It’s a bird, it’s a plane— it’s a starman! While there were several icons that came out of the glam rock era, none were quite as influential and striking as David Bowie. From his distinct eyes to his stylistic shape-shifting, Bowie hit the world like a musical meteorite. Dancing onto the scene with his first hit “Space Oddity”, Bowie’s career got its official start after an unsuccessful run in folk music. Though Bowie is most well known as a musician, it could be argued that his biggest impact can be seen in the way the world now views gender identity and sexuality. With personas like Ziggy Stardust, Bowie was seen wearing makeup, heels, and tight lurex, which had never been seen before within mainstream culture.
Throughout his career, Bowie never shied from using shock and flair to grab the attention of audiences, even coming out on several different occasions. Perhaps the most shocking instance was during 1972, when he came out as gay to Melody Maker magazine. However, even then wasn’t his first time diverging from the norm. As young as 17 years old, Bowie was seen as the spokesperson for “Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Long-Haired Men”, which argued against the idea that men with long hair were feminine. With these examples alone it can be seen that Bowie was never one to follow the status quo, thus inspiring generations to come.