Boy George thinks people ''get upset about anything'' nowadays.

The 'Karma Chameleon' star believes people are living in much more ''sensitive'' times nowadays and thinks kids just ''don't understand'' how life has changed.

He said: ''People aren't honest. Because we're in sensitive times, when people get upset about anything. I grew up in the 1970s, where every day you were called faggot, poof - at home, at school, on the street. Policemen could hit you. You went to school knowing you could get whipped. Kids just don't understand. I don't want to sound like an old codger, but they don't get what people went through for them to be so precious, and I don't want to dull myself to the point that I don't have an opinion.''

The 58-year-old star feels people ''want to be offended'' nowadays and, as others of his generation, he is still ''getting his head round'' the term transgender.

He added: ''When I was growing up nobody used the term transgender, because it was almost like a medical term. So this transgender thing is new, and, for our generation, it's just getting our heads round it. But people want to be offended, because they think that whatever's going on for them is much more important than anything else. But I'll call you whatever you want. I've spent years calling people fake names. Boy George. Siouxsie Sioux. Johnny Rotten. Of course, it's not the same as your sexuality.''

Boy George feels there is a ''pressure to be more interesting'' nowadays.

Speaking to The Sunday Times' Culture magazine, he shared: ''No, it's more that we think they're homing in on things that aren't important to us. Also, let's not forget that everyone's trying to create a moment now. Everyone's a producer, so there's pressure to be more interesting - and if you're not interesting enough, what have you got wrong with you? What have you got to tell us?''