Prior to the 1980s music artists did not have to worry extensively about the way they dressed. It wasn’t until MTV’s launch in August of 1981 that performers started to actively curate an image for themselves. With the 24/7 broadcast of music videos it was important for music artists to be both recognizable and shocking in order help boost album sales. Many artists adopted previously feminine styles in order to stand out from the rest of the growing pop and rock groups of the ’80s.
“Stars of the ’70s could get away with looking boring or dowdy or even downright ugly, but in order to appease MTV’s unblinking eye, the artists of the ’80s found that looking good, showing some skin, having and outlandish outfit or two, and/or wearing more makeup than a circus clown helped to make a lasting impression on impressionable record buyers.” —Mathew Ruttenmund, Totally Awesome ’80s
Prince- “Prince!” digital image, taken 27 April 2008, posted to Flickr by user “Scott Penner,” https://www.flickr.com/photos/penner/2450784866 (accessed April 10, 2018)
Pop artist, Prince showed his side of femininity on and off the stage with his trademark curls, flowing jackets and ruffled attire with punk embellishments, telling men no matter what you wear, “U Got the Look.”
Michael Jackson- “Michael Jackson 1992.” digital image, posted to Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Michael_jackson_1992.jpg (accessed April 10, 2018).
Similarly, King of Pop, Michael Jackson, often wore eyeliner and adorned himself in thousands of sequins when he performed, showing men what a “Thriller” being in touch with your feminine side can be and anyone who mocks it can just “Beat It.”
Van Halen, a popular rock band in the ’80s, not only encouraged men to grow their hair out to luscious lengths, but also to wear clashing prints and colors. Their loud outfits often included skin tight pants, unbuttoned shirts (if a shirt was even worn at all), and revealing tears in every garment. They knew “Everybody Wants Some” of their style.
Guns N’ Roses had a similar style to Van Halen’s long hair and tight pants, only their style was much darker. Members of the band wore black denim and loads of leather. Wallet chains, studded belts, and graphic t-shirts were also part of their style, proving Anything Goes when it comes to rock ‘n roll style.
Kiss band member, Tommy Thayer- Ash Newell, “Tommy Thayer live 2012,” digital image, posted to Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tommy_Thayer_live2012.jpg (accessed April 10, 2018)
Kiss, another wildly popular rock band, took their style one step further than the previous two rock bands by painting their faces, wearing plunging necklines and crop tops, and performing in platform heels during the early ’80s. They later decided to stop dressing for showmanship to focus on their music instead. However, their early ’80s style was still one that gave some men “Reason to Live.”
So why were these men drawn to more feminine styles of clothing in the ’80s? Joanne Entwistle argues in her book, The Fashioned Body: Fashion, Dress, and Social Theory, that men were feeling ignored and desexualized by the fashion industry in the suits of previous decades. Thus there was a counter culture of fashion that attempted to re-sexualize the male body by adopting the dress of women, who were over-sexualized throughout history. Likely, this counter culture was adopted strongly by men in the pop, rock, and punk music industry because, as the saying goes, sex sells.
One thing is for sure, despite these male music artists’ adoption of feminine styles, they were still heart throbs and sex symbols to many women in the 1980s.