Core Post 5 - Clayton Vozzella

            bell hooks never fails to make me roll my eyes. In “Madonna: Plantation Mistress or Soul Sister” hooks misses the mark on multiple accounts, and ultimately fails to recognize other perspectives, and her criticisms of Madonna (and other women artists) are antithetical to feminism.

hooks needs to criticize the game, not the player. Madonna has a right to express her sexuality however she sees fit, and shouldn’t have to hold back showing her sexuality because black women in her same position don’t have the freedom to express theirs. First and foremost, Madonna, like any artist, has the right to express her art the way she sees fit. Only once throughout her article does she actually support her criticisms of Madonna with a concrete example, the music video for “Like a Prayer.” And while hooks makes valid points, it’s the only tool in her arsenal. hooks should criticize the systems in place that prevent black women from freely expressing their sexuality, rather than criticizing Madonna for her right to do so.

Additionally, hooks does not acknowledge the constraints women artists face. She again falls short in this regard in her criticisms against Beyoncé in her piece “Moving Beyond Pain,” where she criticizes Beyoncé for not ending patriarchy. It’s not Beyoncé’s job to do so, and since when is that her burden to carry? These criticisms are antithetical to feminism. hooks criticizes and polices women artists, rather than being sympathetic to the circumstances they face when trying to become successful in an incredibly racist and sexist industry (and world).

Lastly, I take particular issue with hooks’s inability to recognize other perspectives, specifically that of gay men. She fails to take herself out of her own experience and recognize the radical and incredible things these women artists have done, and how they have served as inspiration for queer men of all races. Gay men have a deep history with pop divas, and Madonna sits at the top of that list. She has been and is a longtime supporter of the gay community. hooks is somehow able to briefly acknowledge what Madonna means to the queer community, but stops at that. Additionally, she criticizes that no one acknowledges race when analyzing Madonna, but then fails to recognize what Madonna has meant and still means to the queer community. So here she criticizes others for doing exactly what she does: only considering one perspective.

             Ultimately, I wish hooks would join us in the twenty-first century and understand that owning sexuality is reclamation of sexuality from patriarchal powers.