? According to a source, “A counterculture is a subculture whose values, ethos, and aspirations differ substantially from those of the mainstream. When the oppositional ideas of a counterculture reach a critical mass and spread into the main culture, it can trigger dramatic cultural, economic, and societal changes.” [11] Bowie created a glam rock counterculture in the 1970s by creating his own identity and using it to inspire the people, especially the youth culture to rebel against the authority. “His influence in the wide arena of performance, fashion, art design and identity politics continues to shape contemporary culture in the broadest sense”. [12]