10 legendary gay icons and how they earned their titles

Boy George

Boy George is a bit of a controversial choice, but his impact has made him a gay icon nonetheless.

Back in the ’80s, the lead singer of Culture Club caused quite a stir with his androgynous style. Much like David Bowie, Boy George didn’t adhere to what people thought a man should look like, and many people weren’t even sure if he was male or female. It was that questioning that made him such a phenomenon; he released hit songs and looked unlike anyone else on the scene, and the speculation and controversy only helped his star power.

Also like Bowie, George’s sexuality was often speculated in the media. Many assumed that his flamboyant attire meant he had to be gay, but he often ignored the question or gave a variety of answers to avoid stating the obvious. He did, at one point, say he was bisexual and had relationships with women as well as men, but that didn’t end speculation.

Of course, since then, George has said that he is without a doubt homosexual. He doesn’t consider himself gender fluid or anything like that, just a gay man with eccentric style. “Gender fluid suggests there’s the possibility of change and there really isn’t,” he has said. “I’m an old-fashioned gay man.”

Though Boy George has been seen as controversial in the past for his run-ins with the law and his struggle with substance abuse, it doesn’t diminish the impact he had on the gay community throughout his career. He was a pioneering force for androgynous styles, and despite receiving backlash, he never hid his eccentricities, even all these years later.