Friday, May. 02, 2003
Androgeny
So I've bitched about wanting to give my presentation in Human Sexuality so much that I suddenly realized that I have like three people reading this diary, or my mom and Lindsey just visit a lot...anyhoo, I'm gonna put what I planned to say here.
Now for the full effect you should probably read this loud, really fast and have your voice crack like Peter Brady's ( When its time to change then it's time to ch-ange) cause this is what happens to me in front of people, on a good day anyway. One a bad day I freak out completely and have a panic attack...thats another entry all together.
I did my presentation on Sexual Rebellion in Music. My main focus is Androgeny.
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Sex and rock and roll have gone hand in hand since Rock's birth. Rock and roll was the first music that was distinctly youth music. For the first time kids were breaking away from their parents and creating a culture all of their own.
Starting with Elvis' hips and eye shadow in the 50's. In the 60's you had the twist and boys growing their long hair out to their ears. These were the first signs of people's fasicantion with Androgeny.
In the late 60's an English lad by the name of Marc Bolen started a glam band called T-Rex. Glam was a movement inspired by the sexual revolution. For the first time ever gays and heterosexuals could share a common music and fad. The term Bisexual was being used more and more.
By the early 70's, glam was a full blown movement in music. Another Englishman by the name dof David Bowie took the look so far as to create another persona by the name of Ziggy Stardust. With things like Ziggy Stardust, people were exposed to new ideas and sights. The glam experience was more about the visual experience than the musical one.
An example of the visual was during the live show Ziggy (Bowie) would drop to his knees during one of guitarist Mick Ronson's solos and immulate giving him a blow job through his guitar.
Though Ronson was in glam constume, he still managed to maintain his tough guy image and went next to the very feminie Bowie, the contrast was even more evident.
Other artists included in the 70's glam movement were The New York Dolls, Roxy Music, and Gary Glitter.
By the early 80's Glam had faded into new movments, slightly more commerical ones called the New Romantic and New Wave/ Synth Pop.
The New Romanctic movement included bands like Duran Duran and New Wave/ Synth Pop was home to artists like Boy George and the Culture club.
John Taylor has explained that Duran Duran caught its look from a local store in their home town of Birmingham that started selling a different style of clothing that caught on with younger kids. They were fans of glam and happy to pay tribute to it, not realizing that there was still an audience for a more feminine look. He would later credit the androgenous look for helping Duran sales because you had girls in love with the band along with boys.
In the later 80's androgeny became even more of a marketing tool with hairbands or glam metal. These bands were heterosexual males using makeup to get girls. The leaders in the look were bands like Poison and Pretty Boy Floyd. These groups would be muscular, fit males in turquoise sequins, purple eye shadow, and pink lip stick. CC Devil as said "I looked like Phyllis Diller and still got laid every night!"
Its not just men who took part in the gendering bending look. Woman have pushed the envelope to. Artists like Annie Lennox from the Eurthmics and Model/Actress/Singer Grace Jones.
As the 90's and 2000's approched, makeup wearing took new turns. The Goth look was a darker way to express ones self through makeup and Artists like Marlyin Manson and Madonna used gender bending as shock mechnanizisms ( I can't spell sorry) to express themselves and sell more albums.
Buy why did all this work? From Glam to shock rock of today, why did eople buy this and flock too it so easily?
I have several theories.
First, being the curious creatures we are anything out of te ordinary intrigues us. We're one of few creatures who have sex for pleasure. We have this ability, but we repress it. Sex is dirty, sex is sacred, sex should be only be used when necessary. So when we see something like a young man parading around in women's lingerie with eyeshadow and lipstick, its a new, shocking sight, the same with a woman who doesn't wear make up and wears a short hair cut usually linked with men, and men's clothing.
We also have an intense want and need to better our understanding of the opposite sex. I think that seeings a member of the opposite sex looking or acting a bit like we do, it makes us reach out to them, feel a common bond. Men appear more sensitive and less threatening. While woman seem stronger, less submissive.
Can can have a big strong stud and not be so intimidated by him. Who could really feel threatened by CC Devil or a camped up Bowie?
Men can have a strong, self efficiant woman who could kick butt and feind for herself, but still be attractive. As in the case of Madonna who showed an androgenous side among her many recreations of herself.
I myself find men like Nick Rhodes (Duran Duran) and Tom Keifer (Cinderella) attractive. I wanted to be as pretty as the guys in Pretty Boy Floyd and I'm a huge fan of David Bowie. I like the music, but I'm facinated by their looks. The videos that stuck with me when i was little were mostly those of glam metal bands. One of my first movie memories is of David Bowie in The Labyrinth where he wears make up again.
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Ok, thats what I have so far, still working on a closing statement that could go into Heather's 6 songs with dirty lyrics. So what do you think? Too long, do I ramble to much, is it good, do you agree, disagree? Did I leave and major artists out? I had to pick and choose artists because we have like 5 minutes each, so I don't have a whole lot of time. I had to cut a buncha stuff out to make it fit.
So hey if you have any comments, complaints, insults,or dirty fantasies you wanna share sign my guest book, I'd love to know your opinion.
harlemrain at 5:02 pm