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In which we decline to play Mika-boo any further
You may have noticed by now that we have a bit of a bee in our bonnet over the way that Brit pop star Mika has chosen to market himself here in the US, particularly to gay audiences. To get you up to speed: Mika refuses to speak about his sexuality, whatever it may be (and again, we could seriously care less). But he is actively courting a gay audience and has enlisted the assistance of celebrity outer Perez Hilton to help him promote his album. It goes without saying that Hilton's silence on the matter of Mika's sexuality is the height of hypocrisy given his "the closet doesn't exist anymore" mantra. But that's another story entirely. The story here is that we have a gay-vague celebrity aggressively marketing himself to us while telling us that we are a part of society with whom he would not want to identify. He constantly refers to not wanting to be "labeled", which is beyond offensive to those of us who don't see sexuality as being a label, but rather a fundamental aspect of who we are. Does it define us? No -- not any more than "tall", "Hispanic", "enthusiastic" or "big-boned" would. But we wouldn't be who we are without it, and we have no interest in pretending it isn't there, or in supporting an artist whose coy public image sends a message that there's something wrong with identifying either as a gay man or a straight man or as a bisexual man or a man who has a sexuality of any kind. Even if Mika were to come out as a heterosexual eunuch it would be a relief given all this relentless peek-a-booing.
The slogan for our site is "Because Visibility Matters", and we firmly believe that. We are tired of following Mika's is-he-or-isn't-he PR game, and don't care to legitimize it with further coverage. So as of this day, we will not be covering Mika or his music or anything else about him unless he decides to drop the theatrics and show some respect for those audience members whose pockets he's trying to pick (and who aren't falling for his shtick, overall). Or perhaps we'll pick his story back up when the lame "Post-Gay" argument holds water -- you know, when people aren't being beaten bloody every day for being gay, and when gay people have the same rights as everyone else, and when we are represented equally and in a balanced manner on television, in movies, and on the airwaves. Until then, "Post-Gay" is a fantasy. Sorry, Mika, but in a world where visibility still matters ... you don't. Submitted by on Tue, 2007-06-12 11:06. |
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News, Reviews & Commentary on Gay and Bisexual Men in Entertainment and the Media
Good for you, AfterElton! I
Why now? It took OUT and not your readers to move you?
Um, we've been making this point
This reminds me of Ricky Martin
Yes, yes, but...
While I agree with you about Mika's coy, failing game, and wholeheartedly support your decision to not cover him until..., I just want to point out that there is a difference between an individual, like readers, being labeled as gay, and careers, like Mika's.
Though I am disappointed by his decision, he has a point that a new singer who's labeled as gay will be relegated to performing at Pride festivals, and little else, for a long time. There are a whole bunch of young and probably talented queer artists who simply will never get a wide audience. Even a huge talent like Rufus Wainwright hasn't yet broken through that glass ceiling, no matter how close he gets. It's different for established performers, like Elton, or George Michael - they were big, very big, and they came out when it would have little effect on their careers.
It's unfortunate, but I think Mika's right about that. It's just too bad that it matters to him. ANd like I said before, way to go, AE! I'll be interested to see how this plays out.
I'm with Mika
I’m sticking with Mika. I’ve given my reasons in previous posts so I’m not going to say them again.
I like Mika's music, but I
I like Mika's music, but I haven't read that article or any others where he's been interviewed, I've just read snippets here and there.
I don't know what post gay is supposed to mean, but I wrote a paper in my youth & culture class about how the term "gay" is supposedly becoming obsolete. A lot of people are like Mika and don't want to identify themselves one way or another. The research I read about it said stuff like, while the older generations had to fight for their rights, young people now don't have to fight for visibility and acceptance as much and therefore they aren't as apt to define themselves. They identify just as themselves/individuals, and they like/date whoever they want without making a big deal about it. "Gay" for them doesn't mean the same thing that it meant for the past generations, so they don't put a big emphasis on it. (I can't remember all of the arguments and discussions I had in my paper, but that's about the gist of it.)
I may be wrong and completely off, especially since I haven't read that article, but the few things I've been reading here on AE about Mika makes me think that's the sort of thing that Mika is going for, and it seems that a lot of other people are thinking like that now too.
Thank you, AE
I agree with those who
So, Let's See If I've Got This Straight...
Tony, Evan, and John are saying that it's cool to stay in the closet, be ambiguous (or even lie) about your sexuality, rake in as much cash and fame as possible - for as long as possible - by exploiting the very niche of society that you're trying to keep yourself from being tied to, and then you can come out when it's all over.
Wow, if that's what it takes to make it, Mika's gonna be huge!
No, Dave...
I was NOT saying it was cool. If you read my post, I totally support AE's decision. Just that I can see the workings behind the decision... and that they are, unfortunately, the way the world works right now. I would be thrilled if Mika came out - I, like AE, have grown tired of his hype paired with his determination to stay "in." And the kicker, as it seems to have been for AE, was when he started complaining that gay audiences hadn't embraced him, after all his coy denials. WTF?
But no, Dave, you're wrong about what I said. If you're gonna name posters and slam them, be sure you have the facts and the reading done first.
Hey, Tony
I actually read your post several times yesterday, and just re-read it today, to make sure I understood it, and it still sounds as though you're playing the apologist for Mika. I admit, though, that it's probably just my interpretation.
I, myself apologize that my post came off as a slam to you (I meant nothing personally), but I just get so frustrated when I think about all the blood, sweat and tears that our queer fore-fathers went through just so today we are able to say "I'm gay" in public, and then watch people piss that away by saying "don't label me" or acting as if queer visibility is somehow far less important than having a successful career or making tons of money. Whatever happened to our sense of community?
Okay, rant over (deep breaths, dave). Again, I apologize for misconstruing your meaning.
No prob...
Hey Dave, no problem, all is understood. And I agree with you about the blood sweat and tears!
BTW Rufus says exactly what I was TRYING to say in my original post, on the blog today. I'm glad he went the route he did.
That's it?
I hadn't really listened to Mika, but all this criticism of his marketing techniques got me curious. So I listened to some of it today. On principle, I agree with AE's stance, but it's a moot point for me personally -- this isn't stuff I'd listen to in the first place. So, was I just a chump and played into the marketing plan? All signs point to "Yes".