Singer-songwriter Melissa Etheridge
says coming out gay was scary for her generation.
In an upcoming wide-ranging interview
with Dan Rather on The Big Interview, which can be seen on
cabler AXS TV on Monday, October 14, Etheridge, 52, discusses when we
first became aware of her sexual orientation.
“It's a funny journey,” Etheridge
said. “I imagine nowadays kids can kind of be more aware of it
because it exists and we talk about it. When I grew up, I remember
in junior high someone saying, 'Oh, she's a lezzie.' And I went,
'What's that?' I had no idea. And it was a bad word. When I
finally realized when I'm about 15 that all my friends are, 'Oh, Joe,
Bobby, Mike,' you know, and I'm Jodie. You know, I'm like – 'Wait
a minute, what am I doing?' – that it's a scary thing. It was
scary for my generation. The first time I kissed a girl I was 17 and
that's when it was like, 'Oh,' it was a huge difference.”
Etheridge added that she spent a lot of
time kissing boys “trying to make it work.” (The video is
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