Michael Jackson biographer: Jackson “dressed as woman”

July 14, 8:35 AMTransgender & Transsexual Issues ExaminerMatt Kailey

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  Michael Jackson at a London press conference
           in March (AP Photo/Joel Ryan, file)

Did Michael Jackson sometimes “dress as a woman”? And does it really matter?

Some Jackson fans will probably be upset with Unmasked: The Final Years of Michael Jackson, the new book by journalist Ian Halperin that is out today. Others won’t be bothered by Halperin’s assertions, in an interview on spinner.com, that Jackson was gay and “dressed as a woman” to meet dates.

Halperin claims that photos of Jackson dressed in women’s clothing will appear in his film that is due to be released next year, possibly on the one-year anniversary of Jackson’s death.

Over the years, many rumors have swirled about Jackson, which is par for the course for an entertainer of his magnitude and visibility. And, over the years, Jackson’s appearance changed dramatically, and there were many speculations about the reasons behind this.

It is certainly true that Jackson took on what our society would consider a more “feminine” appearance over his lifetime. Whether or not he had gender issues is an unknown at this point, at least publicly, as is whether or not he was gay.

However, the idea that Jackson dressed as a woman in order to meet male dates is an unusual assertion, for a couple of reasons.

A star of Jackson’s caliber and magnitude should have had no problem meeting men for dates. There are likely plenty of gay men who would have dated Jackson, and dressing as a woman seems like an odd way to meet them. Gay men would more likely have been drawn to Jackson as a male, rather than Jackson appearing in women’s clothing.

And most men who dress in women’s clothing, unless they are doing so for drag performance, which is an entertainment art form, are doing so to express a female gender identity — they are either crossdressers, who generally identify as male but are expressing a female part of themselves, or they are transgendered male-to-females, who were born male but have a female gender identity.

Many people get sexual orientation and gender identity confused and make assumptions that a male-born person who dresses as female is gay. Jackson may have been gay. But if he did, in fact, “dress as a woman,” was he really doing so in order to meet gay men? Was it a disguise so that he could leave his house and frequent particular venues without being recognized? Or was Jackson dressing in female clothing in order to express a female side of himself or a female gender identity?

It is important to keep in mind is that any speculation about Jackson’s gender identity is not a negative thing. If Jackson did, on occasion or even frequently, dress in women’s clothing, this is not a bad or negative occurrence, and it does not cast a pall on his memory. It is not wrong or bad to be a crossdresser or to be a transgendered male-to-female.

Jackson is not here to tell us about his gender identity. Halperin’s book and upcoming film may or may not answer any lingering questions about this. But whatever comes out in Halperin’s book or film about Jackson’s sexual orientation or gender identity, it should not be seen as negative or as an insult to Jackson, who was who he was and who lived his life accordingly.