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Originally posted by Extra Espresso
I think it could be argued that anything resembling "androgyny" for those three artists was very much part of the era's they were big in. Bowie was part of/grew up in the whole "free love" era so that was always sort of his tie-in.
For Prince, testing societal norms of sexual norms was practically part of his calling card in how he presented himself to the world. I mean he had a song called "Sister" for crying out loud. Everyone was just like "hey he's a groovy, horny prodigy it's cool..."
MJ perhaps couldn't away as much as the previous two I mentioned because he was more mainstream (I know I know Bowie and Prince were huger than huge, but I'm talking the difference between huge and stratospheric...you know what I mean) but he could get away with this under the context of being the showman.
After all the swirling experimentalism of the 70s and even early 80s of which the men you brought up were at their peak came the Reagan era of the late 80s, the AIDS epidemic and then the culture wars of the 90s. With this, sexual experimentation, especially in men, was flat out rejected.
Which gets me to my last point - pop culture has decidedly regressed, especially in the United States, in what their mainstream male pop acts are allowed to do in toying with rigid ideas of masculinity. Key example: Adam Lambert's backlash post AMA's.
The UK understands camp and accepts it: The Scissor Sisters, MIKA, etc. Two openly gay men even recently had albums in the top ten. There's several Rufus Wainwright interviews in which he addresses this issue head on.
Adam Lambert has a sizeable audience here, but Clear Channel's president is very conservative and I can guarantee is being given money by groups like "Concerned Mothers for America" to have him not play Adam on their playlists - which has a huge impact.
A male equivalent Lady Gaga cannot be successful in this country because of the United States patriarchal society structure that flat out rejects male effeminacy (including pop culture) - full stop. It sucks but it's the way it is right now.
Sociologically, effeminacy is tied in with the concept of the gay man in this country (from stereotype). See below.
The patriarchal society structure tolerates lesbians because they operate as **** fodder for the straight men that run the patriarchal system, but doesn't accept their relationships as something more valuable; instantly destroying it through objectification. Gay men are flat out not tolerated, not respected, and openly scorned because they openly challenge the concept of the male as permanently being dominant.
Pop culture even reflects this ideal that "two girls kissing is a okay, two guys kissing is to be scorned" through the vastly hypocritical message of "I accept everyone as long as my boyfriend is the hardest guy around".
Hmmm....GUESS WHO? Find the shade girls...or I'll just let you bring it out into the open, because yes - it's part of this VERY PROBLEM.
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So perfectly said.
Though I have to point out the irony that society today today is more gay-friendly than 30-40 years ago even though we're backwards in the ways that you've mentioned. But I think all it would take would be the right artist with the right music and most importantly, the right timing to break the rules all over again. Because think about it though, would we have ever imagined that a female pop star could be massively successful without being conventionally beautiful or sexy? That's why I think a male Gaga could happen.
Quote:
Originally posted by iBeyoncé.
Replace MJ? Oh bitch you can die. we can replace Bowie. I don't listen to him.
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with your uncultured ass.
