male androgyny and gender performance in music videos
Many music videos in existence today are prone to warping the representation of cultural determined stereotypes to reflect the norms of society. As a result, audience members feel as if they fully comprehend the identities of these people, when really they are just warped aspects of reality. For example, the specific stereotype of hyper-sexualised females in music videos can cause women to develop issues regarding their self-image. These hyper-sexualised stereotypes are also powerful in the way that they influence peer pressure among women, and the desire to fit in. But does it always have to be this way?
Perhaps not, as androgyny in music videos counter these specific stereotypes, through challenging mainstream models of identity, and raising questions of gender performance. Butler (1988) argues that gender is not a stable identity, but one that is constituted overtime through a “stylised repetition of acts.” The androgynous males that star in the following music videos analysed, are exemplary of how gender can be performative. This is because each artist freely executes their own performative acts, contributing to the transition of their gender to the middle ground of androgyny.
The music videos I will analyse include:
o “Life On Mars?” - David Bowie
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v--IqqusnNQ
o “If I Had You” - Adam Lambert
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmXQFwlD7vk
o “Tous Les Mêmes” - Stromae
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAMWdvo71ls
In the 1970s, David Bowie pioneered ‘glam rock,’ a fun, accessible genre that countered traditional rock culture, and contributed to the stability of gender orientations (Sofer, 2007). The androgynous persona Bowie adopts, ‘Ziggy Stardust,’ is an iconic figure of glam rock, and an example of how gender can be performative. The music video for his song, “Life On Mars?” shows androgyny in its most extreme form. Bowie is dressed in a sky-blue suit, platform heels and a striped tie complete with a flaming orange mullet. His make up consists of chalky white foundation, extravagant blue eye shadow and metallic pink lipstick, giving off the impression that Bowie is an alien. This represents the idea that Ziggy Stardust exists in a liminal cultural space, deciding not to portray himself as either gender, but instead, an alien (Sofer, 2007). This is confirmed through the lyrics at the end of the chorus that refer to the identity Bowie inhabits in outer space:
Butler (1988) states, the body is not “merely factic materiality,” but a set of possibilities from which we can choose how we present ourselves. Bowie chooses to avoid the predetermined ideals of male and female stereotypes, and chooses to adopt characteristics from both. David Bowie’s video differs to those of Adam Lambert and Stromae, as their androgynous characteristics are not as strikingly bizarre as Bowie’s.
In his music video, “If I Had You,” Adam Lambert follows in Bowie’s footsteps with his flamboyant, androgynous appearance. Lambert (2013) himself stated that Bowie was a dominant figure that inspired him to communicate his identity in a way that differed to mainstream music. As opposed to Bowie, Lambert takes a more punk rock and modernistic approach with his look. At the beginning of the video, Lambert struts confidently through a forest, dressed all in black, with black leather high-top boots and black leather gloves. He flaunts a black mullet similar to Bowie’s, wearing thick black eye liner, and black nail polish with chunky silver chains hung around his neck. The identity Lambert wishes to communicate is confirmed through his outfit description in the opening verse:
Got the right amount of leather
And I'm doing me up with a black colored liner.”
Lambert’s appearance is representative of how Lambert wishes to perform his ambiguous gender and avoid conforming to hegemonic gender roles. Lambert is seen dancing with both genders, and the male and female dancers in the video are also presented in an equally sexual way. Male dancers are shirtless or in skimpy vests, and females are wearing provocative crop tops, enforcing Lambert’s performance of gender ambiguity. Bowie and Lambert challenge the internalised sets of assumptions associated with conventional gender stereotypes in their music videos. As a result, this allows gender to evolve by pushing its hegemonic boundaries.
Stromae takes a completely different approach with his androgynous identity; splitting his appearance equally into part woman, part man in “Tous Les Mêmes.” Stromae takes the form of two personas, ‘Stromaette,’ his female persona on one half of his body, and ‘Stromae,’ his male persona on the other half. The interpretation of the song is aided by the use of lighting in which green lighting represents Stromae and pink lighting representing Stromaette. Stromae plays on the stereotypical traits and behaviour women associate with men and vice versa, through non-verbal cues made by the actors (for example, Stromae scratches his face and picks his nose). These stereotypical traits are also conveyed through lyrics such as these that blame men for the hyper-sexualisation of women:
“Take one last look at my ass,
It’s right next to my suitcase.”
Stromae uses androgyny in order to make a statement toward the negative stereotyping of women and men alike. He does this so the audience reflects upon the narrative of the destructive relationship portrayed through the lyrics to encourage ethical treatment of both genders. This differs greatly to the work of Bowie and Lambert, who use androgyny as a means to perform masculinity and femininity in new ways.
In their videos, Bowie, Lambert and Stromae transition their gender to the halfway point of androgyny to challenge conventional stereotypes often portrayed in mainstream music. Artists such as these are influential as they challenge the black and white assumptions toward gender and contribute toward the concept that gender is performative. This is important, as it allows gender to evolve, challenging gender inequality and the stereotypical norms of males and females. The androgyny these artists portray is also an accessible identity to audiences who do not wish to conform to conventional male and female stereotypes.
Butler, J. (1988). Performative acts and gender constitution: An essay in phenomenology and feminist theory. Theatre Journal, 40(4), 519-531.
Lambert, A. (2013). My Bowie: Adam Lambert. Retrieved from http://www.out.com/entertainment/music/2013/03/12/my-bowie-adam-lambert
Sofer, A. (2007). Performing glam rock: Gender and theatricality in popular music. Theatre Journal, 59(4), 704-705.
