Noticeably in many conversations centered around feminism, the most affected group is almost always left out. Women of color are somehow always left outside of the conversation until it is socially acceptable to include us, our thoughts, our opinions and yes, our bodies too. So many decisions are made for us and never by us and when we decide to speak up about it, we are seen as combative, catty, drama queens and every other super descriptive adjective that you can find to define the word negative. However, in music we find a way to create our solace and safe space for ourselves and our sisters who may be experiencing what we think we are dealing with alone.
Over the years Janelle Monae has become the queen of using her platform to shed light on women of color and the never ending fight to reclaim feminism. In her latest single “PYNK“, she uses witty aesthetics, imagery, dancing and even the political climate to make her statement and if you’ve missed it, you’re clearly sleeping. It has become increasingly hard for creatives to implement their ideas and visuals without feeling like they have to water them down for the comfort of others first. This is often seen when one begins to reclaim their identities and their creative culture from the hands of the music industry which is something that Janelle and many others have done successfully.
Source: Wondaland Records
So, what about the video and single PYNK makes it so feminist? Unless you missed the vagina pants who made a feature in the video then I guess we owe you an explanation. When hearing feminism, one thinks of it as the hypersensitive “F” word that women only use when things don’t go their way. While that is wrong, here’s a mini briefing on feminist culture and how Janelle embraces that for self love. Feminism is not a super intricate concept, though it is delicate because it serves as a platform for women to begin to love themselves in every area. Feminism is for the little girl who was teased by the little boys for her changing body and it is even for the girl who now identifies as queer or non binary or transgender or whatever they feel is right for them. In short, feminism is a concept that is for everybody and if it isn’t intersectional (thanks Kimberle Crenshaw), you can keep it.
This video offers so much more than just feminism, but a message on self love. We have seen Janelle transform from performing in the Atlanta University Center in her early days, to having a brief cameo in Outkast’s video for “Morris Brown”, to the Archandroid (yes for 2010 feels) to her awakening in womanhood with Electric Lady and now to self love with her third single “PYNK” for her upcoming album Dirty Computer. We hope that you’ll be listening as she continues to give us amazing music with what she describes her videos as “emotion pictures”. Let’s go Wondaland Records!