Marilyn Manson Told Us Who He Was

The rock star abused women for years—but we were so used to pop-culture misogyny that we didn’t notice

Marilyn Manson and Rose McGowan, 1998. Photo: Catherine McGann/Getty Images

When I was growing up in the 1990s, it was a sign of sophistication to like Marilyn Manson. He was the go-to signifier of edginess for suburban white kids, a man who embodied all that was ugliest in the world, but who did it, like…