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David Bowie: Face the Strange
Get PDFPop icon David Bowie (1947-2016) was a pioneer in the music industry and the arts as a whole. In addition to his innovations in music, Bowie made strides in the effort to further the acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community and the movement for gay rights. In this paper, I argue that David Bowie used his music and androgynous fashion alongside his personal life to commit himself to the cause of LGBTQ+ rights. I also show how Bowie’s rise to fame coincided with the Space Age and how he capitalized on the public’s excitement over the unknown to illustrate how and why the LGBTQ+ community should be accepted as a valid, integral part of society. This paper explores and solidifies these connections through historical accounts of the time period, personal stories and experiences surrounding David Bowie and the plight of the LGBTQ+ community, theoretical analyses of Bowie’s music, and the discussion of studies regarding David Bowie and his social impact. The immediate goal of this paper is to illustrate Bowie’s contributions to the movement for LGBTQ+ rights, and on a larger scale, this paper serves to convey the importance of music and artists in furthering the fight for social justice of oppressed groups