The Androgynous: Janet Jackson

Those writhing lyrics, those distorted, androgynous vocals, that megapop production; listening to Janet Jackson swivel about on latest single Feedback, (in which the lines "Do you like my style? Yeah, sexy sexy sexy" actually feature), can't help but make you think of Britney Spears. In other words, it sounds desperate. Why is this one-time primo mistress of dance-pop reduced to chanting about her body being a peep show and insisting she's still got it? Because sexual aggression, in this case marked out by a pulsating beat and unrelentingly lascivious lyrics, remains the first port of call for any popstar trying to assert the image of an "empowered woman". It's both depressing and boring to hear someone with the professional longevity of Jackson boast: "Light Skin, Dark Skin, My Asian Persuasion, I Got them all, that's why these girls out here hatin'?" Please, Janet, it's not a competition.

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This was the situation in the ’80s when Janet Jackson and Madonna—both of whom recently played in Vancouver (see previous links)—appeared on the burgeoning music video scene. The two pop princesses, whether they realized it or not, reflected two divergent streams of feminism. They also reflected the classic virgin versus whore dichotomy prevalent throughout much of Western culture.

Janet Jackson started out with the “Let’s Wait Awhile” approach: respect first before sex (and her name “ain’t baby”), and covered up every inch of her body head to toe (even wearing gloves). She thwarted the male gaze by exerting “Control” over her image, which many female pop stars did not have.

Janet Jackson's approach also tended to fall in with much of the prevailing school of ’80s feminist thought, which challenged male-dominance and systemic sexism embedded in contemporary cultural forms like pop images. At its furthest man-hating extremes, however, this movement failed to provide a practical resolution for female-to-male sexual relations, and was verging on providing lesbian sex as the only route for sexual pleasure.
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The song's video, directed by Dominic Sena in June 1993, challenged notions of culture and sexuality in a highly stylised and imaginative presentation with a theme of voyeurism. The video is set in an exclusive club in Asia, where entrance can only be gained via the password "if." Inside the club, Jackson performs suggestively with dancers amongst androgynous and polysexual characters.
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As I said, Janet Jackson was married already before she unlawfully married Rene Elizondo in what was claimed to be a secret marriage. The truth of the matter is that the marriage was illegal for more than one reason. Not only was it illegal because she was already married, but Rene Elizondo is a eunuch, meaning he was like a house pet that got neutered.

He was a homosexual who was willing to do anything to live the high life and he agreed to give up his testicles to live in the same home as Janet. His motive was blackmail, after he realized he fucked himself up he was going to tell the world that Janet was a lesbian and married a man who had no testicles. This would have destroyed Janet’s image and she could not mention me, so she agreed to this alleged secret marriage and gave him the Malibu Home out of sympathy. But did his welcome terminate?
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We all know that Janet can't be trusted because she kept her eight-year marriage to Rene Elizondo a secret from the public until the couple divorced in 1999. However, Janet has also been the target of some pretty absurd rumors over the course of her career. For instance, I was told in high school that she had a metal plate inserted into her abs, and the other day I was told that she was dating the ugliest man in hip hop, Jermaine Dupri (someone tell me this is a lie).
She married James DeBarge and Renee Rene Elizondo, and now she's dating Jermaine Dupree.
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At the MTV Video Music Awards in 1995, Jackson, then 29, showed off her wild side, wearing a "Pervert" tee. Her stylist Darryle Johnson later told PEOPLE that "she's having a moment where she's pierced everything – nose, navel, tongue and nipple. She might do something weird, but you love her anyway."
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The Declaration Of Petitioner, Rene Elizondo
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Janet Jackson will be really “upset” if beau Jermaine Dupri turns out to be gay. The avid gay rights advocate says she will be disappointed if her record producer/rapper boyfriend came out of the closet.

She tells E! news, ” I’d be upset because I want to be with him! It’s so funny because I joke with him, ‘It drives me crazy to be a girl sometimes, so in my next life I’m going to come back as a guy, and you’re going to be my bitch!”
The “All For You” singer also confessed her girl crush when asked who she’d have a same sex fling with.

Jackson, 41, answers, “I think I would pick Alicia Keys. I think she’s wonderful.”