I am sad to be writing
my last post for this class, as it has been one of the most enjoyable and most
comfortable classroom I have had the pleasure of being a part of during my time
at USC. I am happy to be writing about Janelle Monae however as my last
commentary. I had heard a couple of her songs played around by friends and while
out at bars but was not truly introduced to her jaw dropping artistry until
class this past week. Since that class I have spent (maybe a few too many)
hours listening to her new album and watching her videos over and over again. I
don’t get attached to stars, but she is an absolute queen in my books. There
are so many things I could say at this point, from her “Pynk” video of
flourishing female self-empowerment to her video for “Q.U.E.E.N” with Badulla
Oblongata (Erkyah Badu) where she declares no need to take backlash from any
outsider on who she is and how she chooses to be. The main connection I want to
talk about is the ambiguity of her sexuality. I have scrolled through countless
articles online with titles not only questioning Monae’s sexuality, but
seemingly criticizing her for not being straightforward and “honest with
herself” about whatever sexuality she is. Many of her songs and videos point
towards the tension between being attracted to members of both sexes. These
videos seem to produce imagery of a natural flow of movements between her and
both men and women. So if it is obvious to us all that she is interested in
both why does it matter what label she proclaims? Does it really matter whether
we know Monae is pansexual or bisexual? And if anyone has actually been
listening to her music and picked up on her message, these labels are what need
to be gone. She is about owning who you are regardless of label. I personally
have struggled with my sexuality in the sense that I like both men and women
but it’s not split down the middle. I may like women more one day and the next
year be more attracted to men, while at the same time probably being attracted
to both simultaneously to different significant or unnoticeable degrees. She
lets us know it is okay to like a man at one moment and want to be with a woman
across the room the next. Sexuality is fluid and there doesn’t need to be rules
to define it. Many people seem to portray a clear-cut answer. They’re either “gay
gay gay” or they may be just pretending for the fame. Janelle Monae has given
rise to an “in-between” more gray area of sexuality that myself, and I’m sure
many other “bisexual” individuals, have been waiting to see represented and stood
up for in the mainstream.
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