Like David Bowie before him, Prince helped liberate masculinity from rigid gender stereotypes and constraints by embodying a fabulous, sexy, and defiantly non-conforming identity. Prince’s identity was maybe perfectly summated in his 1984 song,“I Would Die 4 U,” which features the lyric: “I’m not a woman. I’m not a man. I’m something that you’ll never understand.” Before Gender Studies began giving language to shape the concepts of gender identity and the gender binary, Prince lived a life of individuality, paving the way for the rest of us to walk a little easier. He leaves a legacy as both a musical genius and a pioneer of non-hegemonic masculinities.
– Brett Goldberg
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