Why David Bowie Mattered - An MRA perspective.

splodgenessabounds · 2016-01-12T07:05:56+00:00

The gender cage is still there, but thanks to Bowie and others like him, it is a bit bigger than it used to be. And that folks, is why I think Bowie mattered

Can't disagree with that. You could argue that if it weren't for Bowie, Marc Bolan and Bryan Ferry and the rest of them wouldn't have had the careers they did.

I'm no Bowie fanatic, but I'm of a generation for whom Bowie's songs and phases (from Ziggy to the Thin White Duke to funk to China Girl 80s pop) were both background to growing up and markers of times. Like you, I'm deeply sceptical of the sudden appearance of millions of writers and bloggers and twitterers who all profess this astonishing, abiding love of Bowie and all he wrote: too much "me too" bandwagon jumping. At the same time, I think there is a germ of truth in the assertion that "we'll never see his like again".

Other than all that, I was genuinely upset when I learned he was dead - not just because he died too early (69 isn't that old) but because when musicians I've grown up with exit stage left, it's a blunt reminder of my own mortality.

rogerwatersbitch · 2016-01-12T03:13:58+00:00

Nice...and very true

mwobuddy · 2016-01-12T03:24:04+00:00

Emma May is dreamy.

2016-01-12T07:21:52+00:00

Author is spot on and even made me confront my own perspective and tear it right back down. Too bad there isn't room on the 10 o clock news for honesty in reporting.

King-Achelexus · 2016-01-12T18:57:09+00:00

In a world in which most of the creative people are male, yet in which, paradoxically, being creative is seen as not such a male thing to do

Damn

splodgenessabounds · 2016-01-15T08:41:43+00:00

Bowie was an icon of two things – male creativity and male rebellion against gender roles

In the last few days there's been innumerable tributes and media articles on Bowie, and cover versions of his songs, and umpteen radio stations playing his hits (there are so many it never gets boring). As an exemplar of creativity in modern times, it's hard to name anyone his equal (in music at least).

The second part (challenging the male gender role) is more interesting to think about. Were it not for Bowie, I doubt many male musicians would have enjoyed the popularity they did, and I'm not just referring to Bryan Ferry or Mark Bolan but the umpteen who followed: from Gary Glitter (shudder) to One Direction via Stock, Aitken & Waterman, they all owe something to Bowie and Ziggy. IMO even successful gay male musicians do, which makes Bowie even more of a catalyst for change.

I don't know how much people on this sub have thought about Bowie beyond his music - maybe it'll take a while. For myself, when I read of yet another bunch of Feminists claiming that their movement is about equality through "helping men by destroying Teh Evilz Patriarchy", what Bowie set in motion puts all of Feminism's purported claims to egalitarianism into perspective: one man did more in 40 years to free up male gender roles than hundreds of millions of Feminists have in 50.

If ever anyone needed evidence that Feminists aren't remotely interested in re-imagining male gender roles, this is it.

ThePigmanAgain · 2016-01-12T02:07:23+00:00

Slightly NSFW due to a naked tit in the sidebar.

splodgenessabounds · 2016-01-15T09:29:52+00:00

Well now, here's a thing.

Remembering Life on Mars

Life on Mars takes its inspiration seriously and contains numerous references to and thematic explorations of David Bowie’s body of work, certainly, but its deconstruction of masculinity is a tribute to Bowie in the most rich and significant way.

... one of the most poignant things I’ve ever heard said about Bowie was from the Adult Swim cartoon The Venture Bros. In it, a supervillain named The Sovereign who has the power to shapeshift frequently takes the form of David Bowie. In the most recent episode “All This and Gargantua-2,” The Sovereign, in the Bowie form, is asked who he truly is, beneath all the disguises.

He answered, thoughtfully, “Just some bloke who wanted to be anyone but himself.”

Title	Why David Bowie Mattered - An MRA perspective.
Author	ThePigmanAgain
Upvotes	28
Comments	14
Date	January 12, 2016 2:06 AM UTC (10 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/MensRights
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/MensRights/comments/40ka31/why_david_bowie_mattered_an_mra_perspective/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/MensRights/why-david-bowie-mattered-an-mra-perspective.963346 https://theredarchive.com/post/963346

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