Thoughts on Mapplethorpe and Art after Post-modernism

Obviously the work of Robert Mapplethorpe has been highly controversial in the past, and many investigations into meaning and presentation have been written by other scholars. I just had some thoughts about his work from what we discussed as a class.

Aside from the Jesse Helms obscenity objection, which is absurd and impinging upon artistic freedom of expression, it was said in class that some people object to Mapplethorpe's art photography style. In a sense, that the artist is showing us an aesthetic without interfering, a presentation without re-presentation. This is the same critique post-modernist theorists gave to Avedon, that he doesn't intervene with his presentations of characters and doesn't draw attention to the medium of photography itself as an indexical form.

However, I think that Mapplethorpe's work should be given more credit in the context of post-modern theory. What if, instead of reading his aestheticized black body as a presentation of homosexual desire and the ideal form, we read it as an exposee of the stereotypical and racist fetishization of black men?
I think the photograph of the man exposing himself while dressed in an expensive suit is the best example of this idea, perhaps commenting on the persistence of racism and stereotypes though some say our society has moved past them.
I wonder if Mapplethorpe was a black artist himself, criticism of his work would differ. If perhaps we would see his photographs as a continuation of Cindy Sherman's work, exposing the viewer's desires and expectations of an identity: in this case black men instead of women. Is it their position as men, presented in a way that highlights their masculinity that prevents this reading? I would disagree, because I think his photographs are presenting a queered masculinity in a lot of ways.
If Barbara Kruger gendered her audience, perhaps Mapplethorpe racializes us? Does he determine our sexual orientation? The playful nature of Kruger and Sherman of the 1980's is gone, the AIDS epidemic influencing much of the work during this period, and instead we are left with this extension of post-modernism that has many complex facets.

We talked in class about art after post-modernism being vague, personal, and making the viewer uncomfortable. Artists like Mapplethorpe, Kara Walker, and Robert Gober all exemplify this: creating art that somehow engages with important social issues like racism while leaving it up to the audience to glean the meaning. If we interpret Mapplethorpe as not intervening with the presentation enough, is he not right in step with his fellow generation of artists?