Androgynous Social Media and Visual Culture

Abstract

On March 25, 1976 David Bowie was arrested by the Rochester, New York Police Department for possession of marijuana. The black-and-white police ‘mug shot’ taken of him that evening could easily be mistaken for a model card. Bowie’s platinum hair is slicked back, while he stands facing the camera wearing a light-coloured suit. The sign he holds identifies the date, location and his booking number. Over 30 years later this iconic image of detainment would travel and be translated to Fuck Yeah Androgyny! — a Tumblr website dedicated to archiving and celebrating representations of androgyny (FYA 2013a). Not being able to fit into socially perceived stereotypes of male and female is a central concern for the readers and bloggers who contribute to this virtual safe space; as is the feeling of being policed by a persistent and restrictive two-gender system. The inclusion of this historical and iconic police photograph, then, changes meaning and elucidates the distress over dress that continues to haunt this contemporary Tumblr. At the same time, I propose that the contributors acknowledge and transform the restrictions still placed on genderqueer individuals by rehoming androgynous images at this shared space of belonging.