Editor's Note: I submitted this article to The Federalist and they declined. Why did I submit this specific article as opposed to others? I thought my premise was uniquely critical. I don't care what a musician's sexuality or binary status is. I only care if their music is good or if it sucks. For some reason Demi Lavato's latest revelations seemed like a pub grab instead of the destination of a life-long journey.
Demi Lovato came out last week as non-binary. This follows a litany of other musicians that have come out as non-binary over the past few years, but with the exception of maybe Miley Cyrus, I would argue that none are bigger than this persecuted non-binary pioneer: Marilyn Manson.
Before the non-binary concept was expressed in language as a word, many musicians pushed the envelope sexually.
From the androgynous David Bowie in the early 70's, to Elton John proclaiming his bi-sexuality in the pages of Rolling Stone magazine in the late 70's, to Morrissey teasing audiences with his humansexuality in the mid-80's, artists have continually tried to be sexual trailblazers.
But when the media reports on Marilyn Manson's current misdeeds, they focus on the Anti-Christ Superstar version of Manson. People forget that in 1998, Manson redefined themselves as Omega, the gender ambiguous, alien messiah. Was Manson the first non-binary superstar?
Now some of you would point to Genesis P-Orridge (Throbbing Gristle, Psychic TV, Thee Temple ov Psychick Youth), but I don't think Genesis quite made it into the mainstream consciousness. When I think of Genesis, I still think of the underground, none of Genesis' projects sold very many units.
Now Marilyn Manson, not the band, but the embodiment of personhood, is a persecuted pariah instead of revered. Why? Because they went too far. When most artists push the envelope, there are boundaries and lines for their art. Marilyn Manson, the embodiment of personhood, said that they were the Anti-Christ, and then acted like the Anti-Christ. When they said that they were the gender ambiguous, alien messiah, they acted according.
You counter that violence against other persons is never okay. I'm not arguing with you, but almost without fail, the people that have made charges against Manson had been in long term relationships with them. Now you are getting into questions between rape and regret, delving into dark and graphic sexual territory which is a bit too extreme for this publication.
If you care to, there are places on the internet where you can read about consenting adults taking their desires far beyond the edges of polite society. You cannot erase all the lines, profess you erased all the lines, then turn around and say people crossed the lines that you erased.
Marilyn Manson, the embodiment of personhood, wasn't searching dark alleys for victims, they simply weren't. Manson is like this century's Marquis de Sade, a libertine through and through, "devoid of most moral principles, a sense of responsibility, or sexual restraints."
Yet Manson, as Omega, was able to unlock further dimensions of sexuality through his libertine existence and redefining gender parameters. You're arguing that Manson isn't non-binary? Once you're non-binary, can you really be un-non-binary?
Is Demi Lovato's coming out as non-binary simply the same as Tallulah Bankhead coming out as "ambisextrous" in her 1952 biography, just for a different generation? Don't forget, Marquis de Sade spent half of his adult life in various prisons or asylums. Today's non-traditional sexual beings aren't treated as deviants IF the LGBTQQIP2SAA Movement likes you. LGBTQ+ Celebrities are courted and propped up as a heroes in the left-wing media as long as their politics falls into the correct spectrum. On the other hand, Transgender Pioneers, like Caitlyn Jenner, are scorned because they're not the "right type" of advocate at the same media outlets.
Will history show Manson as a predator, or a person who redefined the ever-flowing realms of sexuality? What about Demi Lovato? I can't imagine that those in France thought society would still be talking about perverted poet Marquis de Sade 200 years later.