Black Feminism Through the Lens of Janelle Monae: The Electric Lady
The work of Black Feminist Thought in the sense academic legibility enables the legitimacy of black feminism through the appropriation of subordinate groups; it manifests the importance of the narratives of ordinary black women as well as educated black women through different mediums. An artist that embodies Black Feminism is Janelle simply through her being as well as through the expressionism of her musical works. This is evident through her album The Electric Lady. She exemplifies her narrative of an “ordinary African American women who, through strategies of everyday resistance, creates a powerful foundation for this more visible black feminist activist tradition” (Collins 183); this resonates thoroughly in her music.
Her music tackles some interdisciplinary constructs of black feminism, which embody womanhood, queerness and blackness. Monae doesn’t shy away from embracing her individuality; this is interesting because not only is she a media icon but more specifically an icon in the music industry, which usually follows a strict, misogynist, homophobic line of institutionalization. However, she breaks these boundaries through her album The Electric Lady her fearless embracement of her queerness, womanhood and blackness.
The Electric Lady expresses black feminism in an afro-futuristic medium and finds a way to express more of herself as well. Monae allows some her most personal pain to leak into her music”(Peoples 22). The word “Electric” exuberates an embodiment of power that resonates throughout the whole album. Monae re-works the sounds of male artists while bringing a futuristic feminine spice to the music. In an interview, Monae states that her album is “inspired by her mother and other matriarchs”. Her song lyrics focus on the rebellion of women of color because of their refusal to be marginalized; this marginalization is a result of the intersection of patriarchal and racial institutionalization. According to Monae, through my art, I had to help create the woman I wanted to see around me. Incidentally, during concerts, for years I’d been painting this woman’s physique — the silhouette of her hips”, and from her creation of women, came the title of her album, The Electric Lady.
One song from the album that stands out is Q.U.E.E.N. The song focuses on self-acceptance, and being true to you, whether is be self-acceptance of sexuality, gender or race. The purpose of this song a musical expression of black feminism is to consciously question the reality of feminism especially for colored women and the stereotypes that society has created to imprison the mobility of black feminists.
“Are we a lost generation of our people?
Add us to the equation but they’ll never make us equal
She who writes the movie owns the script and the sequel
So why aint’ the stealing of my rights made illegal?
They keep us underground working hard for the greedy
But when its time to pay they turn around and call us needy”
-Q.U.E.E.N by Janelle Monae
These lyrics exemplify the struggles and narratives of racial discrimination and the inequalities that are evident in institutionalization which come about my marginalizing minority peoples. In this song, Monae poses questions that adhere to race, gender and sexuality; these questions are in efforts to bring about the silenced voices that are marginalized based on the idea of othering. Also, the questions serve as a form of empowerment for marginalized groups such as Black Feminism to help debunk the institutionalized marginalization through rebellion; rebelling against the silenced acceptance of being controlled by a white patriarchal institution.
Not only does she exemplify Black Feminism through the song lyrics of Q.U.E.E.N, but also through the music video. The music video artistically portrays a “museum” in which African-American history seems to be portrayed through exhibits that show the progression of African American history in the United States. It dates back to the Jim Crow Era and the marginalization that is expressed through entertainment. Interestingly, the roles seemed to be switched, the music video depicts a diametric version of the “Jumpin’ Jim Crow” character, also known as “Black Face”. In this interpretation rather than having a white man covered in black paint, there are black men covered in white paint while entertaining. The Jim Crow figure was composed through:
“A widespread folk pattern of gesture, dominantly black, prepared for public scrutiny and competition — — a dance called “Knock Jim Crow” — — farcical themes and stage conventions imposed by the rigidly controlled history of the English theatre — — resentments and class formations that were creating strangely clumped antagonists: burghers and social, say, combining to scorn and independently fearsome ragged cohort”(Lhamon ).
