Chapter 20 - Michaela's Story
March 14, 1998 - Tulsa, Oklahoma
Our announcement that I was a girl was initially rejected by the public. Handsome Bill was famous for his practical jokes and the radio listeners just presumed that Manson were making fun of themselves and going along with the joke. However, after I posed as the female I was on a few magazine covers, the public eventually believed my story. The most helpful, public relations wise, of all the stories was the fashion shoot with Sixteen. It turned my femininity into a feminist cause titling the story "It's Different for Girls". It outlined how I had been forced to pretend I was a guy to obtain popularity for the band because the record company officials had thought a girl in the band would ruin the image. Sixteen claimed that I was an "inspiration to all young women" because I had refused to keep up the charade any longer. It was a conspiracy at work and I felt sick being part of something that was so belittling for my twin brother.
But the funny thing is that having me in the band has actually been helpful, sales wise. Even though I couldn't write a song if my life depended on it I have become somewhat of a role model for girls my age and a sex symbol for the guys. Oh! That reminds me - this revelation has been very helpful to the therapists of America too. Thousands of twelve-year- old girls have gone into therapy, believing that their crush on Tweedle-Tay was a lesbian crush. It makes me laugh. Tweedle-Tay's collection of AAA bras has stopped growing as well.............
So here I am now, on my fifteenth birthday........... Tweedle-Tay's fifteenth birthday. In a few minutes I'll be going to the movies with my family to celebrate. We've booked a theatre to ourselves or otherwise we wouldn't be able to watch the movies due to the screaming fans. I think we're going to see "Romy and Michelle" (my favourite) and "Star Wars" in honour of my dead brother. I am somewhat happy about my success and about my acceptance into the Manson family (finally!) but I can't help thinking that Tweedle-Tay didn't have to die for this. You might be one of those people (as the twelve-year-old girls who aren't in therapy are) who have seen through the conspiracy and blame me for Tweedle-Tay's death, but I don't think it's my fault at all. Sure, I did buy the gun and I was stupid enough to load it, but I did not shoot Tay. Neuton (who still hates me) did. And if you want to go back further than that, it was my father, Skipper, who brainwashed Neuton and sent me away in the first (and second) place. Anyway, I tried to make Neuton shoot me rather than Tweedle- Tay......... So Tay's death is 55% my father's fault, 40% Neuton's fault and just 5% my fault.
I still cry about the death - at least once a week and I have nightmares about it regularly. But I tend to think of my brother as a prophet. When he wrote the song "With You in Your Dreams", he intended for it to be about his grandmother, but it turned out to be the message that consoled us, his family, whilst we grieved his death. I wish I could say it was true, but unfortunately this story does not end the way all good stories end. Oh well, here it goes..........
And they all lived happily ever after.
To find out what happens next, check out Manson's In The Attic, Part 2 of the Tweedle-Tay Saga.
March 14, 1998 - Tulsa, Oklahoma
Our announcement that I was a girl was initially rejected by the public. Handsome Bill was famous for his practical jokes and the radio listeners just presumed that Manson were making fun of themselves and going along with the joke. However, after I posed as the female I was on a few magazine covers, the public eventually believed my story. The most helpful, public relations wise, of all the stories was the fashion shoot with Sixteen. It turned my femininity into a feminist cause titling the story "It's Different for Girls". It outlined how I had been forced to pretend I was a guy to obtain popularity for the band because the record company officials had thought a girl in the band would ruin the image. Sixteen claimed that I was an "inspiration to all young women" because I had refused to keep up the charade any longer. It was a conspiracy at work and I felt sick being part of something that was so belittling for my twin brother.
But the funny thing is that having me in the band has actually been helpful, sales wise. Even though I couldn't write a song if my life depended on it I have become somewhat of a role model for girls my age and a sex symbol for the guys. Oh! That reminds me - this revelation has been very helpful to the therapists of America too. Thousands of twelve-year- old girls have gone into therapy, believing that their crush on Tweedle-Tay was a lesbian crush. It makes me laugh. Tweedle-Tay's collection of AAA bras has stopped growing as well.............
So here I am now, on my fifteenth birthday........... Tweedle-Tay's fifteenth birthday. In a few minutes I'll be going to the movies with my family to celebrate. We've booked a theatre to ourselves or otherwise we wouldn't be able to watch the movies due to the screaming fans. I think we're going to see "Romy and Michelle" (my favourite) and "Star Wars" in honour of my dead brother. I am somewhat happy about my success and about my acceptance into the Manson family (finally!) but I can't help thinking that Tweedle-Tay didn't have to die for this. You might be one of those people (as the twelve-year-old girls who aren't in therapy are) who have seen through the conspiracy and blame me for Tweedle-Tay's death, but I don't think it's my fault at all. Sure, I did buy the gun and I was stupid enough to load it, but I did not shoot Tay. Neuton (who still hates me) did. And if you want to go back further than that, it was my father, Skipper, who brainwashed Neuton and sent me away in the first (and second) place. Anyway, I tried to make Neuton shoot me rather than Tweedle- Tay......... So Tay's death is 55% my father's fault, 40% Neuton's fault and just 5% my fault.
I still cry about the death - at least once a week and I have nightmares about it regularly. But I tend to think of my brother as a prophet. When he wrote the song "With You in Your Dreams", he intended for it to be about his grandmother, but it turned out to be the message that consoled us, his family, whilst we grieved his death. I wish I could say it was true, but unfortunately this story does not end the way all good stories end. Oh well, here it goes..........
And they all lived happily ever after.
To find out what happens next, check out Manson's In The Attic, Part 2 of the Tweedle-Tay Saga.
