For the bi love of Green Day. Enjoy.
Green Day’s 21st Century Breakdown
May 29, 2010 By
Tre Cool, Billie Joe Armstrong and Mike Dirnt of Green Day. (AP)
Throughout their career they have never been afraid of making bold statements, flying in the face of convention and politics—and this started at the very beginning. In 1994, following the release of their inaugural album “Dookie”, frontman Billie Joe Armstrong revealed in an interview with The Advocate that he was bisexual, saying:
“I think I’ve always been bisexual. It’s ingrained in our heads that its bad but it’s not bad at all. It’s a beautiful thing.”
In a business that had (at the time) exactly 2 other out musicians—Elton John and Melissa Etheridge—that were playing sold out arenas, this did little to cement Green Day’s career. Never to be undone, however, Billie Joe and Green Day soldiered on, producing hit after hit, with an attitude of—in his own words:
“… if these mainstream kids who are seeing us on MTV are going to accept us, then they have to accept that where we come from there’s a lot more to the scene.”
Throughout their career, Green Day has continued garnering attention within the industry. Billie Joe Armstrong has no intention of slowing down anytime soon. He is 38 with two teenage sons but says of himself,
“You have this image of yourself that you’re kind of stuck with. I still wear Chuck Taylors, and I wear pegged pants and I play Rock ‘n’ Roll.”
And on the topic of his sexuality he is more subdued, but still vocal,
“There were a lot of people who didn’t accept it, who were homophobic. The fact that it’s an issue is kind of phobic within itself. At some point, you gotta think, this should be something that’s just accepted.”
The band’s most recent offering, “21st Century Breakdown” proves with its first single “Know Your Enemy” that this trio remains relevant and intends to continue making statements about the world around them. And it’s the nature of this band that you listen—they demand it of you.
Second Chance for a Prom
May 13, 2010 By
(Photo) provided with permission by Constance McMillen
Nearly everyone has heard the story of Constance McMillen by now. The Mississippi High School student that cancelled the prom—because she wanted the same thing that any other high school student wants—to attend the prom with her significant other. The catch is, her significant other is a girl. McMillen, is a lesbian. Adding fuel to the fire she wanted to wear a tuxedo to the prom. And while this might be normal for some, it was enough of a shock to the Itawamba County school board that they banned McMillen from attending the prom for fear of making other students uncomfortable. McMillen brought her fight to the public drawing media attention and involvement from the ACLU. In response, the School Board canceled the prom. It’s from here that the story gets really tragic. The parents of other students organized a prom for the student body, keeping the location secret while McMillen was sent to a fake prom!
“They had two proms and I was only invited to one of them,” McMillen says. “The one that I went to had seven people there, and everyone went to the other one I wasn’t invited to.”
In spite of over 400,000 supporters on Facebook and nearly constant media attention this normal high school girl was denied her prom in one of the most shameless displays of discrimination and deception.
(AP Image) Tre Cool, Billie Joe Armstrong and Mike Dirnt of Green Day
It would seem, however, that social networking and media outlets gained some attention in this fight. The American Humanist Association along with Lance Bass (who revealed himself as homosexual in 2006) and Green Day (the Group’s front-man Billy Joe Armstrong has been openly bisexual since 1995) sponsored the Second Chance prom on May 8. The even is reported as a rousing success:
“It was wonderful to see this community come together to celebrate and embrace diversity in a welcoming and fun atmosphere,” said Roy Speckhardt, executive director of the AHA. “Acceptance and love transcended the bounds of hatred on Saturday night, and I hope all Americans will find value in what has taken shape.”
Amongst the fight for BLGT equality—the votes in too many states that still prevent same-sex marriage, the discrimination and slander that is in the news far too regularly—it is nice that this story has a happy ending. An ending in which McMillen attended her prom amidst her peers, experiencing a moment in life that should be a right to every teenager.