love is magical
Proud Member
Well, when I'll stop posting in manhood thread it means I'm dead!
:lmao:
girl, just keep michaeling and drooling... :wub:
Well, when I'll stop posting in manhood thread it means I'm dead!
I really hope I'll never lose this feeling.It's too precious.I have never felt something like this for anybody in my whole life (celebrities or not) although I was in love several times and I am married.
To be honest I would feel quite uncomfortable having the hots for Michael while having a husband/boyfriend (I am married). I also can't imagine my sweetheart fawning over a celebrity. It would make me feel quite sad I think. But maybe I'm just a prude, I don't know.
Oh my God, he was so stylin' in those last few years between 2006-2009. Those black skinny jeans, classic boots...
Just WOW. I remember when I first saw these photos and my jaw just about dropped. God, he was a good 30 years older than me and I STILL would've jumped him, haha! He just exuded gracefulness and for lack of better word, swagger. It was just the way he carried himself, to me Michael's beauty and charm never came from just his facial features. It was his lithe body and just everything about him put together as a whole that made him an amazing package.
Sorry, I have to disagree. Michael was beautiful right through to his soul...I don't think there was ever anything superficial about it..he just radiated inner beauty all his life, but sadly seemingly never saw it in the mirror. ........
To folks new to this thread, we're discussing how the "Prevailing Media Narrative" about MJ, in order to perpetuate their mythical image of MJ, omitted any references to his sex appeal. It's an underappreciated angle of the poor journalism on MJ.
You'll still see this today in their coverage of This Is It -- they'll rave about how wonderful it is... and carefully not mention his Billie Jean performance. And we all know why... I've found ONE reference in TII reviews to his sexiness. One. If you find more... drop us a link!
We're also interested in seeing examples of where the media DID acknowledge this. (Plus it's fun!) How was this handled internationally? How did it change over the years?
If you've got examples stowed in a box somewhere, dig 'em out! Give us links if you see anything online!
AMAzing, ani_geleia... too cool :clapping:
Oh don't be sorry! I love these threads, feels like we are part of history now. I will read the whole thread at some point sooooon! Michael's sex appeal is undeniable. While straight men may not drool over him same way as straight women, but there is no shame in appreciating it .Anyway, sorry if this seems like a redundant post with the other threads we already have. But this one is different IMO because it's really meant to be a discussion of the media representation (or lack of representation) of his sex appeal. I would personally love to see some people (including men lol) participate in this discussion because it's a topic of endless fascination to me!
I am not ashamed to say this thread dominated my entire morning lol.Sheesh! Took a quick gallop through this page. Lots of stuff here. Stuff I agree with, stuff I disagree with, stuff I need to think about. It's a bit of an epic thread so it's gonna take a while.
I need to fill up the biscuit tin, lol.
I will not stop until every living person sees it and admits to it lol.Oh don't be sorry! I love these threads, feels like we are part of history now. I will read the whole thread at some point sooooon! Michael's sex appeal is undeniable.
This would be amazing!! Yes! OG fans, talk to us! LolWhile straight men may not drool over him same way as straight women, but there is no shame in appreciating it .
I would love to hear more insight from folks who were fans at his peak career and how they perceived the obvious difference between what media focused on and Michael's real charisma and sex appeal.
I said in one post that In THE THIS IS IT movie MJ was SEXY! He was very sexy in that movie
I don't have a great deal to say about this because I never took that much notice of Michael's media coverage. But, IIRC, the UK MSM coverage in the 1980's was very much that Michael was a dorky 'goody-goody' type of guy (he was very upfront about his Christian faith and that never plays well in the media) and therefore not at all sexy. Which I don't necessarily disagree with. A guy wearing a cute little cardigan didn't really do it for me back then, lol. I wanted something a bit more edgy. I'm talking about the coverage he got before the media decided to just endlessly slaughter him, I think that's a whole other story.I've read through my parents old articles regarding Michael and found some on the internet as well, and to be honest the media never seemed to portray michael as sexy, not even during the thriller era. He seemed too much of a boy for them at that time, and they kept talking about his childish and androgynous looks. I think they speculated even back then that he might be gay or asexual.
The missing link here is the coverage Michael got from the music press. I can't believe someone hasn't already researched this. Perhaps they have and I'm just not aware of it. The pop papers and music press would have been reviewing Michael's live performances. I can't remember what the pop paper reviews for BWT were like. I know for his 'Bad' image, some journalists thought he was trying too hard to be sexy or 'street' or tough or whatever. They didn't find the progression of his image convincing. Which I can sort of understand. Michael looks beautiful in the album photo but, to my eyes, he doesn't look entirely comfortable so doesn't look super hot. But what did the media say about BWT performances? Even if you missed the sexual allure of his dance performances in Beat It or SC or Bad, you could hardly miss it if you saw the live shows.I think you've hit on one of the keys to the puzzle here, Nivea, when you say "Once you see him perform." I truly believe many journalists were reacting only to photos, interviews, and other press reports, and were therefore missing the biggest part of Michael -- his performances.
In the UK we had 4 weekly pop / music papers, several weekly pop magazines and a few monthly music magazines. They wouldn't need to do any homework. Writing about music (mostly pop and rock) was the only thing they did. I do know for some parts of the pop press they didn't see Michael as 'cool' so were very dismissive of him. I think they wouldn't see him as sexy just because, in their eyes, he wasn't cool enough. Was there a split in how he was portrayed in the pop magazines vs the music papers? I can't remember.Because Michael put so much of himself into these, any journalist is obligated ti review his performances over the years to understand the man. Not just the part of him that loved a carousel ride, for god's sake:doh: Yet this obvious bit of homework wasn't done.
It did look really funny, that part of the film, when they are trying to get the hang of it. They are all so hopeless, lol.Yeah, that part became so evident in TII movie when the woman choreographer was teaching the dancers the crotch grab and they were wearing sweat pants and they were grabbing their genitals in all kind of wrong ways. I was like eeeeuuuuuh yuk!
Only Michael can get away with it.
Bumping for future reference. P.8The media did some articles acknowledging Michael's sexiness during his Bad tour performances you should take a look at this:
http://www.the-michael-jackson-archives.com/baduktour1.html
The first article describes his Bad performances as "erotic" and there are other articles saying the same thing. So, it seems during the Bad era Michael was sexy to the media. I don't remember seeing articles like this before Thriller and maybe not so much after.
Wow, thank you so much for linking to that amazing archive! That's more references to his eroticism than I've seen anywhere yet... maybe there's more buried in there. But it's still remarkably downplayed in comparison to, say, a Mick Jagger review. But utterly fascinating reading -- thanks again!
Done. I'm knackered but so glad I read this. It runs out of steam a bit over the last few pages and gets a little repetitive but, overall, is a really worthwhile read. I definitely would read the first 10 pages again and I also need to take a proper look at the various articles which are cited or linked. Ngl, I've never been overly bothered by the lack of attention Michael's sex appeal gets from the media. I just could not get that indignant about it. Having said that, it would also be true to say I'd rather not think about the reasons why it was so ignored.But seriously, I just read the entire thread (I am a freak) and there's a lot of great stuff in here. As to be expected, the photos and videos don't appear any more. But most of it is discussion anyway. There are articles linked and quoted in here about his sex appeal during TII, there are pages from a '93 Brazilian magazine naming him as one of the sexiest people in the world (translations included!). There are tons of straight male fans talking about finding MJ sexy. It's overall a great time lol.
You may not all be interested in reading all the posts people shared about their own feelings, but there are a lot of gems throughout of write ups about his dancing, his charisma, his fashion, etc.
Anyway, sorry if this seems like a redundant post with the other threads we already have. But this one is different IMO because it's really meant to be a discussion of the media representation (or lack of representation) of his sex appeal. I would personally love to see some people (including men lol) participate in this discussion because it's a topic of endless fascination to me!
YES! I have said that the media notoriously gaslighted people into thinking he wasn't attractive. I'll read it when I find time. Thanks.@turtleneck_sweater
I just feel this thread is for you. I'm actually getting ready to read it again. I always meant to get back to it. But somehow I feel the need to tag you in.
oh, I'd forgotten you said that. I thought I was having one of my bonkers moments and decided to just go with it.YES! I have said that the media notoriously gaslighted people into thinking he wasn't attractive.
Sorry, I wasn't hassling you, lol. I really was just having a 'moment'.I'll read it when I find time. Thanks.
No need to be sorry! I'm glad you tagged me! I'm just saying I need time to read it all. Doing it nowoh, I'd forgotten you said that. I thought I was having one of my bonkers moments and decided to just go with it.
Sorry, I wasn't hassling you, lol. I really was just having a 'moment'.
I am gonna re-read it myself, though. I know for sure I want to read the first ten pages again. After that, I'll see. I've read the first page again and, yeah, there is some really good stuff in there. Although I can't take credit for finding the thing. That was sw23. She bumped it, I avoided it for ages, then glanced at it and was just ... Wow!
I love stuff like this. I've posted stuff over on the 'Michael in front of crowds' thread with these types of fan reactions. They are great bc they were happening at the time in spite of the media's best efforts. Fabulous!15:25-15:54
Saw this old post and I want to comment on this bit!A more nuanced analysis finds he related solely to traditionally male imagery, especially as he romanticized it from earlier eras, from the Renaissance, to old Hollywood, to Brando-esque biker style.
I love everything that you wrote.Saw this old post and I want to comment on this bit!
I don't at all understand when people claim that cropped short hair, exaggeratedly roided muscles, poor fashion sense and personal hygiene, etc. are "traditionally masculine features". In the olden days, long hair was actually quite common for men, as well as good fashion sense and hygiene. Especially men of status were expected to follow this standard. I'm sure you've all heard of the concept of the "dandy", which is exactly what I described, accompanied with a good sense of humor. And even longer ago, both men and women of status wore large, powdered wigs, complete with elaborate clothing decorated with gemstones. Makeup was common for both sexes. Whenever I think of a "traditional man", the first thing that comes to my mind isn't some lazy bum with dirty socks, but a well-dressed, well-mannered individual who cares about the impression he gives to those around him. Not too different from Michael Jackson himself.
Nowadays, things like that would be considered "androgynous" or "metrosexual", which is why I often call him that. But had he lived in the Victiorian or Edwardian era, he would've likely been seen as much less out of the ordinary in comparison. I don't know when exactly it became normal for men to be lazy about this sorta thing, but "traditional" it is not, by any means. (I am also not a fan of it, if you couldn't tell. )