Bowie the cultural alchemist: performing gender, synthesizing gesture and liberating identity

Abstract

Having consistently defied the boundaries of normalized gendered behaviour, David Bowie has become synonymous with iconoclastic acts of gender transgression. His celebrity status is marked by a restless drive for re-creation, often in the form of ambiguously gendered personae. These personae do not simply originate from a need for constant transformation. Their life-span is connected with a complex process of performativity in which Bowie plays a pivotal role in re-animating the gestural traits of several other performers. Through an analysis of the videos for Boys Keep Swinging (1979) and The Stars (Are Out Tonight) (2013), this article explores Bowie’s role within the cycle of performativity. Complementing this analysis, the author’s interviews with New Zealand Bowie-inspired performers provide further insights about their own performativity in relation to identity.

Notes

1. For example, Lorde, Eddie Rayner (Split Enz), Zaine Griff, Martin Phillipps (The Chills), Paul McLaney (Gramsci), Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement (Flight of the Conchords). See Clement’s (2016) article On Writing Flight of the Conchords’ Bowie’s in Space.

2. See for instance, Kardos (2016).

3. See the comments section following the blogsite article by Denham (2011).

5. This reputation is exemplified by the website ‘Tilda Stardust’ – ‘dedicated to the belief that Tilda and Bowie are one person’, found at: http://tildastardust.tumblr.com/

6. Tilda Swinton’s dinner Speech is documented by V&A Network (2013).

7. For a discussion of Sigismondi’s role as puppeteer and her frequent use of dolls within her music videos, see Perrott (2015).

8. The gaze has been used and detourned by film directors such as Alfred Hitchcock, Stanley Kubrick, David Lynch, and Jonathon Glazer.

9. Chapman’s stage persona ‘Dr. Glam’ performed Ziggy Stardust in Dunedin, 2008: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mv5VqlzYVxU.

10. Lynch’s theatricality in Cygnet Committee (1987–1991) is described in Wallbank (n.d.) and at: http://www.expdev.net/htownwiki/index.php/Cygnet_Committee. Lynch continues to be influenced by Bowie’s gestural performance in 2016, as vocalist in the Hamilton band Conway: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F066Pyv2c88, http://www.expdev.net/htownwiki/index.php/Cygnet_Committee.

11. Riddell and Space Waltz performing on New Zealand television in (1974): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NvtuC8a_nsI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYdLV81jl3g.

12. In my interview with A. Riddell (personal communication, December 7, 2015), he described drawing inspiration from the image of Bowie wearing a man-dress on the The Man Who Sold the World album cover. His interest in fabric and costume design led him to design costumes for Space Waltz, which were tailored using curtain fabric.

13. In 2016 Riddell performed as part of the New Zealand Bowie tribute concert Waiting in the Sky: http://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/david-bowie/79008623/Review-Bowie-Waiting-In-The-Sky.

14. See the music video for Lazarus (directed by Johan Renck 2016).