The cultural icon, David Bowie, was born in Brixton, United Kingdom. In 1972, it had been only five years since homosexuality was decriminalised. The conversation of coming out was and still is, difficult due to the heteronormative tendencies of society. It was at that time when David had told a journalist that he was gay, he always had been.

Since then, that remark has helped many young people to find a confirmation to their identity – different from the one society had handed to them. In him, they found their representation. A world without representation can feel lonely, and David Bowie’s statements, his clothes, his songs made thousands of people feel like they were not the only ones.

Throughout his career, he transcended from one art form to another. He was a singer, writer, and actor. His songs were empowering and so were his clothes. In simple acts of being himself, he inspired several others.

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The more boxes society presented to Bowie, he threw them all away. Years after the interview where he came out as gay, he said that he was bisexual. His sexual androgyny bewildered people and angered the majority of the country at that time.

Even in his songs, the implications of his identity are reflected time and again. The song ‘Queen Bitch’ is the first one to come to mind in this case. As Bowie’s career progressed, he strengthened many people along the way. His uniqueness inspired them to be themselves- without the shackles of society.

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Such was his influence that he made people think of what they knew about gender. He strengthened generations and continues to do so, even almost five years after his death. In 2016, when he passed away, it was a huge blow to many people. It was a personal loss to some, even though they never personally knew the icon. He had hidden the news of his terminal cancer from the world. Some people, however, are immortal – as in the idea of them, never dies. Similarly, the idea of David Bowie will always be alive in the hearts of all those people who seek to not belong and be different.