Michael Jackson: On black male sex appeal and the mass market

With the world mourning the passing of Michael Jackson and his life and achievements are celebrated in print, on TV, and on-line,  is there anything new  to be said (or seen)  about the legendary performer?

One thing that's been frequently mentioned is how the pop icon helped to break down colour barriers in the music industry.

But what might be glossed over is that there are a number of less obvious aspects about what he contributed to the acceptability of black male sexuality in the mass market.

When Jackson shot to superstardom with the release of his '80s solo albums, his success coincided with a time period marked by a literally colourful circus of solo acts that boldly ushered gender and sexual diversity into the mainstream.

Propelled by the momentum generated by the sexually liberating '70s, the '80s popscape was rife with gender blending freaks, to say the least.

Motorcycle-riding Prince roared onto the scene wielding his guitar in high heels and flamboyant outfits (the kind you may or may  not find at a secondhand store). And along  shebopped quirky Cyndi Lauper, proving personality can triumph over gender objectification. And of course, material grrl  Madonna demonstrated that sexpots could have balls.

From across the pond, androgynous, makeup-loving chameleon  Boy George pranced around in dresses, unabashedly flaunting his effeminate manners; Annie Lennox, with her buzz cuts and business suits, proved that sisters were doing it for themselves; and earth oddity  David Bowie offered a refined, artistic alternative to the rugged masculinity of male solo acts like Bruce Springsteen or Bryan Adams. And New Wave bands like The Communards, Erasure, and Depeche Mode included either members who were out as gay men, or had penchants for cross-dressing and playing S&M M&S (that's master and servant, for non-Depechians).

Among this rainbow coalition of characters moonwalked  Michael Jackson.

While his talent was undeniable, a less recognized factor that contributed to his appeal was the fact that he presented a  fresh new image of black male sex appeal.

Racist stereotypes, deeply entrenched in North American history, have either feared or demonized black male sexuality. Michael Jackson presented an intriguing counterpoint to that prejudice: here was a young black male who was exhibiting sexually explicit gestures, grabbing his crotch and air-humping the ground, and bellowing lurid, lustful lyrics. But it was all encased within the body of a lithe, skinny, soft-spoken, shy, sexually ambiguous male.

 It came off as a "cute" facsimile rather than the real deal—his bark was far worse than his bite. And thus, for the time period, he was far more palatable to an audience dominated by a Caucasian majority.

(It's interesting to note that around the same time that Jackson rose to popularity, there were several TV shows that also found success by presenting black men in miniature. Diff'rent Strokes starring Gary Coleman and later Webster with Emmanuel Lewis featured black children adopted by affluent white parents. Infantilization is one way of softening or avoiding issues deemed unacceptable by the status quo.)

While there were numerous black entertainers prior to Jackson—from the suave Harry Belafonte, Nat King Cole, and Smokey Robinson to the seductive Barry White and Marvin Gaye—they were primarily geared towards an adult audience. Stevie Wonder, Jimi Hendrix, Bob Marley, and Little Richard all appealed to youth—and they all certainly contributed to changing attitudes towards black male public figures—but not on the same commercial scope and image level as Jackson.

Also, New Edition  achieved some  crossover  popularity around the same time, later giving rise to several solo stars, including Bobby Brown and Johnny Gill.

But it was Jackson, as a solo artist and pin-up star, who delivered sexuality in a sanitized, unthreatening image, broke ground as one of the first black teen idols who cracked the youth market on a global magnitude. Girls screamed after him, and guys  emulated or idolized  him.    

(In fact, Justin Timberlake seems to have drawn upon some of these elements of Jackson and repackaged it within the body of a white male.)

While the eccentric stars of the '80s ushered in an era of accepting outcasts, they still faced an uphill battle in maintaining longevity against shifting social mores. By the end of the decade, with the rise of an anti-feminist backlash and safe sex campaigns moving beyond gay communities, public displays of gender and sexual identities were beginning to revert to traditional roles.

For '80s solo stars, the dilemma provoked a fight or flight response.

One figure who fought, and survived, was Madonna. Like her or not, she continued standing her ground, fighting back whenever she was criticized, and refusing to give in. For better or for worse, she continued pushing forward in the face of resistance or rejection.

Yet many other '80s female pop figures gave in to what was once antithetical to them. When Cyndi Lauper took on a more overtly sexual image, it killed the charm that her image was founded on: the childlike, personality-driven innocence that was once refreshing. Even Janet Jackson stopped covering up her body, and became irrevocably trapped in the skin-baring sex goddess role.

Most of the male stars sought escape. Prince progressively alienated the public with his increasingly esoteric behaviour and image, including changing his name to an unpronounceable symbol. Boy George struggled with drug problems and run-ins with the law.

Childlike regression seems to have been Michael Jackson's primary coping mechanism for dealing with the pressures and stress in his life. From his Neverland ranch to his friendships with children, Jackson's proclivities were signs of retreat and avoidance, rather than tackling problems and moving past them.

Interestingly, the public responded well to his attempts to fight back against the media, in songs such as "Leave Me Alone" and "Scream", his duet with Janet Jackson.

However, Michael Jackson's personality was introverted, gentle, and sensitive. In spite of his showmanship, he wasn't naturally a extrovert. (Social structures have never been particularly supportive of sensitive men, especially for those in the public eye and in industries that turn talents into commodities.)

What complicated things was that his sexual, gender, and even racial ambiguity became more pronounced as his career continued. It's ironic that the elements of his appeal that made him popular in the first place eventually came to haunt him. Making matters even worse were the pedophile accusations.

Nonetheless, Jackson's success, and other singers and acts of the time like LL Cool J, proved that black male sexuality could be sold to a mass youth market, and contributed to paving the way commercially for other black male sex symbols and singers ranging from drag queen RuPaul and short-lived heartthrobs Milli Vanilli to Usher, Akon, and countless more.

What's more, Jackson's impact and influence may reverberate in many other less obvious ways in both pop music and social attitudes around the world.

It's tragic that for someone who was surrounded with so much worldwide attention, he seemed unable to either get or receive any help from anyone with the pressures and problems he was facing. However, the real tragedy would be if his life, in both successes and problems, is one that is only adulated or gawked at, but isn't actually learned from.