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The Great Gender Bend

Androgyny and Music / Boo

Music | March 5, 2009 | Comments (21)

(ed. note — this article originally ran in October of 2008 at The Music is the Message. I figured it would serve as a nice compliment to this week’s post about bands and costumes. —TK)


A philosophical question: What came first—the gender bending artist or their music? Does the music they create pull this persona from within, or is it the persona that pulls the music out?

In our modern culture, are we attracted to the lack of sexual characteristics or is it more the possibility of either?

Take for instance: Prince. Or, The Artists Formerly Known As Prince. Or, Prince Again. (Does anyone know what he actually goes by now?) Now, I wouldn’t necessarily consider him androgynous, but he certainly knows how to blur the sexual lines, and he is certainly more sexual (in his early ’90s days, as witnessed by the following video) than many of the more typically androgynous performers.

Seriously, ENJOY.

Alas, no ass. (Really, what the hell has happened to America? I haven’t seen an onstage orgy on cable since, well, since 1991. A real cryin’ shame.) Now that I’m thinking about it, he really looks like a woman in drag more than anything. (He sure does have a pretty face, mm hmm.)

Now, on the other hand, consider THE David Bowie. Andro? Yes. Sexual? Depends. (For me, the answer to that second question is an unequivocal “YES,” but I’m aware that many do not share that sentiment.)

Let’s taste, shall we?

I’m Afraid of Americans (featuring supersexy Trent Reznor)

With Bowie—and getting back to my original thought—it seems as though his portrayed gender identity comes paired with his music; that the persona brings certain things forward, and they exist hand-in-hand (evidenced by his Ziggy Stardust era, where he actually named the persona). Prince, on the other hand, seems to let his music come through and his true self express its nature. Yes, he is a showman, but there is also honesty in his self-portrayed sexual being. (Am I going way out on a limb here?)

Annie Lennox is more of the Prince variety of andro; she has something to say, says it in her music, and then cultivates the persona to bring power to her message. (Ok, this is all very confusing. I’m getting lost. )

Thoughts on androgyny in music?


Boo is a self-supporting wise ass with a mean streak, a sweet tooth and an amazing pair. You can find her under a rock in the Southern Appalachian mountains, attempting to write, play and sing music, usually while in some state of inebriation. Read more about her at Girl Named Boo.


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Comments

karma, karma, karma, karma, karma chameleon. You come and go, you come and go-o-o-. Lovin' would be easy if your colors were like my dreams, red, gold and green. Red, gold and greeeeen.

Posted by: wsapnin at March 5, 2009 12:12 PM

Angie is actually about how Mick Jagger got caught having sex with David Bowie, I wish I were lying.

Posted by: George at March 5, 2009 12:18 PM

There are people who don't find David Bowie sexual?

Are you sure these people, in fact, have naughty bits?

Posted by: Tammy at March 5, 2009 12:33 PM

Bowie's teeth are terrifying!

That being said, I really don't care about what he/she looks like while making good music. I think it's just another layer to their creativity. Now when you're making shite, in many cases, one may pretend to be the opposite sex (or lack any sex for that matter) as a gimmic. To me, that just comes across as pathetic and weak.

In closing, Daft Punk, Bowie, NIN, and the Eurythmics all in the same day, fantastic!

Posted by: admin at March 5, 2009 12:38 PM

What is terrifying about Bowie's teeth?

I have to admit, the first time I saw Antony (from Antony and The Johnsons), I morphed into my grandmother and asked my friend "is that a man or a woman (her standard question in the 1980s whenever she saw a man in a mullet)". His voice is very ambiguous in terms of gender and his appearance changes (I believe he's had some transgender ops but not the whole hog). But it's a truly beautiful voice: I just can't figure out if it's a high male voice or an alto female.

Posted by: PaddyDog at March 5, 2009 12:44 PM

I forgot to answer your question.
Bowie: sexual? Hell yes.

Posted by: PaddyDog at March 5, 2009 1:04 PM

Where do the New York Dolls fall in this discussion? I guess I don't really have anything to add except that, um, the Dolls started the whole crossdress/teased hair/lipstick thing. And I think they were awesome.

Posted by: Mattfactor at March 5, 2009 1:19 PM

Hanson.

Posted by: CiCi at March 5, 2009 3:20 PM

CiCi:

BWAH!!

A glaring omission, to be sure.

Posted by: TK at March 5, 2009 3:31 PM

Hee!

Posted by: boo at March 5, 2009 3:40 PM

Actually George, Angie is not about Bowie and Jagger allegedly having sex. Nor is it about Bowie's first wife Angie Bowie. It is a ballad for Keith Richard's daughter.

As for Bowie and Jagger having sex, they weren't actually caught having sex. Angie walked in on the two asleep naked in the same bed on the morning after a night of boozing and doing drugs with groupies. There was really nothing to indicate that the two had sex the night before. Any Bowie fan who knows what Angie Bowie is like knows that the Bowie-Jagger rumor is something she spread in her spurious book that she published the minute her gag order was lifted after her and Bowie's divorce. I'm not so stupid as to say that Bowie didn't sleep with men in the early 70s, but Mick Jagger was not one of those men.

Posted by: stardust savant at March 5, 2009 3:52 PM

No mention of Manson?

I'm not sure I count Boy George. I just feel like that doesn't count as androgyny. Androgyny to me is creating sexual ambiguity by removing sexual giveaways and/or adding gender-neutral elements, not mixing in aspects of the other sex until you reach an average. Boy George was a man wearing makeup and (to some degree) "feminine" clothing.

I don't know, maybe I'm creating a distinction where there isn't one, but I still feel that Boy George wasn't androgynous. Lennox, yes, Ziggy-era Bowie, yes.

Posted by: Eep at March 5, 2009 5:33 PM

"evidenced by his Ziggy Stardust era, where he actually named the persona"
He named all of his personas, actually. Apart from Ziggy, we have The Thin White Duke, Halloween Jack, and Aladdin Sane.

Posted by: serena at March 5, 2009 5:49 PM

Rock n' Roll's main "get" was that it was threatening: once the thug look and singing "black" music became the accepted norm, and bitches like The Eagles made long hair as mundane and useless as their music, true androgyny was the next best thing to scare moms, pops, and their sweet little girls. At least until Hip-Hop came along.

side note: Grace Jones!!

Posted by: bev rage at March 5, 2009 8:26 PM

Gary Numan.

Posted by: Mattfactor at March 5, 2009 8:35 PM

I must say, I've always found androgyny extremely sexy. Girly boys, boyish girls, oh yes. Maybe that's why I wear my hair so short and don't wear makeup. Hmmm.
A few months ago I saw NIN and I think I almost creamed my pants a few times from Trent. Yummy.
When I was younger I was scared of Bowie after I saw Labyrinth, but now that I'm older I do find him quite attractive. He definitely has aged well.
Great, now I just want to go watch Life Aquatic.

Posted by: Quincy at March 5, 2009 9:35 PM

BS is a ~~~how to say nice woman.she is wonderful in music.She was said to be fond of internet recently. Some of her fans found her on a interracial dating club mixedmate.c0m. She has a personal account there with her pictures, blog and something about her albums...

Posted by: evan at March 5, 2009 10:53 PM

you weren't lying George, just mistaken. which i guess is the better of the two. i think its less the music bringing forth the persona as it is the persona bringing forth the music.

Posted by: The Ross Sea Party at March 6, 2009 2:01 AM

After first seeing Nina Hagen in a ketamine-induced craze, I have to assert that androgyny in music (especially coming from girls, or maybe non-girls as the case is presented) is one of the sexiest things ever. And I'm asexual.

Years later and free of all chemicals (aside from those prescribed) I believe the same thing. Laurie Anderson, Nina Hagen - I would turn sexual in a second for those gir-... well. You get it. Maybe it's just admiration, but that's one hell of a strong admiring feeling they inspire.

Posted by: Lola at March 6, 2009 8:16 AM

Sweet Dreams; classic and quintessential Annie, but to mix it up I would have chosen "Little Bird".

I was unsure if I was watching a music video or the next (and most awesome) episode of Ru Paul's Drag Race.

Posted by: Liz at March 6, 2009 2:08 PM

Thank god. Just the thought of a Bowie/Jagger relationship was haunting my nightmares. Thank you for correcting me Stardust.

Posted by: George at March 9, 2009 7:13 PM