Iggy Pop Is Gay??

The poster child of radical extremes, overindulgence and self-abuse in rock music, Iggy Pop was one of the major performers of the late 60’s to set the stage for the emergence of the die hard punk rock movement during the following decade. Relentlessly chanting lyrics reveling in the darker aspects of the human society, many metal heads feared punk rock’s powerful ministry might be taking metal’s place. Self-proclaimed “true” metal fans despised this “New Wave Bullshit” and as stated in Steve Waksman’s fascinating novel, This ain't the summer of love: conflict and crossover in heavy metal and punk, thought fans were absolutely ridiculous for “praising faggots like Iggy Pop”(Waksman 2).
Both punk rock and metal are very much fueled through the underlying notion of power and aggression. Like Waksman states, “There seems to be a notion that if a musician is gay, his music must be wimpy or weak” (Waksman 3). I find this topic to be very interesting. Why is there this masculine homophobia so present in many facets all over the world? Was Iggy gay? Or was it just a mere result of metal’s retaliation towards the fight for subcultural capital?
In both listening and viewing some of Iggy’s work, like most people, I couldn’t really get over the oddly provocative lyrics and interesting stage presence filled with anything from sexual shirtless dancing to cutting himself with shards of glass. Hated and loved, Iggy gained an almost instant fame for energetic live performances, something intensely enchanting for most rock fans of his and really any time. I’ll admit, I too certainly questioned this oddly feminine rocker’s sexuality (it’s hard not too).
In a 2003 interview with Rob Tannenbaum of Blender magazine, when asked the "extent of [his] gay experiences", Iggy replied, "I'm to the left of tolerant, but I've never had a gay experience. Two or three times, excited gay friends wanted to, like, nibble my nuts -- generally when I was passed out or distracted. And then I'd go, 'Hey! Bruce! Cut it out!' And that would be the end of that. The gayest it got is some guy approaching my scrotum with oral intent"(Blender Sept 2003).
To me, Iggy’s antics and comments like the one above just validate his passion for entertainment, entertainment being a key element of course in enticing eager rockers in their self-proclaimed disenchanted worlds. The backlash towards punk rock from the metal community was nothing but an acknowledgement of the power struggle existing in the inevitable need for “power through numbers” in these die-hard communities. Oh, and Iggy Pop could totally be gay…he toured with Madonna.