any melbournians read the EG section today in the age?

[chimny]

it's kinda having a go at artists like Mika for not disclosing their sexuality just "for the sake of sales"/....

 

saying how he's 'taking advantage' of his appeal to the gay community without actually coming out of the closet if he is even in it in the first place...

 

any thoughts??

 

 

i can understand what they're trying to say.... but come on... seriously..... i seriously doubt that he's sat in a room with his people and talked about being secretive to sell more records...... and whats more.... hes got rights hasnt he,.....

 

 

 

 

 

here's the article for those who missed it....

 

A revolution of indeterminacy or a clever marketing ploy? Either way, ambiguity is back in fashion, writes Guy Blackman.

 

It was Space Oddity-era David Bowie, with his dazzling orange hair and peroxide eyebrows, who turned ambiguous sexuality into prime pop capital. Back in the early '70s, Bowie and associates Lou Reed, Marc Bolan and Freddie Mercury titillated teen audiences with their daring ambivalence, setting the scene for a decade of glam and glitter in which hairy men in spandex were a disturbingly common sight.

 

Now, 35 years later, it seems that ambiguity is back. British artists such as Lebanon-born Mika and precocious, flame-haired Patrick Wolf lead a new pop pansexuality making flamboyant, lyrically suggestive music but refusing to discuss their private lives.

 

With a rich British legacy including glam, new romantic and Morrissey's back catalogue behind them, Mika and Wolf are knowing and referential while in the US a less self-conscious equal is Antony Hegarty of Antony and the Johnsons and bearded folk oddball Devendra Banhart.

 

Hegarty's songs have lines such as "one day I'll grow up, I'll be a beautiful woman" and his personal imagery involves elements of androgyny and transvestism, while Banhart's latest promo shots pay tribute to '70s San Francisco hippie drag troupe the Cockettes. He dresses skimpily in a jewelled bra, plastic fruit pinned to his underwear and colourful make-up lining his eyes and forehead.

 

None of these artists publicly identify as gay or straight, preferring to shroud their proclivities in mystery and enigma. But is all this ambiguity indicative of a new 21st century sexual fluidity, or does it just reflect a cannibalistic music industry, returning to the playful ambivalence of earlier decades for the sake of sales?

 

Hegarty takes an optimistic view, believing that youth are discarding rigid sexual definitions and seeking role models who reflect their indeterminacy.

 

"The new kids are very polymorphous," Hegarty says. "They seem really open-minded. They're not preoccupied with difference or separateness, which I find really refreshing."

 

For Hegarty, the '80s AIDS crisis put artistic joie de vivre temporarily on hold, and it took another disaster almost 20 years later to shock cultural producers back to vivid life.

 

"People are moving towards something that's sincere, they're not interested in cynicism, which really differentiates itself from my generation," says the 36-year-old.

 

"In America with the World Trade Centre, I felt like that was the crack in New York City, and then a year later everything started to weirdly flourish. Everyone woke up again - that's my theory."

 

But the Gossip's "fat, feminist, lesbian" lead singer Beth Ditto, who famously grew up eating squirrels in Judsonia, Arkansas, thinks differently.

 

To her, Hegarty's optimism could only exist in a city like New York, a zone of urban tolerance that hardly extends beyond city limits. "It's a really easy way to look at things," Ditto says.

 

"I know that in small-town Arkansas, it's not like that at all. I have a little sister who's a flaming bisexual and she gets a lot of f---ing **** for it."

 

She questions whether this decade has seen a new sexual permissiveness in pop music.

 

"There've always been queers in music," she says. "Little Richard created rock'n'roll - I mean, nothing's gayer than that! In the '80s you had New Wave but you also had hair metal and no matter what you say, that was queer as hell. And the literal meaning of 'punk' is a gay man, so gay is synonymous with punk. It's hard to know if it's any different now than it always has been."

 

But more than a queer music revolution, this is a revolution of indeterminacy - even Ditto, who is as proud a lesbian as they come, dates transgendered performer and filmmaker Freddie Fagula.

 

Most openly gay new artists, such as Final Fantasy, Grizzly Bear's Ed Droste and Deerhunter's Bradford Cox, still operate on the outskirts of popular culture, and Ditto is one of the few young lesbian musicians working anywhere near the mainstream. And those who tread a more equivocal line have much greater success.

 

Grace Kelly, the debut single for Mika, florid 24-year-old singer Mica Penniman, burst on to Britain's pop charts at No.1 in January. In Australia, it spent 15 weeks in the ARIA top 10, peaking at No. 2.

 

The melodramatic, Freddie Mercury-referencing track is a virtual paean to uninhibited self-expression but the "gaybe" star gets tetchy when asked to reveal facts about his private life.

 

"I never talk about anything to do with my sexuality," he said earlier this year. "I just don't think I need to. People ask me all the time but I just don't see the point."

 

Wolf began his career as an androgynous teen prodigy on London independent label Faith and Industry but his third album The Magic Position, released in February on a subsidiary of Universal Music, saw him enter the British top 50 for the first time.

 

He takes a more light-hearted approach to prying interviews than Mika, making statements such as: "In the same way I don't know if my sixth album is going to be a death-metal record or children's pop, I don't know whether I'm destined to live my life with a horse, a woman or a man."

 

But is this coyness a sincere wish for privacy or an attempt to maximise audience appeal? And is it still an acceptable response in the 21st century, at a time when infamous US pop commentator Perez Hilton claims "the closet no longer exists"?

 

Ditto sticks up for an individual's right to draw a veil over their private lives.

 

"I don't ever judge anyone because they haven't come out of the closet yet," Ditto says. "And I can completely get down with the idea that it's irrelevant. If you want to keep it closeted because you don't think it should matter, that's also an incredibly bold statement."

 

Kele Okereke, lead singer of British band Bloc Party, dodged rumours about his sexuality for years but made some grudging admissions after the release of second album A Weekend In the City.

 

"Britain has always had a love/hate relationship with gay public figures," he complained to The Guardian in February. "They're treated as funny and inoffensive and camp. They're allowed to exist if (they're) seen as a kind of sub-class. Something ineffectual, a comedy Kenneth Williams character."

 

It's this fear of a tarnished image or diminished audience that keeps many entertainers from admitting to bisexuality, let alone coming out of the closet. But discretion can also have its drawbacks - Mika has recently come under fire for his US label Universal/Motown's demographically directed marketing campaign.

 

"Mika's mixed signals have a whiff of opportunism about them," says Brian Juergens on his well-read blog AfterElton. "He actively markets himself to a gay audience and yet won't acknowledge his own sexuality."

 

For the likes of Antony and Banhart, this pansexual approach to music seems like sincere playfulness, displaying a comfort with sexual identity that supports Antony's optimism for the future.

 

As for Wolf and Mika, it would be nice to believe that their brand of ambiguous pop reflects a wider societal ease, but the straight-talking (no pun intended) Ditto has the last word, as always.

 

"We won't know until 10 years later," she says. "But capitalism is built on stereotypes and built on oppression and sexism and homophobia are definitely a huge part of that, so that has to carry over into the music industry."

[elanorelle]

I am tired of these self righteous gits.

 

I myself am a performer and thankyou very much but my lifestyle and relationship status etc is nobody's bloody business ...Its about time that people like MIKA shake the boat because there are so many small minds out there!

 

that's my rant for the evening!

[lollipop_monkey]

When are the media going to just get over it already? I mean, when Mika starts jumping up and down on Oprah's couch and announces that he's deeply in love with <insert name here> , then the media will have something tangible to talk about. Until then, I don't get why they feel the need to kick the same dead cat over and over again.

 

Besides, why do you have to be gay to market to a gay audience? That's just a strange thought. To be blunt, I can say that the gay people in my circle certainly don't have any requirement that an artist must be openly gay in order for them to appreciate him/her.

 

But, thanks anyhow for posting! And welcome to the MFC!

[chimny]

thank you thank you ---- been meaning to do this first post thing for a while..... never really got around to it... examsetc etc....

 

 

but yeah - i thought the media prying into people's personal lives was bad enough - but now that they can't get what they want - their scraping the barrell just to find something against anyone.....still... interesting the way their minds work.....

 

but - if it's australia's own beloved darling kylie.... its not an issue is it..... of course not - she's beloved for god sakes .

[Suzy]

Welcome chimny!

 

This article reminds me of the argument on "The View" today where the hosts had differing opinions over Jennifer Lopez's right to keep her pregnancy private.

 

IMO, everyone has the right to whatever they want to keep private about their lives. But celebrities need a reality check if they believe they can accomplish this easily. Besides, the moment you make something "taboo", the more enticing it becomes to figure it out and investigate it.

 

On a different tangent...I find sexual ambiguity sexy at the moment...just finished reading "Middlesex" by Jeffrey Eugenides. CartoonKellyGreen and GhostsIntheRadio had recommended it in this thread:

http://www.mikafanclub.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8944

[Scut Monkey]

*will pick up a copy of the Age on her way home this evening*

 

Welcome, Chimny!

[Blue Sky]

Online here:

http://www.theage.com.au/news/music/the-new-closet/2007/11/08/1194329360174.html

 

Welcome chimny from a Tokyo residing Melburnian!!

[Jolene]

what a long article!

 

end of the day- who cares!

[Scut Monkey]

Melburnian!!

You get points for correct spelling.

 

[happikali]

You get points for correct spelling.

 

I would've put an 'o' in it ........

[Kates]

Nothing against Mika or you guys or anything..

but honestly, if you are going to be famous the public is going to be all over your private life whether you like it or not. There's really nothing stopping them.

I wish that people didn't care so much, but obviously they do.

[Marilyn Mastin]

Well said! Lollipop Monkey (a few posts previous to this) I didn't attatch my reply, because I wasn't sure how long it would be, but that's what I always say! Mika will meet someone one day, and he won't want to keep it quiet because that would mean a secret relationship. I doubt the would make such a fuss as jumping on someone's couch. He would just be very digfnified about it, and just say he's with someone, and that would be it. He wouldn't have a spread in Okay magazine, because he doesn't court that kind of publicity.

 

At the moment though (and I don't know if anyone thinks like me, or not) but i tend not to think of him as either, gay, or straight, I think of him as Mika! I think he's too unique to be labeled as anything and I don't really think, at the moment, he's interested in a relationship with anyone. I think his music is his passion and everytime he writes a song, he puts a part of himself into it. I think he, kind of, makes love to the whole world through his music, if that makes any sense. After all, there is something for everyone in the songs he writes, and also, something for every mood. Gay people will love Billy Brown, Fat girls love Big Girl, etc. I don't believe for a minute that he wrote Billy Brown to get gay people liking him, or Big Girl, to get fat women liking him. I think he simply penned those songs, because it felt right, to him to write them, at the time he wrote them and in the case of Billy Brown, that actually caused him a bit of trouble and could have affected his sales of the album. But it didn't, and it shows he's not in the business for the money, but for love of his work

I think also, that that is why he's protective of his music, because it is such a part of himself Because his music IS the way he makes love to the world, he's reluctant to part with it, and certainly not to part with it if someone is going to sing it all wrong.

 

Anyway, that's what I think. I can't get inside Mika's head, so I could be way off, but this is how Mika seems, to me. I think there has never been anyone like him, and the press need to leave him alone if they can't talk about his music.

 

Love today, from Marilyn

[Gatagordinha]

Interesting article, thanks for posting it.

 

Firstly, I thought Patrick Wolf was openly bisexual?? So why include him in the argument?

 

Secondly, I genuinely do not believe Mika is being coy for the sake of sales. Let's face it: most people have already made their own minds up (rightly or wrongly!) about his sexuality. If he declared it openly tomorrow, I do not believe it would have any bearing whatsoever on his sales in any part of the world. Perhaps I am being naive, I don't know. But I do believe Mika's noncommittal stance comes from a genuine conviction he has that pop should be genderless.

 

Thirdly, I absolutely respect and agree with Mika's right to not talk about his private life and sexual orientation but I do think that eventually he WILL have to lighten up about it a little, if only for the sake of his own sanity! It must be hard having to trot out the same old lines to every journalist who asks if he is gay, especially when he must know they have already made up their own minds on that one!

 

I hope eventually he will find the confidence to give out more clues, to relax with himself and with journalists over the issue. That doesn't mean he has to put out a press statement when he hooks up with someone. I actually think he'd do well to follow Kele Okereke's example, eventually, and just relax a little and think "So what??" Does anyone care about Kele's love life now? I don't think so. And they would 'get over' Mika pretty quick too I reckon!

 

But - if he chooses to forever keep schtum on his private life - a la Morrissey - I understand that too. It's his life. And we definitely Do Not Care!

[Queenie]

Welcome chimny!!

[CazGirl]

My Opinion:

 

Some people are just nosy.

 

 

Of course Mika has a right to keep his private life as it should be - PRIVATE.

 

Some are happy to expose themselves to the UK - or indeed the world - but some would rather they kept their work life professional.

 

Even those who just say "I'm dating this person, we're taking it slowly..." have cameras flashing in their face. Even IF they don't say who they're dating, if they're snapped with someone there's loads of suspicion.

 

This is why it's safer to not say what sexual orientation you are. It makes it so much harder for the press to pinpoint exactly, no matter how obvious or how unobvious you are.

 

It's Mika's life and he can do whatever he wants with it. His occupation is a singer/songwriter, so he writes songs and he sings them. That's ALL he does. He sells his music, NOT his private life, and that's what people need to remember.

 

I understand the press, I studied the Media for four years. All they want is a huge story for money (not that you need to study the Media to know that). There are people in this world who are celeb-crazed and this is who they sell the news to. It's not just the media who want this: people WANT to hear about scandals, people WANT to know about celebrities lives. We don't, but plenty of people do. We think it's wrong, but budding stars have to understand that the press are going to probe them about their private life. They just need to find an appropriate way to deal with it.

 

Mika has. He has shut it off completely and is just promoting his music, which he has set out to do since an early age. I think what we need to do now is to just ignore it. Mika isn't going to open up any time soon so they're not going to say anything new are they?

 

Let's just pity them for having no lives themselves

[nico_collard]

Firstly, I thought Patrick Wolf was openly bisexual?? So why include him in the argument?

 

I thought the same thing...

 

Obviously The Age don't know or, if they're anything like the Daily Telegraph, don't let facts get in the way of a good story....

 

Amazing how they go straight to Beth Ditto to when they talk about Mika not talking about his sexuality... and the yseem to use Kele Okereke as an example...

 

At least it's good to see that no matter where in the world you are, newspapers and magazine talk about the same old crap.

 

Basically... I didn't realise that the sexuality of the artist had a direct bearing on record sales...