Core Post 3 - Tucker Rayl

Growing up, before I was even aware of Michael Jackson as an artist, I was well aware of him as a star. In the early 2000's, he had evolved into his final form: long black hair, pale skin, oddly sculpted face, and a boyish coyness that was both off-putting and fascinating. I remember making my dad explain to me who this figure was because I was so confused why he would be treated with reverence but also be maligned and placed in the category of 'other.' Now that I am much more aware of Jackson's life, work, and celebrity, I think his legendary star-power and idiosyncratic image speak to popular American culture's conflicting feelings about race, sexuality, and the value of youth.

For this post, I want to focus on Michael Jackson's Peter Pan syndrome because that has always fascinated me most about him. I think Jackson's refusal to grow up has been popularly traced to the abuse he faced as a child star. His father, Joe Jackson, infamously physically and emotionally abused his children. He has admitted to beating Michael and calling him "ugly" and "big-nosed." The pressure he placed on Michael to be a success from a young age is also thought to have made him chase his lost childhood during his adulthood.

Jackson surgically altered his face to achieve a slimmer, "whiter" nose and face shape; he seemingly had body dysmorphia. He refused to talk about his sex life, leading to all sorts of rumors about his sexuality. Kobana Mercer writes in her essay "Monster Metaphors: Notes on Michael Jackson’s Thriller" that "The media have seized upon these [racial and sexual] ambiguities and have fabricated a ‘persona’, a private ‘self’ behind the image, which has become the subject of speculation and rumour. This mythologisation has culminated in the construction of a Peter Pan figure." The media turned the way Jackson coped with his abuse into a major part of his image, which turned it into an asset for him.