Culture Club

TG R'N'R!

Part Three: The 1980s, 1990s, and Beyond...

By Aleisha Michelle Emerson


"Dude looks like a lady..."
- Aerosmith


he early 1980s saw massive change in the music industry. Many acts from the 1970s found their record sales dwindling, and public interest in music had dropped to dangerously low levels. Children were now spending their quarters on video games instead of music, and it became apparent that there needed to be change in the industry. Executives anxiously waited for 'the next big thing'...

Their prayers were answered with the onset of the British "New Wave". Dozens of bands with tuneful pop songs and highly fashion-conscious images made their way onto the North American record charts. Also, the relatively new medium of the Music Video evolved from being a novelty to a legitimate marketing tool. Image became as important, if not more so, as the music. Artists with varying degrees of TG in their image reaped the benefits of the new interest in video. Eyeliner and lip gloss once again became de rigueur for the discerning rock star. Duran Duran, megastars of the period, all wore makeup, and generally favored light-colored pastel clothing. Though criticized and ridiculed by some for their image, they nonetheless packed arenas full of screaming teenaged girls, graced the covers of countless magazines, and sold millions of records in the process.

While bands like Duran Duran walked a fine line of androgyny, the New Wave gave pop one of its first truly overt transgendered stars. George O'Dowd, better known as Boy George, and his band Culture Club became huge stars in North America and across the globe despite, and perhaps partially because of, his openly transgendered look. Though standing well over 6 feet, Boy George presented a completely feminine image. He wore his hair long, in a feminine style, full face makeup, and dressed in loose flowing clothing. Even his singing voice was soft, and female. He became an instant hit with the media, and the band reaped the rewards of pop stardom.

(Unfortunately, with such quick success often comes an equally quick descent, and Boy George found himself in trouble with drugs, the law, and bandless by the late 80s. Thankfully he did manage to recuperate, and went on to sing the theme song of Neil Jordan's transgendered blockbuster film "The Crying Game.)

At the opposite end of the TG spectrum from Boy George was Annie Lennox of The Eurythmics. Though males exploiting feminine traits in rock music was nothing new, the idea of a woman intentionally presenting a strong masculine image was a relatively new one. Lennox and her harsh, short cropped hair, man-style grey suits, and leather gloves was as far from 'sweet' or 'feminine' as one could imagine. The Eurythmics scored immediate success with the single and accompanying video for "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)". As the decade progressed Lennox's image softened, leaving behind the ultra-butch look that launched the band's success, eventually abandoning the look altogether. Still, "Sweet Dreams" is the song remembered for starting her career, and the image she presented is inevitably intermingled with the song. Queen

By the mid-1980s the success of TG images in rock had made it all the way to the longtime bastion of over-stated masculinity, Heavy Metal. Twisted Sister (whose initials, ironically enough, are "TS"), with lead singer Dee Snyder, contrasted high-testosterone song themes like "We're Not Gonna Take It" with caricatured female facial makeup. Other bands soon found lip gloss, eyeliner, and blush infiltrating their images. Faster Pussycat, Motley Crue, White Lion, and countless other spinoff bands inadvertently formed their own subgenre, 'Glam Metal'. Even heavy metal legends Kiss traded their infamous theatrical makeup for more subtle looks and flowing neon clothes.

As the decade continued, many established acts began either experimenting with TG themes, or returning to TG images they hadn't used since earlier in their careers. Queen had rode to success in the mid-1970s during the height of the "Glam Rock" movement, exploring images forged by stars such as David Bowie and Lou Reed. Lead singer Freddie Mercury's onstage preening and posturing created the image of a modern dandy, and the rest of the band also experimented with makeup and flashy onstage clothing. Even the band's name, "Queen", hinted at transgender slang, and songs such as "Killer Queen" (from 1974's Sheer Heart Attack"") experimented with TG characters and themes. But as the 1970s ended and the interest in Glam Rock waned Queen, like many bands, changed their image and left much of the 'glaminess' behind. In 1984, however, they returned to their roots with an obviously TG-inspired video. "I Want To Break Free" featured the entire band in full drag, and went on to become a huge hit.

As in the 70s, as the decade drew to a close interest in transgendered images again began to wane, though with a few notable exceptions. Aerosmith scored a hit in 1987 with "Dude (Looks Like A Lady)", about a crossdresser. Lead vocalist Steve Tyler appears briefly in drag in the video. They again used the crossdressing theme in the 1993 video for "Living on the Edge", which includes scenes of a TG highschool teacher, and closes with scenes of the CD dressing.

RuPaul Though transgenderism in pop and rock music has come and gone in waves over the years, as the 1990s continue it seems as though the concept of a mainstream TG star is becoming more and more palatable to the public. Perhaps the best example of this phenomenon is RuPaul. A seasoned drag performer, RuPaul has slowly made inroads into pop culture, through music, film, and television. Though the idea of Drag Queen as mainstream icon had been flirted with in the 1980s by Divine (who had minor dance club hits with "You Think You're A Man" and "Walk Like A Man"), RuPaul has been able to take the acceptance one step further. With one album of dance music already released, and another awaiting release, RuPaul has managed to use her Drag Star status to achieve mainstream success. She will be hosting a television show on the US cable network VH1 in the fall of 1996, and will release a calendar (once a medium only for supermodels and sports heroes) for 1997. As time has passed, and the novelty of the Drag element has waned, RuPaul has shown that talent can prevail regardless of what clothing a person might be wearing.

What the future holds for transgendered imagery and performers is anybody's guess. Time has shown that the popularity of TG in music has come and gone like many trends, but as overall public acceptance of TG has increased (evident in the success of such films as "The Crying Game", "To Wong Foo - thanks for everything, Julie Newmar...", and "The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert") the idea of a sustainable TG star has become more possible. Perhaps in the future we will see music icons whose transgenderism is not their only claim to celebrity. Until then, throw on some makeup, and put some Bowie, Lou Reed, or Culture Club in the CD player, and enjoy the stars we already have.


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