k.d. lang Says Coming Out Denied Her a Chance to Remain Mysterious

Singer k.d. lang stunned the world coming out to The Advocatein 1992. But she says now the experience ultimately proved 'exhausting' and stripped the singer of some public mystery.

"I grew up with the adage that there is a wealth of purpose in being mysterious," lang said in a new interview with 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."

Still, lang acknowledged the importance of the groundbreaking interview.

When asked if she recognized that her action opened the doors for other celebrities to come out, lang said she did, "although I try 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."

Lang's 1992 interview in The Advocate preceded a year before the infamous Vanity Fairarticle that showed her in a barber's chair having her face shaved by supermodel Cindy Crawford. For a period, lang was arguably the most famous lesbian on the planet.

But even in her interview with The Advocate, she expressed reluctance on becoming the face of a movement.

"I don't feel political about my preference. I just don't. I'm sorry to disappoint you hard-cores, but I don't!" she said at the time.

"I think as a human being we all feel discrimination at some time, we all feel oppression. 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."

Lang did her most recent sit-down with The Guardian to promote her Ingenue Redux tour in the U.K, which is being held in honor of the 25^th anniversary of her career-defining Ingenue album.