Is frank ocean bi or gay
CorrinaCorrina
There’s something both joyous and tragic about RnB singer and hip-hop associate Frank Ocean’s decision to come out as bisexual. In 2012, this shouldn’t be as ‘heroic’ or ‘brave’ as people are making out.
Personally I’m thrilled, as Frank Ocean’s rising chart stature in a music genre that’s still so closeted about its gay and bi community can only help beat a path to the overdue acceptance of people’s sexuality.
In an eye-wateringly beautiful letter that sums up the bewildering excitement of love’s first pang, Frank wrote:
“4 summers ago I met someone. I was 19 years old. He was too. We spent that summer. And the summer after. Together. Everyday almost. And on the days we were together, time would glide…by the hour I realised I was in adore, it was malignant. It was hopeless.”
The internet is awash with commentators congratulating his brave and bold move, however his move is also marred with people commenting that they will ‘still love him the same’ as if he’s just announced he’s had his arms amputated and needs some pity.
The magnitude of Frank&
The Repercussions of Frank Ocean’s Coming Out
Frank Ocean, one of hiphop and R&B’s biggest breakout successes of the year, came out as lgbtq+ – not on national television, but in a shyly poetic, sideways send on his Tumblr. ‘Four summers ago, I met somebody,’ Ocean wrote. ‘I was 19 years old. He was too. We spent that summer, and the summer after, together. Everyday almost. And on the days we were together, time would glide. Most of the day I’d see him, and his smile. I’d hear his conversation and his silence [...] until it was time to sleep. Sleep I would often give with him. By the time I realized I was in love, it was malignant. It was hopeless. There was no escaping, no negotiating with the feeling. No choice. It was my first cherish, it changed my life.’
Ocean is a fan – and in some ways, an inheritor – of Prince’s gender-bending approach to songwriting. But he is the first mainstream R&B star to come out of the closet instead of remaining a question mark, continually playing with an ‘is he or isn’t he’ edifice.
The choice to construct his grand coming-out statement via Tumblr made cosmic perception somehow; many of music’s biggest stories
Frank Ocean helped me understand my bisexuality
I am 20 years former. Since puberty I have consistently had sexual fantasies about both men and women. I had a special kind of deep (in pitch) sexual confidence — I was utterly disgusted by my want for men, because I saw sex between men as inherently less than sex between men and women. I was ashamed of my desires for women, because I believed I was worthless and no woman would ever want me; I could never prove myself as a true man, i.e. someone who fucks women and is great at it. I’m still utterly petrified of sex with women, and embarrassed of my desires for men, but I don’t have any hangups about the concept of having sex with them.
I’d been having conversations about whether Frank Ocean would let go a new album for at least a year, but I never thought it would contain real significance for me. Somehow, I knew I had desires for men, but I had never had that moment where I said: yes, I’m bi. It’s surprising how (relatively) happily you can live a recline. I had mental health issues, but my sexuality wasn’t making my life a living hell, it was tucked away behind a door in my intellect. I think I could contain been fairly happy staying with the belief th
Dotty: How Frank Ocean’s coming out changed the landscape
The album that followed was Channel Orange, a body of function that served as the soundtrack to his ‘coming out’ a powerful plan that saw him express openly of his adoration for a man. ‘You run my mind boy’ he sang on Forrest Gump, the album’s most overt exploration of Frank’s sexuality. ‘You're so buff and so strong, I'm nervous, Forrest’, he continued. Then there’s the self-deprecation on , a ballad that sees Frank battle the demons of unrequited same-sex love in the back of a cab. ‘Taxi driver, I swear I've got three lives / Balanced on my leader like steak knives / I can't tell you the truth about my disguise / I can't trust no one.’ He sings, ‘I can never make him love me.’
Like his open letter in July 2012, Frank Ocean’s Channel Orange was perfectly undefinable. Flirting with mind, funk and electronic styles without ever turning its back on R&B. It was also a masterclass in songwriting, with each composition showcasing a flair for honesty and vul