Dev Hynes opens up about sexuality: ‘I’m not defining myself’
By Will Stroude
Singer-songwriter and producer Dev Hynes has spoken about how he perceives his sexual identity in a new interview with ES Magazine.
The 30-year-old, who performs as Blood Orange (and previously Lightspeed Champion), and has produced and written songs for the likes of Kylie, Mutya Keisha Siobhan and Solange Knowles, revealed that when it comes to his sexuality, he’s taking a leaf of Prince and David Bowie’s book when it comes to labelling himself.
“Things are fluid. I think a lot of people look at me and think, ‘No, it’s strong if you define yourself and it’ll be helpful to others.’ But I think they don’t realise that I’m not hiding in not defining myself”, he explains.
“I’m openly not defining myself. To me, that’s the school of Bowie and Prince, where they were just themselves.”
London-born Hynes, who released third studio album Freetown Sound earlier this year, adds that while he has slept with men in the past, it “wasn’t his thing”, and is currently seeing “a couple of people”.
As a child, Hynes would paint his nails and took tap dancing and ballet classes, which attracted bullies.
“It was mainly black kids doing it,” he says. “There was a sense that I was different to them. White people didn’t really give a f**k”.
You can read the full interview with Dev Hynes in ES magazine, out today (July 28).
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