Hey baby ... it’s time to define what gender means through the medium of music. Slip us your suggestions, and in title, lyrics or style, it might be a sexy week …
What makes a man a man? Does he have to be big and strong? Is that enough to turn you on? How about bold and brave? Humorous and humane? Moody and mysterious? How about pretty and boyish, or patient and perceptive? But then again, some of these qualities are equally attractive in a woman. So what defines gender? Beauty is in the eye and other senses of the beholder, and sometimes the beer-holder, for these definitions are constantly evolving, thanks to cultural shifts, fashion and hormones. And few genres address this perception so directly, and effectively as that of song. So where do you start?
So is it best, in evolutionary terms, to be a big hairy hunk of ape with a smooth, strong voice? Perhaps a Tom Jones type, a big Barry White or a hellraising Oliver Reed? Or, with film so much in parallel with popular music, how about a dashing David Niven? Or someone with fleet-footed finesse – Fred Astaire, or have the discreet charm of James Stewart, the bad boldness of Robert Mitchum, or show a quietly subtle and humorous style, like that of Alec Guinness? How about aping a bare-chested Vladmir Putin on a horse? Careful - he might be reading this. Or a very different man of the people like the Boss himself, Bruce Springsteen? Or do girls simply prefer Justin Bieber, David Essex, or indeed George Michael? And then there’s the Bee Gees. Manly chest wigs and medallions, anyone? Those tight trousers certainly did the trick with the vocals.
