David Bowie and Gender Performance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

David Bowie and Gender Performance - probe ExampleHe, in the words of Philip Auslander, can sing in many voices and from many subject positions without identifying all the way with any of them (Auslander 106). By not tying up sexual practice too closely to individualism, Bowie is able to essay the degree to which gender is comprised of actions and choices quite an than states of being, per se. In David Bowies symphony video Life on Mars, Bowie demonstrates and dextrous understanding of the relationship between action and gender, putting on and taking off gender as it suits his lyrics and his messaging. David Bowie, more than almost any performer before him, communicated with all the senses available to him his image was just as important as his sounds. He thus developed images of himself that aided him in delivering messages for his music. For this reason, 1 of the most big(a) examples of Bowies deconstruction of music relate to his physical appearance. Our society tends to conflate physical appearance with identity in race politics, for instance, identity is often a visible feature, and our society goes out of its way to unwrap other identifying marks as openly as possible, with everything from gender based gazump code to hanky-codes which purpose handkerchiefs to indicate sexual preferences. The fact is, however, that physical appearance, while informing identity, is not the same thing, especially where gender is concerned. Physical identity relates to gender solely in the choices (Butler 903) that are made the choice to apply this ware to ones face, or the choice to wear a incident style of dress. David Bowies music video for Life on Mars plays off of this idea of choice through conscious severalize of different gendered performances. Bowie appears against a white background, wearing extensive face-make up, womanizing his face through making aesthetic choices associated with femininity. He brings the performance over the top, applying blue ey e liner, pink lipstick, and dark, thick mascara. However, when the camera pans out, it is apparent Bowie chooses to wear a suit, complete with a tie one of the overriding symbols of patriarchal control of our society, and one of the few styles of dress that, even in the era in which he was performing, was still relatively confined to male use. He thus deconstructs gender into presentation choices by presenting both masculinity and femininity on one body, and embracement what each entails easily with the flick of a camera and a change in focus. Bowie uses this divergence to expectant effect when combined with the lyrics. Life on Mars consists of a series of surreal images that flash one after the other, including cavemen and lawmen attacking the wrong person (Bowie). He thus plays his female personas condemnation against the ridiculousness of patriarchal control while at the same time referencing that patriarchal controls influence over the character, through masculine clothing on the presumably female character. By referencing the savageness associated with masculine violence from the perspective of a woman a gender that he chooses to portray or else than is assigned by sex, Bowie is able to demonstrate how such violence is not natural but rather a choice made as a way of defining and participating in particular gendered groupings. There are few artists in the world who have been as willing as David Bowie to