6 I CHRONICLESnIt’s hip to be square—Huey Lewis’nnew gospel — may have been announcednprematurely. George Michaelnhas a different message: “I can’tnthink of a better question for a 13- orn14-year-old child to be asking thann’What does monogamy mean?'” Michaelnis a part-time child psychologistnbetter known as a pop singer who wasnonce the bigger half of a duo collectivelynknown as Wham! (Exclamationnpoint its.) Michael’s assets can bensummed up by saying he is a whitenMichael Jackson who appeals mainlynto 13- to 14-year-old girls.nMichael’s statement was used as anprologue to MTV’s “world premier” ofnthe video for his “hit” song from BeverlynHills Cop 11, “I Want Your Sex.” AsnMTV took pains to note in the minidocumentarynthat preceded the video,n”Even MTN” asked George to edit it.”nSince they chose to run the video,ntheir real sentiments must be close tonthe New York disc jockey who justifiednplaying the single: “We play it becausenit is a hit. I’m not here to pass judgmentnon the content of a record.”nMichael prefaces the video with a bitnof personal philosophy: “In the pastnthere were arguments for and againstncasual sex. Those arguments werenbased on morality. Now it’s a matter ofnlife and death. This is not a song aboutncasual sex.”n”Casual sex” is the newest equivalentnof “recreational drugs,” a substitutenfor moral judgment. If morality isnirrelevant, monogamy is equallynmeaningless. The word appears onlynonce in the video which isn’t, as Michaelnclaims, about casual sex, at leastnnot in the sense of accidental or unplanned.nIt’s hot, calculated sex.nThere are two characters. A womannand Michael. The woman is gorgeousnin a trashy sort of way. And she hasn’tnseen 13 for quite some time. Shencavorts about (a) under satin sheets andn(b) in nightwear that does littlenCULTURAL REVOLUTIONSnto conceal her rolling backside. Michaelnbounces around with an ankh innhis ear.nAbout three-quarters of the waynthrough the video, the camera pansndown the wom.an’s body. Michaelnscrawls “EXPLORE” on her thighnwith red lipstick. Quick cut to her barenback, where he writes “MONOGA­nMY.” The message lasts only as longnas it takes him to write it.nIt could be noted that the wordn”explore” is far from being an injunctionnand that it is tentative at best. Butnconsider the audio supporting the softpornnvideo. In addition to Michael’snrepeated, heavy-breathed declarationn”I want your sex,” he sings at onenpoint, “Not everybody does it, butneverybody should.” Morality may bendead, but there are still Commandments.nThe final lines are “Have sexnwith me! Come on!” Nothing casualnabout that.nSome partisan of freedom of rocknlyrics could point out that most allnrock songs are essentially about it andnthat Michael is only more candid. Butneven if we don’t expect rock songs tonpromote chastity, they are not requirednto sell promiscuity to preteens —nwhich is exactly what “I Want YournSex” does. And George Michael is notnalone. A few minutes before the premiernof his video, that day’s no. 2nmost-requested MTV video wasnshown: “Girls, Girls, Girls” by MotleynCriie—a video shot in a Utopian bordellonfilled with attractive women andnincredibly ugly men (the boys in thenband). And it’s not just the male performersnwho exploit the sexuality ofnwomen. Fleetwood Mac, which has anfair balance between men and women,nis trying to make a comeback. Its firstnrelease is “Big Love,” which uses anwoman’s heated panting as part of thenback beat, and she’s not excited aboutnthe song. The band Heart, fronted bynwomen, has had a tremendous resur­nnngence. The steep rate of its rise has anninverse relation to the depth of AnnnWilson’s cleavage. In “Walk Like annEgyptian” the all-woman group ThenBangles wear the kind of outfits thatnused to be seen only once a year on then”adult” midway at the county fair.nAnd we shouldn’t forget Madonna,nwho has built a career by peddlingnherself. Most notable is her recentn”Open Your Heart” video, in whichnshe portrays a dancer in a peep shownpandering to the tastes of a twistednclientele—as well as to a very youngnboy with whom she dances off into thendistance.nThe real bottom line is that AIDSnmay turn out to be an equal opportunitynkiller: 13 or 30, black or white,nmale or female, gay or straight, hip ornsquare. When their audience (and colleagues)nstart dying off, George Michael,nPrince, and Madonna willnprobably get together to performn”That’s What Friends Are For.” It’sngood publicity.n—Gary S. VasilashnAmerica’s fertility rates plunged in thenearly 1970’s, falling well below thenminimal Zero Population Growthn(ZPG) of 2.1 children per Americannwoman. Never before has this happenednto the nation while enjoyingnpeace and relative prosperity. But andecisive rebound in the birthrate doesnnot seem likely in the near future,ngiven the widespread use of contraceptives,nthe legalization of abortion, thenmovement of unprecedented numbersnof women into the workplace, and thendistressingly high divorce rate. Ironically,nwhile the nation’s maternitynwards sit nearly empty, millions flocknto hear Bruce Springsteen sing “Bornnin the U.S.A.” American birth hasnbecome a nostalgic rock fantasy.nMeanwhile, in Mexico—our tradingnpartner to the South—completedn