“Call me Miss Ross.”

Since Michael Jackson’s untimely demise the whole world has started to write tribute essays about him. Why should we be any different at TGForum?

I first became aware of Michael Jackson as a solo performer in the early ’80s. Along with the other music I was into — everything from The Cars to Talking Heads, Elvis Costello and a ton of other bands and solo artists — I developed an appreciation for the rhythms of Michael Jackson’s music. He took funky, danceable beats and added rock elements. I wasn’t exactly a fan but I wouldn’t turn off MTV if a Michael Jackson video came on.

At that time Jackson was a handsome young man with dark skin. He was slim and graceful and he sang almost as high as he did as a member of The Jackson Five. He could move, spin, split and bounce around as well as any dancer, or better. But, he was never what you’d call butch.

Over the years Michael started changing. His nose got smaller. His skin got lighter. I’ve actually met a woman who has the skin condition that Michael claimed was making him lighter skinned so it could be the true reason. But as a crossdresser I began asking myself questions like, “Is he trying to look more feminine? He sounds feminine. I never see him and his sisters. Could he be performing as Janet?”

There was the alleged incident in which Michael was addressed by a limo drive as “Mister Jackson” and he told the driver to “Call me Miss Ross.” True? Who can tell?

There was a lot about Michael Jackson that was kept quiet. Many of the bizarre things you saw about him back in the  ’80s were planted by his public relations staff to make him look weird. (The hyperbaric chamber.) As they say in show biz, there’s no such thing as bad publicity.

We’ll probably never know the real Michael Jackson, unless he’s a man who only existed when he was performing. We did see that Michael Jackson.

We’ll never really know why he kept trying operations to change his face. (One biographer has suggested he did not want to grow old and start looking like his father, a man he had little affection for.)

Was he transgendered? No way to tell. With all the weirdness if Michael went out shopping in a burka while he was living in the Middle East did he get a kick out of it or was it just an easy disquise in that culture.

Whoever he was and whatever he wanted all we’ve got now is a lot of speculation and a catalog of music that will keep us dancing. The King of Pop is dead. Let’s dance.

Category: Transgender Opinion