Backstreet Boys... Gay??

July 27, 2007

Recently we read an article in class about the pop band Backstreet Boys and how they were marketed towards the gay community (as well as young girls). Now I don't disagree that they were possibly marketed to this certain group in society... I just have some disagreements with the way the author found the 'proof' in their videos and lyrics and felt he could write an article stating that they were. The article is "Marketing androgyny: the evolution of the Backstreet Boys" by Daryl Jamieson.

The author of this article clearly states at the beginning of his work that he is gay and grew up watching the videos and listening to the music of this particular boyband. I agree and can see Jamieson's point of view that this particular band totally affected how he felt about being gay, especially when he was a teenager who was finding himself.

At first when I read this article I agreed with Jamieson (thinking back to my own personal knowledge of the Backstreet Boys lyrics and videos) and could understand how he could make several of the conclusions he has. After re-watching these videos and looking at some of the lyrics I totally disagree with many of his reasons for claiming that Nick Carter was focused on more than the other band members because he was young, soft-skinned, and youthful - or sexually androgynous. I think that this author may have actually had a crush on Nick Carter when he was younger and now is only focusing on Nick's parts in the songs and videos and making conclusions from that without fairly looking at the other band member’s parts in the lyrics and videos.

Jamieson continues in his article saying that Nick Carter was the main singer in the band with many lines of songs devoted especially to him. After watching the video's I disagree. I believe that Brian Littrell is focused on the most out of all five members - having the most lines to sing and he is focused on quite a bit in the music videos.

Jamieson singles out Nick, saying he sings the particular line "Am I Sexual" in their song "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)" and claims this is important because he is the sexually androgynous person in the band. Nick is also dressed as a mummy in what Jamieson says "appears to include some sort of leather bondage gear, which is a highly anachronistic, sexually charged touch" (Backstreet Boys 253). Nick also mentions at the end of the video that there were women dancing with them which Jamieson views as Nick trying to prove to the guys he is not gay by talking about women. Is Jamieson reading way too much into this? I definitely think so.

In the song "As Long as You Love Me" Jamieson sees it as a love song between Brian and Nick who sing the majority of the lyrics with the other boys joining in on the chorus. He even comments that in the video they share the microphone and look at each other. Well Brian and Kevin also share the microphone at one point and the song's lyrics do not specify the gender of the person it is singing about.

And, finally, in Backstreet Boys song "Quit Playing Games with My Heart" Jamieson raises many different points about Nick being excluded from the group (appealing to gay people) and not showing his chest in the video as the other guys do, and wearing a white hat when no one else has a hat on. The whole band is marketed to a feminine and gay audience, not just Nick. All of the boys in this video have some equally gay characteristics and they are all singing about feelings.

Although I could have gone into much more detail I just briefly outlined some of the things Jamieson was discussing and how I disagree with it and think that he was just reading too far into Nick and not focusing fairly enough on the other band members.