Boy George (aka George Alan O'Dowd)
(June 14, 1961 - )
Before Boy George and the rest of Culture Club arrived on my musical radio, I was desperately trying to figure out where I fit in.
Like a lot of kids growing up in the late 1970s and early 1980s, I relied on the radio to introduce me to new styles of music. I gravitated toward the happy, sentimental stuff. Soft pop. Easy listening. Catchy songs with big hooks and bigger feelings.
Think Air Supply, Debby Boone, and Lionel Richie.
Whatever they were calling it at the time, it was the music my tween self loved to sing and dance along to. The problem was that loving that kind of music didn’t exactly earn you points on the playground. Cool I was not.
So, for a brief and regrettable period, I pretended to like heavy metal. I pretended because the bullies at my school liked it. Or at least they claimed to.
Somewhere along the way, I convinced myself that if I could just appear “normal” enough, maybe I’d stop feeling like an outsider. Like a loser.
Looking back, it’s the only time in my life I can remember trying to act like someone other than a version of myself.
And then Boy George showed up.
Suddenly, there was this wildly talented singer fronting one of the biggest bands in the world. He wore makeup. He was fashion-forward. He blurred gender lines with complete abandon and confidence.
Boy George looked nothing like the rugged, hypermasculine men I was constantly being told I should want to emulate. And yet there he was.
On television. On magazine covers. On the radio. Everywhere.
Most importantly, he wasn’t apologizing for who he was.
For a kid who constantly felt out of step with everyone around him, that was a revelation.
Boy George wasn’t asking for permission. He wasn’t trying to blend in. He wasn’t pretending to like things he didn’t like in order to make other people comfortable. He simply existed as himself and dared the world to deal with it.
Oddly enough, his example is what finally helped me “man up.”
Not the tough guys. Not the bullies. Not the macho, macho men.
No, a flamboyant pop star in braids and eyeliner taught me more about courage than any of them ever could. Boy George helped me understand that real strength isn’t about fitting into someone else’s definition of masculinity. It’s about having the confidence to be yourself, even when doing so makes other people uncomfortable.
And that lesson stuck.
As the years passed, I stopped worrying so much about whether my interests, personality, or appearance measured up to someone else’s expectations. I embraced the things I genuinely loved instead of the things I thought I was supposed to love. It did not always win me friends or help me influence people.
I told myself (and anyone who asked) I was ahead of my time.
That’s a gift Boy George gave to a lot of people, whether they realized it or not.
His influence extended far beyond music. He showed an entire generation that there were different ways to live, different ways to be creative, and different ways to move through the world.
Culture Club’s songs still hold up remarkably well today. They’re joyful, soulful, and instantly recognizable. But for me, the music was only part of the story.
What I remember most is his example. His actions, not his words.
Thank you, Boy George, for being an inspiration. And HAPPY BIRTHDAY! 🥳🎂
I’ll Tumble 4 Ya!
Clint 🌈✌️
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ends 06-30-26
ICYMI = IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
SUNDAY = Being Sick Is Ick
MONDAY = AI Is Getting On My Last Good Nerve
TUESDAY = Confessions Off The Dance Floor
WEDNESDAY = Acceptance + Kindness = Love
THURSDAY = The 'Disco Nap' That Went All Night Long
SATURDAY = In Memoriam: David Hockney
BORN THIS WAY ON THIS DAY
06-14 = Bill Sherwood (1952-1990) = American musician and filmmaker 🌈
06-14 = Boy George (1961- ) = British singer-songwriter and DJ 🌈
06-14 = Paul O’Grady (1955-2023) = British comedian and drag queen 🌈
MAN CRUSH(ES) OF THE DAY
“If I wanted your opinion, I’d slap it outta ya.”
Paul O’Grady
I was president of a non profit that taught lifestyle and safer sex to men who have sex with men. Early on, many people did not want to be involved, because we were “TOO GAY”.
It was very aggravating.
Clint, Funny that somehow Boy George never ended up on my radar. Fondly, Michael