We have been witnessing the transformation of reggaeton in the last few years. Gone is the image of the genre dominated by overly masculine men who have to flaunt their masculinity in all their lyrics and videos. Women have emerged onto the reggaeton scene, and new male artists seem to be embracing a less “hyper” version of masculinity. They even play with feminism. Or is it postfeminism?
The star representative of this return to the genre is undoubtedly Puerto Rican singer Bad Bunny. We’re taking advantage of the launch of her latest album on October 13 to review her career and lyrics from a feminist perspective.
Bad Bunny’s “feminine” identity
Bad Bunny has built an image and reggaeton culture around himself that, at least on the surface, moves away from the hypermasculine and sexist stereotypes of the genre. She paints her nails, poses in dresses and other clothing traditionally perceived as “feminine”, and even appears in one of his video clips. combed.
Beyond adopting a more feminine aesthetic, even borderline queer In some cases, its lyrics and staging also show the distance from the reggaeton that preceded it. She praises women’s empowerment in her songs and denounces homophobia and transphobia in her performances. In this way, Bad Bunny appears to not only redefine the genre, but also the ideas of femininity and masculinity produced in reggaeton.
In some of his most successful songs, Bad Bunny celebrates the will of women and defends their sexual freedom. Thus, gender relations based on male dominance become blurred. Actually in the song “Andrea” from his album A Summer Without You (2022), the artist condemns violence against women:
“Everything has become complicated / As if being a woman is a sin /
[…]
I’m tired of waiting for clues and what his family thinks / Even worse, the government calls him a “Murderer” /
[…]
Hey, she doesn’t want flowers, she just wants them to wilt / So they don’t whistle at her when she buys bread /
[…]
Respect it and never take it away /
[…]
‘Cause he’s the boss, the boss / And even though he’s almost falling apart inside / He grooms himself and looks like a bastard.
Bad Bunny can refer to different types of violence against women in these lyrics. Thus, he emphasizes, albeit indirectly, the structural and systemic nature of the problem: from the violence committed by the state that calls him a murderer, to the violence he experiences from his family and ideas, to the violence committed by men who lie to him. , They whistle at him and do not respect him.
“Andrea” was not the artist’s first song to celebrate and expose the hostile reality women face. In the single “Yo Perreo Sola” from his previous album, YHLQMDLG (2020), Puerto Rican, defends women’s agency and women’s right to dance and twerk alone with this verse:
“Drunk and crazy / She don’t care / Let’s twerk, life is short / Hey, she’s twerking all by herself.”
Overly sexualizing Bad Bunny
The feminist messages celebrated in some Bad Bunny songs contrast with other songs in which misogynistic and hypersexualizing ideas of women continue to be reproduced.
For example, in the song “La Jumpa” (2023), which the artist Arcángel wrote together with Bad Bunny, by the way Alicante was called, the last of which sings “Today I want a whore, a model.” This is not a separate situation. Throughout her Puerto Rican albums, songs with ideas of female empowerment overlap with misogynistic verses.
In the song “Titi asked me” from her album A Summer Without You (2022) says:
“Titi asked me / If I have a lot of girlfriends / I have one today, another one tomorrow / Hey, but no wedding / I want to move / To a mansion with them all.”
Sexist messages continue in their latest album Nobody Knows What Will Happen Tomorrow In the song “Baby Nueva” he sings:
“Girl, don’t expect this / No matter how hard you try / You got your tits and ass done / There’s no way you can take me back / You’re a witch.”
Misogyny surfaces in these lyrics: women are objects of desire (whore) or resentment (witch), they are sexualized, objectified and indispensable: one today, the other tomorrow, and all at the same time in the future. The previously exalted feminine will disappears and women lose their individuality, becoming bodied, breasts and ass.
Postfeminism has reached reggaeton
In this sense, the combination of feminism and misogyny in the singer’s lyrics can be understood from the framework of postfeminism. Current knowledge about postfeminism explains the intertwining of feminist and antifeminist messages and ideas in current sociocultural times.
On the one hand, the visibility of feminism and the processes of liberation and sexual diversity that have occurred in recent years intersect with extremely conservative ideas about gender, family and sexuality.
At this intersection, British academic Angela McRobbie, one of the biggest proponents of postfeminism, explains that feminism began to crumble when male oppression was seen as something necessary in the past, where it did not exist today but was evident in the past. because we already enjoy equality in the Western context. In this way, feminism and its social impact disappear from the social and cultural agenda because they are no longer needed.
Based on this, it can be thought that Bad Bunny is an artist born from the postfeminist context we live in. The singer reflects progressive values about women and feminism, as well as sexist ideas about female sexuality. This can also be seen in his image, where he flirts with feminine or androgynous aesthetics, hinting at the hybridization of his masculinity: with feminine touches, but sexism is still deeply entrenched.
Despite this, it is still remarkable that Bad Bunny makes issues such as gender violence visible in his songs, especially considering that he is one of the most listened to artists worldwide, both within and outside the reggaeton genre. At the same time, it is crucial to maintain a critical mindset and continue to demand from artists that misogyny cannot be considered entertainment.
An article from The Conversation