Bi Awareness Week: Billie Joe Armstrong
“...the three-piece band has inexplicably transformed from snot-nosed punk kids to one of the most quintessential bands of the last 30 years of rock music.”
From “Bisexual Awareness Week 2020: WSOE Celebrates Their Favorite Bi Artists”
Over the years, punk rock music has come to be known for several different things. Political outspokenness, aggressive music, extreme hairstyles, DIY-style shows – you name it. However, one concept that punk rock has certainly not always been known for, especially in the mid-80s, is LGBTQ+ representation. The dominant culture of male aggression found in bands such as The Ramones, Black Flag, and Descendents was simply not open-minded to queer influence on the scene, despite their pro-free thought lyrics.
Enter Green Day, a band whose eccentric personalities, outrageous onstage shenanigans, and infectious songs have captivated millions across the world. Since their debut album in 1990, the three-piece band has inexplicably transformed from snot-nosed punk kids to one of the most quintessential bands of the last 30 years of rock music. Their music is groundbreaking and influential (they’ve got the Grammys to prove it), but another element of this band that sets them apart from the rest of the punk rock class of ’86 is frontman Billie Joe Armstrong’s unabashed bisexuality.
Raised in Rodeo, California, Armstrong has been making music since he learned how to talk. At five years old, he cut his first recording, a catchy tune called “Look for Love,” the recording of which was financed by a local record shop owner. At 10 years old, he met bassist Mike Dirnt and hit it off immediately due to their shared love of rock music. As children, they cut their teeth on songs by heavy metal stalwarts like Ozzy Osbourne and Van Halen. But as they became teenagers, they started a band and began writing original punk songs with a poppy edge that is now recognizable in every Green Day hit. The duo went through several names (Desecrated Youth, Condom, Sweet Children) before settling on Green Day, and several drummers (John Kiffmeyer, Raj Punjabi) before finding the perfect match in Tre Cool. Once they got their name and lineup right, it seems like the stars aligned in their favor. They had underground success with their first two albums, but their third album, the youthfully angsty masterpiece Dookie, skyrocketed them to becoming the most successful and arguably the most influential punk band of all time.
What makes Dookie such an interesting project, though, is that, according to Armstrong, the lyrics on this album were heavily influenced by his experience with bisexuality. This is most clearly indicated on the song “Coming Clean,” where Armstrong speaks candidly about his struggles with his identity. In this song, he describes himself as “seventeen and strung out on confusion” and laments that “Mom and Dad will never understand what’s happening to me.” Other tracks on Dookie similarly refer to Armstrong’s bisexuality, such as his account of meeting with a male sex worker in “Basket Case.” And as he’s gotten older, Armstrong has continued to document his sexuality in his lyrics on songs such as “King for a Day” from Nimrod and the title track from Green Day’s rock opera opus American Idiot. In the former, he humorously recounts his interest in drag as a child, smugly singing “Just wait ‘til all the guys get a load of me.” In the latter, he makes a cry of defiance against a homophobic American society, reclaiming a harmful slur with the infamous line “Well, maybe I’m the f****t, America.”
“...according to Armstrong, the lyrics on this album were heavily influenced by his experience with bisexuality.”
Where Armstrong really touts his bisexuality, however, is in his incredibly memorable live performances. In Green Day’s early days, he made a habit out of kissing his band members onstage and engaging in homoerotic stage banter, much to the delight of his audience. As he’s matured, he has been known to proudly wave large gay and bisexual pride flags throughout entire performances. His decision to wear that part of his identity on his sleeve has doubtless had an empowering influence on generations of questioning youths across his 34-year career. Representation of bisexual people in music is important all-around, but it is especially critical that it exists within a genre that has for so long been unwelcoming of LGBTQ+ folks among its ranks of angry straight white men. Armstrong came out himself in a 1995 interview, where he said “I think I’ve always been bisexual. I mean, it’s something that I’ve always been interested in … They say it’s taboo. It’s ingrained in our heads that it’s bad, when it’s not bad at all. It’s a very beautiful thing.”
“Representation of bisexual people in music is important all-around, but it is especially critical that it exists within a genre that has for so long been unwelcoming of LGBTQ+ folks among its ranks of angry straight white men.”
Despite all the faux-aggression of his stage personality, his priority has always been to use his influence to make a change in the world for the better. He grew up a bisexual flower living within the cracks of a hegemonic sidewalk, inspiring those around him with his lived experiences and his candidly wise words. For his 25+ years of effort to leave the punk rock scene more welcoming than he found it, Billie Joe Armstrong will always be recognized as a champion of LGBTQ+ rights.
For Fans Of: The Offspring, Blink-182, NOFX
Listen to: “Coming Clean,” “King for a Day,” “American Idiot”
