ID RATHER GO BLIND
A RANT BY ANGELICA LINDSEY

Ok, so Macy Gray wants to be a social activist. At least that’s what she wanted the people who showed up at her naked concert to believe.

Yep, you read right, Macy Gray performed in a London concert as bare as the day she was born. Clad in nothing more than a necklace and seated in a gilded chair emblazoned with the words “I’d Rather Go Naked”, Macy Gray did something for the people. Or did she?

The July 5 London concert was staged to raise awareness and funds for AIDS. The infamous Ms. Gray was photographed during the concert in Jimmy Choo stilettos. The photos will be used as part of a media campaign featuring other nude celebrities who are involved in the fight against the AIDS epidemic. Now, I know what some of you might be thinking. “Macy Gray? Nude? I gotta see this!” And that’s precisely my point. While Gray’s intentions may have been genuine, her naked approach to AIDS awareness looks to me to be just another media ploy to use sex as a way of garnering attention.

Was this a progressive, liberating, and creative marketing tool designed to bring awareness to the AIDS epidemic? Or was it little more than a stab at self-promotion by an artist whose visibility in the public eye has been insignificant at best? At a moment when Bill Cosby is lambasted for presenting cogent arguments about Black youth in America, why are we applauding Macy Gray for doing something that has no artistic merit or intellectual value? I mean, after all, couldn’t she just have announced that the proceeds of her concert would benefit AIDS research?

I am not saying that what Macy Gray did was shameful. I think the human body is absolutely beautiful and because of her kookiness and in spite of her often drug-induced demeanor, I love Macy Gray. I am a full figured woman who happens to think that all women are beautiful, regardless of size, so this is not an issue of discrimination because she does not fit the norm. And no, what Macy Gray did is NOTHING like what Ludacris, Nelly, Snoop, Lil’ Jon and the rest of the libidinous entertainers who populate our TV screens do every day. She wasn’t performing any lewd acts on stage or imitating bad soft porn during the concert. All she did was sing. But by appearing nude in front of people who may not be able to think critically and focus on the message, Macy Gray is still using sexuality to sell the message of AIDS awareness. No, nudity doesn’t always mean sex, but in today’s world, most people unfortunately can’t separate the two.

My main beef with using nudity as a way to raise awareness about AIDS is that it’s getting old. It reinforces the notion that only hyper sexed, overly promiscuous individuals become infected with the virus. As an HIV-AIDS outreach worker I am surrounded by posters, promotional materials, and magazines in my workplace everyday which depict naked men and women in various positions talking about the devastation of AIDS. But sometimes with that approach the message gets lost.

There is a poster that used to hang in my office which showed two nude Black men. It was a beautiful picture but all it did was cause laughter, ridiculous homophobic comments, and lustful remarks from immature passersby. No one talked about the fact that Black people are the fastest growing group of new infections. No one talked about perceptions of Black masculinity. No one talked about the statistics which say that if we continue at this rate of infection, Black folks will be extinct in a matter of decades. No, everyone just walked by and said “hee, hee, look, there’s two naked Black guys”.

And that’s what I see as the problem with all the press about the concert. People who see photos from the show are not going to say, “Wow, go Macy! It’s great that she’s doing something for this cause”. Most of us just want to see what crazy Macy is doing this time.

This type of marketing – using sex to sell an idea – is being done all the time so it’s really cliché. Nudity could be an effective marketing tool if artfully done… but it rarely is. As such, it’s not liberating. Maybe if an infected person were able to pose nude and show the devastation of the disease on the human body, or provide a realistic face to the fight then we could shout liberation. But Macy Gray’s concert is based in large part on the same premise that has caused much of the spread of this epidemic - sex sells, nudity is intriguing, and if you show your body, people will listen.

As a stiletto lover, I know that Jimmy Choo shoes are the epitome of sexy footwear. Do you really think that the miniscule dollars (and tons of free advertising) Jimmy Choo raised with this event will compare to the millions of dollars of profits his company makes each year? Why even have a photo shoot or concert? Why not just give up some of your company’s profits to the organization in question? This is corporate irresponsibility at its best, folks.

There needs to be a paradigmatic shift in thinking. We cannot continue to sell one wholesale image of AIDS, because it affects everyone - babies, mothers, wives, fathers, schoolteachers, ministers, firemen, doctors, homeless youth, CEOs, Muslims, Christians, Jews, Buddhists, sistas with nappy hair, brothas with perms, college students, I mean it affects EVERYBODY. We need some family centered imagery because families are dying. For real. In 2001, Black women accounted for nearly 64% of reported HIV cases among women in the United States. In Maricopa County in Phoenix, AZ, the Black population is only 3.9% but comprise a full 12% of HIV/AIDS cases. That means the rate of Black HIV/AIDS infections is three times the rate of Black existence in the state of Arizona. I think that statistic alone screams much louder than a nudie pic, don’t you?

Yes, Macy Gray did a good deed. But what she did is not as progressive as many people might think. Remember that dress she wore to the MTV awards announcing her album release date? That was the bomb. I’d like to see a celebrity of her stature wear a shirt for a photo op that says “Black People are Dying of HIV/AIDS and No One Seems to Care”. And instead of P. Diddy hosting extravagant White Parties for his famous (and filthy rich) friends, what about a full-scale concert/testing event where we test some of the estimated millions of people who don’t know they’re infected? Maybe I’m too idealistic, but the fun and games have to stop somewhere. We are in the midst of the worst plague to ever hit mankind. Damn, y’all, this is genocide, not a free love party.