We All Fell In Love With Freddie

Songs from the band Queen was one of my first musical memories. Unable to fully comprehend the lyrics of Bohemian Rhapsody, I came up with whole stories in my head about what could potentially be going on in this song (a good amount of them were violent, I was a dark little kid).

But above all, I fell in love with the lead singer's voice. The sound of a defiant young man, wretched and tortured but also out of his mind with artistic appreciation for life. I pictured someone like Anthony Rapp, long-haired and brimming with more musical energy than an overly zealous middle school band. A young, straight rock god in leather pants who would take me away.

I ended up with a Indian-Tanzanian who was "gay as a daffodil." But he would still transport me to beautiful states of mind.


Yeah, I was surprised to find out that Freddie was gay. Or bi. Or.... just something other than straight. Maybe he was pansexual, I have no flippin' idea. There are conflicting reports on this. But even though he wasn't what I was, I could still relate to him. In my heart he is a god of rock. A symbol of confidence and creative energy. I once told a straight male friend how I had had the biggest crush on Freddie Mercury as a young girl. He sighed, and said, "Brit, I think we all did."

Dear hipsters: Thank the Mercury.

Freddie also deserves a lot of credit for what he did with masculinity. He could shag any woman or man he wanted, and the dude wore diamond unisuits. You didn't have to be the manliest man anymore if you wanted to show that you had sexual prowess. That was fairly uncommon in mainstream culture in the time of the 80's and 90's (just watch any sitcom). But this new idea of masculinity so so needed in that society, and my theory is that it freed up a lot of boys and men to be who they really were. I doubt we'd have a culture of skinny hipster chic today if not for Freddie.

Freddie was also the ultimate theatre kid. Shy and loving in his personal life, but a hotbed of creative energy onstage. It was all fueled by a desire to communicate it in a meaningful way. When he was just starting out, he quit band after band because he didn't want to be with people who weren't seriously taking on the challenge of being bada*s performers. No doubt he had a sense of destiny about what we wanted to do. And if he couldn't find the right teammates right away, fine. Freddie would keep on trucking. And keep on he did, until the horrible AIDS monster stole our hero away. It was only a day after he came out as being HIV-positive.

Queen as a band was praised for its versatility. They utilized rockabilly, straight pop, Pink Floyd-esque rock and a bunch of other genres in order to tell their stories. They were a band, in the most raw sense of the concept. Queen belonged to no one. No genre could hold them. And that's why the fans who love them love them-there was nothing else that could follow their act. 

Being Andy Jean, I have both masculine and feminine aspects to my personality. If I was born a man, I would want to want to be one like Freddie. Maybe I wouldn't be as flamboyant as he was, but I would hope to have the same conviction in myself. Above everything, Freddie Mercury taught the gay kids of the 80's and beyond to be who they are, however freakish and different the world may view you. Sound like a Lady we know and love? Well, she took her name from a song featuring Freddie's unearthly voice. His message of just-be-you-kiddo continues on to this day.

Also, I just found this totally awesome thing called Freddie For a Day. It's an event that raises money for the Mercury Phoenix Fund, which raises money for AIDS-related causes (and basically gives permission to people who want to dress up like Freddie Mercury). I'm so doing it this year. Tweet me if you're doing it too, and we can brainstorm costume ideas! :)