Troye Sivan has been in the news recently due to an interview he gave to a New Zealand publication. In the interview, the journalist asked Sivan if he were a top or a bottom. Not surprisingly, Sivan declined to answer the question. What was surprising, however, was the criticism some people had of Sivan's response.

While most people understood Sivan's discomfort, there were some who didn't. A writer for Out Magazine criticized Sivan for refusing to answer the question. The writer claimed Sivan treated the topic as taboo. It was also refereed to as hypocritical, since Sivan's song "Bloom" is about bottoming. Sivan went on to respond on Twitter, doubling down on his position.

I don't think Sivan is ashamed of his sexuality or the sex he has with his boyfriend. If he were, I doubt he would've wrote and released the songs he did on his "Bloom" album. However, there is a way that every individual handles that sexuality in public. Everyone has their own way of doing so. Some people are porn stars who have no problem showing their bodies. Some people would rather not discuss it at all and keep it in the bedroom. And there are some who fall in between. Every single one of those people should be respected in how they choose to handle their own sexuality.

One of the things Sivan said in his Twitter response was that reporters wouldn't ask a straight artist about their sex life. I think this is less of a "gay vs. straight" issue and more of a "artists vs. non-artists" issue. I remember watching an interview with Janet Jackson on "The Tyra Banks Show." Banks was asking Jackson all kinds of questions about her sex life. When Jackson appeared uncomfortable, Banks explained that since Janet talks about sex in her music, she wanted to ask about it.

This is the main issue as far as I'm concerned. There is a misconception about artists from those whose brains aren't wired the same way. When you're an artist, you are inevitably going to express yourself on a personal level. Not every artist does this on purpose. Some don't even realize they're doing it. But every artist creates based on what they know. Some art is more personal than others. It's not always something the artist has experienced firsthand. However, there is always a connection the artist has to the reason they created what they did.

So if an artist creates work that is inevitably personal, why ask for privacy? If an artist creates overtly sexual work, why wouldn't they be comfortable opening up about the details of their sex life? I think the simplest way to explain this is, there is a time and a place for everything. When an artist creates, that is their time to express their inner thoughts and desires. It is up to the viewer or listener to interpret its meaning and, hopefully, connect to it.

It's also a question of how one treats things they value. Some people value sex and some people value art. If you're an artist who values sex, you fall into both of those categories. So the artist in question would naturally feel comfortable being open about sex in their art. However, if they're giving an interview that will be read around the world by strangers, discussing their sex life may be uncomfortable. The artist might feel the sex is losing its value by discussing it in such a way.

I feel a particular connection to this story, because I've been on the receiving end of similar questions. In 2013, I uploaded some spoken word poems to my YouTube channel. Some of them were very sexual and this made some people around me uncomfortable. One person asked me why I wanted to be so open about my sex life. I didn't feel I was being open about my sex life. I was being open about my feelings.

I also wasn't in a relationship at the time, so I didn't really have a sex life to be open about. However, even if I was with someone, I still think that's different from inviting the whole world into our bedroom. For some, there is no difference. I think that's unfortunate. On the bright side, it just proves that artists are unique individuals. I would rather be misunderstood than live in a world where everyone thinks the same way.

Controversy can be good, because they ignite conversation. Troye Sivan is a gay male pop singer who is open about his sexuality in a way we haven't seen in the mainstream before. This will inevitably lead to uncomfortable questions. But it's all a growing process and will only make things easier for the artists that follow. Hopefully this leads to more understanding and respect being given to artists in the future.