Last night was the American Music Awards-- the AMAs. Several performances were notable, but none have gotten the press that Adam Lambert's has. Let's unpack it.
It was overtly sexual and suggestive.
It was somewhat flawed, but ultimately entertaining.
So, how is this ANY different from performances that Madonna, Britney Spears, Prince, Christina Aguilera, Lady Gaga, Eminem and countless others have given? We don't have the distance from Lambert's performance, so it's difficult to judge public outcry compared to other performances, but it seems like a major double-standard is at fault. We've become comfortable (maybe desensitized) to straight women and straight men being cast as sexual aggressors-- so, why is it suddenly so offensive when an openly gay male performer exercizes the same freedom?
It seems like America finally came around to being superficially tolerant of the non-threatening gay male figures in popular culture-- Jack and Will on "Will and Grace", men on "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy"-- so it begs the question, why is Lambert so scary? Does he come across as a sexual predator? Hell, no! He comes across as someone as self-possessed of his own sexuality as Britney, Madonna, or Prince are with theirs. Why can't Lambert use that confidence and cheekiness to further his ambition just like his straight contemporaries?
What are we so afraid of?
Also, a major issue that keeps coming up-- parents complain about TV programming that they deem unsuitable for their children, but it's like they're ignoring the easiest solution. TURN OFF THE GODDAMNED TV. Or, easier still, CHANGE THE CHANNEL. A trickier, but perhaps more valuable, exercise would be to explain to the child the idea of entertainment and fantasy versus reality. Maybe open up a debate about the line between the exciting/entertaining/thrilling and offensive/inappropriate/derivative? Maybe begin an important dialogue about sexuality and identity? I'd like to understand how parents came to expect mass media to help raise their children into successful, curious, and well-adjusted adults.
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