In a new interview with the Guardian,
singer-songwriter K.D. Lang talked about her coming out lesbian in
1992.
Lang is currently promoting her
“Ingénue Redux” tour,
which includes 11 dates in the United Kingdom and two in Ireland.
The tour, which celebrates the 25th anniversary of her
sophomore album Ingénue,
started last year in the United States. Ingénue
included two hit songs that defined Lang's career: “Constant
Craving” and “Chatelaine.” It was released shortly before she
came out in a cover interview with LGBT glossy The Advocate.
“I grew up with the adage that there
is a wealth of purpose in being mysterious,” Lang
told the Guardian. “And I feel like I haven't had the
chance to be mysterious. My sexuality, and everything, was so much
out in the open, and has been for many years. I feel exhausted by
being exposed.”
Asked whether she recognizes that her
coming out impacted other LGBT celebrities, Lang said that she did,
but added that she tries “not to take huge credit for that because
it's not a competition.”
“It's something bigger than all of
us. I am certainly proud, but at the same time, I'm just one of many.
Gay culture isn't just one sliver of humanity – it's a huge
cross-section of people,” she explained.
In coming out in 1992, Lang said that
she didn't “feel political” about her sexuality.
“I think as a human being we all feel
discrimination at some time, we all feel oppression,” she said.
“There should be strong examples in the subculture, and I think
there should be people fighting for our rights. But I don’t feel
like it’s my passion. I feel like it’s a part of my life, my
sexuality, but it’s not – it certainly isn’t my cause. But also
I have never denied it. I don’t try to hide it like some people in
the industry do.”