Musings On A Crush: Alex P. Keaton

In the past seven or so years, I have come to two conclusions about the very first crush I ever had on anyone. As a young child in the '80s, I watched "Family Ties" faithfully, and developed a real affection for the character of the brash, archcapitalist teenaged son everyone knows as Alex P. Keaton. My mom would wrinkle her nose anytime I told her "I like Alex" as she couldn't stand the character (due more to old-fashioned notions of what adolescent boys were supposed to be like -- she's eventually grown to like the actor Michael J. Fox). But I did. Sometimes he was the only reason I would watch a particular episode. But being a completely nonjealous type, I was happy for him when he found love and to this day find Billy Vera & The Beaters' "At This Moment" to be the only love song I like.

As I've been thinking about various things over the past several years, I've managed to come to two conclusions about this crush: one, that it is this crush that has influenced every other crush I've had on anyone throughout my lifetime, and two, that it could've only been the '80s that Alex P. Keaton, and in turn Michael J. Fox, could've been viewed as being a figure of adolescent adoration.

Looking at the descriptives of the junior Keaton male -- boyish face, clean-cut image, pale skin, thin body frame, looks good in (ubiquitous) suits -- one could accurately point at how this framework fits with every single crush I've ever had on anyone else, both famous and non-famous. Christian Bale? Boyish face, clean-cut image, pale skin, thin body frame (with the exception of Batman Begins), looks good in suits. John Taylor? Boyish face, clean-cut image, pale skin, thin body frame (we'll forget the "A View To A Kill" video for now), looks good in suits. Jonathan Rhys Meyers? Boyish face, clean-cut image, pale skin, thin body frame, looks good in suits. Charlie Sexton (I had a crush on the young Sexton in the mid '90s)? Boyish face, clean-cut image, pale sk-- okay, you get the picture. Even my real life crushes follow this same pattern.

This pattern, BTW, is why I feel that an Alex P. Keaton could've only existed as a teen idol in the androgynous-friendly '80s. See, even though Keaton wasn't androgynous, his boyish, fragile image would not have fit with the stereotyped adorations of the teenage set of an earlier or a later generation. The '70s teen idols were predominantly Mannish with a capital M, featuring crudely square jawbones, facial hair, flannel, and jeans. These boys often looked years older than they actually were because social mores at the time dictated likewise. In the '90s, male teen idols were more youthful but were adorned in more casual gear and were more casual overall. Plus the fact that a character portrayed as being a fan of conservative politics would not have flown in the Clinton '90s. (I wonder if Alex P. Keaton played a role in having my idealized political period be conservative in bent.)

So therein lies the ponderings of the last several years about my first-ever crush, a crush that has influenced me in ways I did not notice for a long time.