The Evolution of Sexuality in Culture
The way sexuality is portrayed today is drastically different than it was decades ago. The modernization of sexuality can be seen in today’s literature, music lyrics, music videos and culture, all of which contributed to the transformation of sexuality. In the past, sexuality was often taboo and private, especially for women, and discussions of sexuality were mostly reserved for men. This created a double standard. However, music artists, such as Beyonce, masterfully use music and videos to portray strong and brave females who are not afraid of sexuality or to voice controversial subjects. For instance, Beyonce’s album, Lemonade, was groundbreaking. It gave women a powerful voice and broke the barrier of female sexuality in today’s culture. Women are more comfortable with their bodies and proud of who they are now than they were even a decade ago. In addition, female artists use music videos and literature to tell their stories. Many of these stories are painful and personal. The lyrics and videos capture the essence of both past and present problems women face. Even though Beyonce’s Lemonade faced criticism, any discussion regarding female sexuality is progress itself. Today’s modernized sexuality allows women the freedom to express their emotions, fears and sexuality both boldly and without shame. As female artists continue to express their raw and honest emotions through literature, music and art, sexuality will continue to evolve.
This evolution of sexuality has played a large and important role in determining how literature is written, or how songs are directed in music videos. Specifically referencing songs and music videos Beyonce is a prime example of this. Beyonce is a pioneer of using her sexuality to help convey the message of her music. On her album Lemonade, many of her outfits are relatively promiscuous and definitely cause the audience to raise an eyebrow at certain occasions. However, once she starts dancing and singing her truth, her outfit choice does not come off as sexualizing, but rather empowering, as she is reclaiming the power that may have been taken from her when people wouldn’t allow her to dress the way she wanted or act the way she wanted.
She is a prime example of the evolution of the use of sexuality in music videos, but she also exemplifies how the literature has adapted, and we can see this through her lyrics. There are multiple songs about concepts such as cheating, sex, stripping, prostitution, etc., but a better example comes from the song Partition, which is a song not included on Lemonade. “Oh there daddy, d-daddy didn’t bring the towel/Oh baby, b-baby we slow it down.” It is a very nonchalant phrase, but there is so much meaning behind it that you can derive from the sexualization. From the use of words such as “daddy” and “baby”, we can infer the close relationship and love she has with the man being referenced, and that is just because of her use of sexualized diction. Beyonce is known for bring a sexual orientation to anything she does and this certainly doesn’t come with no critics. A renowned author and social activist, has repeatedly voiced her lack of support towards Beyonce. This author is Bell Hooks. Hooks is one of the few prominent black feminists to critique Lemonade. In 2014, before Lemonade was released, hooks famously called Beyonce a terrorist in a talk at NYU. She made this outrageous claim due to the nature in which Beyonce was incorporating sexuality into her lyrics, videos, and overall persona. Hooks clearly does not mean that beyonce is a terrorist in the same sense as Osama Bin Laden, but rather in a metaphorical sense. Hooks thinks that Beyonce is acting against the feminist movement in the same way that a terrorist would move against a group or organization. Beyonce likes to utilize her body to sell albums, and Hooks thinks that this just degrades women and puts them a step back from achieving equality, but in reality, it is just a tool that Beyonce is using in order to convey her message to the audience. Regardless of what she does, she was bound to have naysayers because of her level of fame, but just because Bell Hooks claims her use of sexuality is counter-intuitive, doesn’t mean that it’s being wrongly utilized. In the reading Moving Beyond Pain by Bell Hooks it is evident that she still may not be the biggest fan of Beyonce, however she does support what beyonce is doing. Hooks explains that she supports a certain aspect of the album and respects what Beyonce is trying to achieve with that part, but then she would always follow it up with a criticism. Just for one example, Hooks writes “all the references to honoring our ancestors and elders in Lemonade inspire. However, concluding this narrative of hurt and betrayal with caring images of family and home do not serve as adequate ways to reconcile and heal trauma.” This was a common theme throughout the writing and went to show that Hooks still has some of her initial reservations, but has become at least slightly more open to Beyonce, which is how the reaction process to Beyonce’s use of sexuality frequently goes for the audience. Beyonce is a prime component in the use of sexuality, but she certainly is not the only person who has used this effective tool. Another example is Warsan Shire, a well-known British author. She is an author as opposed to a musician, and some of her writing is sexually oriented. One example of this comes in Grandfather’s Hands, which is essentially a poem discussing a couple’s unfaltering love for one another, but Shire used a relatively different approach to convey this. She used a lot of sexual inuendos and phrases, all of which helped to convey the message. She could have just said that they had great love for each other, but that would not have been as effective. By using words and phrases that might seem promiscuous help the audience to truly understand the deep love and affection that these people share for one another.
The embracement of sexuality has impacted the literature and media industry in many positive ways. It has made tremendous progress specifically for women, as the culture has shifted towards the direction of women empowerment, rather than objectification. As the rise of media took place over the last few decades, many problems arose: including immense pressure for young females to conform. With that however, sparked a new wave of role models to combat such negativity. We saw so many powerful figures respond to the negativity, serving as a light in the darkness for young girls. Characters like Sethe from Toni Morrison’s Beloved dreamed for such figures. Women like Beyonce have used their platform to decide their own narrative. Her music voices all the great in her life, she embraces her body and embraces all. She also embraces all the bad in her life, which may even be more powerful. The pain and suffering she has felt sends waves of empathy to so many females in the world, giving a sense of hope to the people that don’t have the big stage. She and many other powerful female figures have embraced every inch of their sexuality, forever changing the landscape of our media industries and our future for the better.
