Take Me to Church, More Than Meets the Ear

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVjiKRfKpPI

Most of us are probably familiar with the song “Take Me to Church”, or at the very least have heard it on the radio. Rarely are these pop songs analyzed beyond their musical appeal to a wide audience, but once the thought has been put into finding the songs true intention another story comes to light. In the example of Hozier’s “Take Me to Church”, we are greeted with various artistic choices from pronoun use to political statements about the church. Rather echoing than the usual pattern of church songs about happiness, love, or the afterlife, Hozier instead voices his fear and anxiety surrounding the church. Using the definitions from  Cathy Cohen and Michael Warner to analyze the music video and lyrics, we found this music video to be queer.

Using Cathy Cohen’s definition of queer, in which we relate queerness to positions of power (“Punks Bulldaggers and Welfare Queens”, 440), the Hozier music video expresses a number of examples of queerness. Contrary to many popular music videos, the two main characters are men and are in a relationship. The explicit queerness present in a popular media form (music video), which typically reinforces heteronormative understanding of relationships between men and women, shows that the artist can influence a change in the way we choose to represent gendered relationships. Delving beneath the surface, Cohen’s understanding of queer is present in relation to the continued friction between the gay couple and the angry mob. If the mob of men represents the heteronormative, hegemonic understanding of sexuality, their interaction with the couple being attacked shows that they lack true power. The couple is easily overtaken by the mob and their home is invaded, leaving them helpless.

    In this example, the couple is queer, not only because of their sexual orientation, but also because they lack the ability to defend themselves and their choices against rigid institutional understandings of sexuality, rendering them powerless. Reading this text through Cohen’s understanding of queer broadens the understanding of the disadvantages queer-identified individuals face; these are people discriminated against and shunned (per the Church) and through institutional means that impact their innate humanness. Seeing the video in this way enhances the music video’s overall message on society’s view of sexuality that counters social norms.

Aside from Cohen’s definition of queer,  a tie can also be made with Warner’s definition: that queerness protests norms  (“Fear of a Queer Planet”, xxvii). This music video itself is protesting norms because, as previously stated, the vast majority of music videos play upon heteronormative narratives that leave little room for a queer reading. Although there are plenty of music videos that do break out of this stereotype, they rarely ever make it to mainstream media like this one did. The relationship between the two men is protesting social norms and therefore fits under Warner’s definition. Both of the men appear as masculine in a conventional sense goes against norms because usually a feminine and masculine dichotomy is “supposed” to exist, even within same-sex couples. Doing a queer reading of this music video strengthens the message that Hozier is trying to get across about society and particularly, powerful institutions like The Church, and their widespread disapproval of any sexuality outside of what is considered to be the norm.

    After seeing the video and realizing the political message within the song, it completely changed the way we listened to it. This song sounds more like a form of protest against powerful institutions rather than just a catchy pop song. Hopefully this experience will be as eye opening to the class as it was for us, in that knowing there is so much to something than we always care to realize. Now move forward with your lives and consume future media with an open mind while consuming media in the future.

Discussion Questions:

1. For those of you who have heard the song and not seen the video, how has your view of the song changed after viewing? How might this change your consumption of popular media in the future?

2. What do you think of the decision to use she/her pronouns in the song, despite the music video featuring two men? Why do you believe this choice was made?

3. What other music videos depict representations of queerness in relation to power? Is there a restriction on how Cohen’s queer can be understood in popular media?

4. In what ways does Hozier want viewers to see the indictment of establishments that undermine humanity based on his video?

5. In what way does the music video attempt to combat homophobia? Do you think this message is effective? If so, why do you think the message is not/less clear in the song itself?

Princess Princess

           

http://strangelykatie.com/princessprincess/?pid=206

            Princess Princess is a webcomic by Tumblr user strangelykatie that defies constructed gender roles while still playing within traditional fairytale storylines. Sadie is a princess supposedly trapped within a tower and is rescued by Princess Amira, rather than a typical prince. Throughout the story the two characters defy gender roles and traditional expectations placed upon them all while still playing into a typical fairytale storyline. Drawing from Michael Warner’s definition, which protests norms and the ideas of norms/normal behavior (Warner xxvii), we can conclude that this webcomic is queer.

            While Princess Sadie still follows the role of the “damsel-in-distress” trope, she deviates from the role by sabotaging princes’ attempts to save her. Sadie diverges from this trope by showing intelligence (i.e., by asking how Amira is actually going to save her) and also by “defeating” the ogre while the princely Amira and Vladric are arguing. Sadie shows personal growth throughout the narrative as she steps into the Queen’s role thereby a divergence from classical fairytale plots as princesses are almost always stuck within a one-dimensional character slot. Through the comic, Sadie’s sister calls her a “fat silly crybaby” and Sadie responds toward the end with “That may be true, but I’ll never let you make me feel like it’s a bad thing ever again” (36). This demonstrates Sadie’s personal character development as well as a body positive message. Despite this, though, the art doesn’t uphold to this physical trait described in the dialogue.

            The other princess Amira embodies the prince role within the comic’s fairytale narrative. Evidence of this comes from her physical appearance (her clothes, her hair, etc.), her personality, and the way she presents herself. It’s also a representation of a woman being in power rather than as a figurehead. Amira’s character is specifically working against constructed gender roles by being cast within the part of the rescuer, which is typically the role of a man. The clothes she wears are also masculine in nature. Princess Amira’s race and role as the hero also add to the queer narrative of this comic. According to Cathy Cohen’s definition of queer, Princess Amira “stands on the outside of the dominant constructed norm of state-sanctioned white middle- and upper-class heterosexuality” (441). The components of her identity correlate to Cohen’s definition of queer – even though it’s implied Amira falls within an upper-class category – she is still outside the racial norm in fairytales. In contrast to Princess Amira’s role as the hero of the story and a source of strength, Prince Vladric, the only male character in the story, is shown as weak. He also ends up in a subservient position to Princess Sadie as her advisor instead of a ruling position as in most fairytale stories.

            Warner defines queer as being outside and resisting the established norms and normal behavior. Strangelykatie’s webcomic about two princesses embodies Warner’s queer theory through the depiction of a non-traditional fairytale. Both princess’s physical appearances as well as their determined personalities place them outside of what you would call classic princess behavior. Despite having dialogue describing Princess Sadie as “fat and stupid”, the art contradicts the message being conveyed. Princess Amira queers the gender norm that would typically apply to her but still falls within the conventional “prince” trope. Even though we view Princess Princess as queer, there are still aspects contained within the webcomic that are not.

1. Does this story read as both queer in content and queer in form? How does the presentation of a web comic change our view of a fairy tale story? Are there any queer implications about its form through its circulation on Tumblr and other social media sites?

2. As the only male character, how is Prince Vladric’s portrayal in the comic significant? How does his portrayal read as queer? How is the character objectified?

3. How do we read Princess Sadie and Princess Amira’s relationship? What examples lead readers to concluding a queer relationship? How would Adrienne Rich see their relationship?

Anaconda, Nicki Minaj, and Queer Spaces?

Trinidadian rapper Nicki Minaj’s most recent single “Anaconda” (2014) has gathered a lot of attention both for the song and for the accompanying video that focuses prominently on the twerking and undulating rear ends of Minaj and her backup dancers (examples of feminist readings include this from Autostradle and this by Black feminist bell hooks). The video has been viewed over 241 million times on Youtube and helped Minaj earn her highest charting single in the United States. As a fan of Minaj, I wanted to think about the possibility of reading this video through a queer lens, especially the all-female spaces the video uses and the power that Minaj appears to have over the consumption of her own body. In reading “Anaconda” as a queer text, I am employing Cathy Cohen’s definition of queer as that which contests heteronormativity. For Cohen, “heteronormativity works to support and reinforce institutional racism, patriarchy, and class exploitation” (455) and thus even heterosexual or straight-identified individuals can be queered by their resistance to these intersecting systems of oppression. I read “Anaconda” as contesting traditional ideas about the female body and female pleasure that are linked to white supremacy and patriarchal norms. 

As Adrienne Rich and Audre Lorde both argue, female connection and intimacy is received as threat to patriarchal control in a society where access to the female body is prized as the right of straight men. With the exception of a scene where Minaj performs a lap-dance on the rapper Drake, the “Anaconda” video occurs entirely in spaces with female or feminine bodies. Some of these spaces appear to be outside of mainstream society all together – either fantasy spaces, like the set where Minaj demonstrates an absurd parody of a cooking show, or places outside of our time all together, like the rainforest setting where Minaj freely plays with the buttocks of her dancers. Even the more traditional settings, like the exercise class, are clearly parodying or mocking ideas of a “realistic” setting. This could discredit the entire video as entirely unreal, but it also can suggest that we are seeing a fantasy space where Minaj is playing out her desires. Minaj’s lyrics further reference her own sexual pleasure; she playfully alludes to receiving oral sex and the necessity of large penises to achieve maximum pleasure.

Throughout the video, Minaj controls everything happening around her – including the curvy bodies of her dancers. Her playful jiggling of her dancers’ rear ends suggests both her ability to adopt the traditionally male role of accessing the female body and the potential for same-sex desire. Of course, as Adrienne Rich notes, we might also understand these moments as being like much “so-called lesbian pornography” which is “created for the [straight] male voyeuristic eye.” The video definitely offers plenty for straight male viewers, yet it also opens the possibility that other ways of viewing are encouraged and thus opens some space for other folks to desire the bodies shown in other, potentially more queer ways. We could easily read the entire video as performed for the male gaze, yet the actual male presences suggest a more queer relationship to the male viewer. When Minaj performs a lap dance for Drake, the male rapper is shown as entirely controlled by the female body on his lap and he is powerless to follow her when she chooses to leave him behind. She may approach him on her knees, but she walks away triumphantly and he is left seated and presumably unsatisfied. The absurd spectacle of Minaj’s cooking show culminates in her putting whipping cream on her cleave – either encouraging the viewer or referencing a woman’s physical response to pleasure. In this same segment, Minaj’s use of bananas obviously references the male sexual organ and her violent treatment of the bananas suggests that the penis – as representative of the patriarchy – can easily be cut into small pieces and devoured. 

The United States has a long and nasty history of reading the African American female body as hypersexual and less than human. “Anaconda” could be read as participating in this stereotyping of Black women as overly curvy and sexually available, yet Minaj’s celebration of her rear end suggests she may have some measure of control over this image. She is choosing to celebrate her rear end and does not believe her ample curves disqualify her from access to ideas of classiness or success; we see her in designer clothes and we see her in workout clothes, suggesting that skinniness need not be the only goal for exercise or health. Minaj’s tirade against “skinny bitches” and celebration of larger women suggests a queer resistance to ideas of the ideal body that are linked to images of white femininity. Now, that does not mean that I think the video portrays an entirely progressive view of women’s bodies – these bodies are still petite with skinny waists alongside larger rear ends and breasts. Not all body types are celebrated, but this is a distinctly different vision from a more common ideal presented in mainstream popular culture. The song’s use of the sample from “Baby Got Back” by Sir Mix-a-lot similarly seems to mock or queer the idea that men, like the original rapper, should be able to have the last word on women’s bodies.

While I think that I have shown ways in which “Anaconda” queers ideas about race, gender, and sexuality, I am somewhat torn about the ways that the video relates to Cohen’s idea of “class exploitation.” Like many popular music videos, “Anaconda” is full of product placement, especially for Myx Moscato, a brand co-owned and endorsed by Minaj. The video’s visuals more broadly are clearly intended to draw in a large audience – controversy sells! – and thus boost views and sales. At the same time, we could argue that Minaj’s visibility as a woman of color in the music industry and her apparent control over much of her image messes with certain ideas about who belongs in higher-class society. Of course, that doesn’t mean she doesn’t have a lot of privilege, including access to the money that means she has a flawless appearance. Ultimately, the video reminds me that queer texts are complex texts and not necessarily just progressive (if they are at all).

Questions:

1.     How does spectatorship - or who is watching the video - determine whether or not we should read it as queer? Is this still a queer text if consumed by a straight man who simply objectifies Minaj’s body? Does the video resist a straightforward “straight” reading?

2.     Much of the video seems to rely on the female bodies all appear very similar; almost all are similar to Minaj’s body. What does this do the politics of the video? If we read the video as contesting one set of beauty norms, does it just replace them with another one? Is this progressive or just more of the same?

3.     How does the video relate to ideas about sexual desire? Are the “big butts” a stand-in for other parts of the body? Does the butt replace male desire or is it simply presented as being there for male pleasure?