Genesis P-Orridge  

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"P-Orridge said that Jenner couldn’t be a spokesperson because she doesn’t know what it’s like, “for the ladyboys in Bangkok, or the transsexuals in Japan or people in Russia”, and that she should “stop being a spokesperson [for the trans community ]”."[1]

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Genesis Breyer P-Orridge (born Neil Andrew Megson; 22 February 1950 – 14 March 2020) was an English singer-songwriter, musician, poet, performance artist, and occultist. P-Orridge rose to notability as the founder of the COUM Transmissions artistic collective and lead vocalist of seminal industrial band, Throbbing Gristle. S/he was also a founding member of Thee Temple ov Psychick Youth occult group, and fronted the experimental band Psychic TV. P-Orridge identified as third gender.

In accordance with their work on the Pandrogyne Project, P-Orridge now identifies using the pronouns "s/he", "h/er", and "h/erself". These pronouns have been used when discussing P-Orridge in The Guardian, and The New Yorker. However, P-Orridge is still referred to using male pronouns in older sources, such as those of journalist Erica Orden, the historian Dave Evans, and the religious studies scholar Christopher Partridge. Alternately, the journalist Camille Dodero used female pronouns when referring to P-Orridge.

Born in Manchester, P-Orridge developed an early interest in art, occultism, and the avant-garde while at Solihull School. After dropping out of studies at the University of Hull, s/he moved into a counter-cultural commune in London and adopted Genesis P-Orridge as a nom-de-guerre. On returning to Hull, P-Orridge founded COUM Transmissions with Cosey Fanni Tutti, and in 1973 s/he relocated to London. COUM's confrontational performance work, dealing with such subjects as sex work, pornography, serial killers, and occultism, represented a concerted attempt to challenge societal norms and attracted the attention of the national press. COUM's 1976 Prostitution show at London's Institute of Contemporary Arts was particularly vilified by tabloids, gaining them the moniker of the "wreckers of civilization." P-Orridge's band, Throbbing Gristle, grew out of COUM, and were active from 1975 to 1981 as pioneers in the industrial music genre. In 1981, P-Orridge co-founded Psychic TV, an experimental band that from 1988 onward came under the increasing influence of acid house.

In 1981, P-Orridge co-founded Thee Temple ov Psychick Youth, an informal occult order influenced by chaos magic and experimental music. P-Orridge was often seen as the group's leader, but rejected that position, and left the group in 1991. Amid the Satanic ritual abuse hysteria, a 1992 Channel 4 documentary accused P-Orridge of sexually abusing children, resulting in a police investigation. P-Orridge was subsequently cleared and Channel 4 retracted their allegation. P-Orridge left the United Kingdom as a result of the incident and settled in New York City. There, P-Orridge married Jacqueline Mary Breyer, later known as Lady Jaye, in 1995, and together they embarked on the Pandrogeny Project, an attempt to unite as a "pandrogyne", or single entity, through the use of surgical body modification to physically resemble one another. P-Orridge continued with this project of body modification after Lady Jaye's 2007 death. Although involved in reunions of both Throbbing Gristle and Psychic TV in the 2000s, P-Orridge retired from music to focus on other artistic mediums in 2009. P-Orridge was credited on over 200 releases.

A controversial figure with an anti-establishment stance, P-Orridge was heavily criticised by the British press and politicians. P-Orridge was cited as an icon within the avant-garde art scene, accrued a cult following, and been given the moniker of the "Godperson of Industrial Music".

Discography

Note: this is for releases specifically credited to Genesis P-Orridge, for work with PTV see Psychic TV discography, for work with Throbbing Gristle see Throbbing Gristle discography. See also: Splinter Test#Discography and Thee Majesty#Discography.

See also




Unless indicated otherwise, the text in this article is either based on Wikipedia article "Genesis P-Orridge" or another language Wikipedia page thereof used under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License; or on research by Jahsonic and friends. See Art and Popular Culture's copyright notice.

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