Whether it’s a message to internet haters or an explanation of what it truly means to Get Wet, Yasmine and Jahan from Krewella have been known to use Tumblr as a platform to vent their frustrations and give us some insight into what’s really going on in their heads during their everyday Krew-lives. Well this time Jahan decided to address the media’s rabid obsession with the controversial way Miley Cyrus has been portraying herself as of late; clearly Jahan is sick and tired of people asking her how she feels about Miley, but as a female role model who’s also in the public eye, especially now that Get Wet is available in stores everywhere, she’s in a particularly unique position to shed some light on what the media’s reaction to this situation says about sexism and gender representation in society as a whole. Read what Jahan had to say below and let us know what you think in the comments; I think she really knocked this one out of the park!
we are welcome to explore our sexiness when HE wants us to, but not when WE want?
I can’t even count how many times lately I’ve been asked ‘what do you think about the Miley Cyrus?’ in a phone or pre-show interview. I usually avoid discussions about other artists’ gossip, but I’m pretty passionate about issues that have underlying themes of sexism. I’m not here to defend Miley or condone her behavior- I just want to encourage people to be more aware of how they might be selectively interpreting what is and what is not socially acceptable, and how the way we negotiate sexual power is unfair.
The public sphere is obsessed with the controversial image Miley is propelling. ‘What kind of message is she sending??,’ everyone asks. What I’m more curious about is why our so-called ‘enlightened,’ free-thinking society won’t allow women to explore their sexual desires without condemning them. It is accepted and ubiquitous for male artists, like Robin Thicke (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyDUC1LUXSU), to use sexually explicit representations of women in their content, but when a female artist exploits this image of herself (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrUvu1mlWco), she is brought down.
What kind of message is this sending? That we are welcome to explore our sexiness when HE wants us to, but not when WE want? That we should sanitize our explicit actions and only let them come out from hiding when we are the object of the masculine gaze? Male artists are allowed to live out their explicit fantasies of women in music videos, but when the female artist is in control and chooses to embrace her sexual side, she is punished?
Despite the popular belief that our society is ‘advanced’ and forward-thinking, gender fairness is still curtailed by the strictly defined boundaries of sex. Femininity is controlled by the male dominated sphere and it extends beyond the realm of ‘music video hoes.’ The attempt to rob a woman’s power of her own body exists to this day in anti-abortion laws and restrictions to birth control in some states.
We are in denial if we don’t think gender representations in the mass media and the public’s reaction to them are sexist. Maybe we can finally answer the question, ‘why aren’t there more female DJs?’ Or more far more importantly why there hasn’t been a female president in the United States when we applaud ourselves for being a country that promulgates gender equality. If fairy tales and teen magazines teach a girl at a young age to have submissive behavior, that her focus in life is finding her true love over finding happiness in independence, that she can’t FUCK—she can only MAKE LOVE to her prince charming, then it’s no wonder we can’t accept a female star freeing herself of the rules of femininity that society continues to perpetuate.
Well said.
very impressive, these are the little things that bring change. Thanks Jahan Yousaf
I’m inclined to believe that Miley is doing this for attention, not because she is “embracing” her sexuality. In every “stunt” she makes herself look more like a desperate young girl scared of losing her fame and popularity rather than a mature woman seizing her sexual prowess and individuality.
i dont underestand why people even care about what other ppl do lol
i love you jahan
Shut up Meg
To be fair, Robin Thicke’s blatant objectification of women in the video for his rapey ass song is no more appropriate. In fact IMO he is currently worlds creepiest.
The power of situations like this is that it forces society to look in the mirror and really think about our own perceptions of sex and society. We are simultaneously intrigued and horrified. Like a car crash. Miley knows she is sacrificing herself at the alter of sexual politics. Madonna was doing the same thing. Now we call Madonna the Queen of Pop and commend her for her social consciousness. But it’s also important to remember that Miley is making money and has a huge marketing machine pushing this. Many would call what she is doing brilliant and necessary to break her out of the Hanna Montana mold. I do believe there are lots of ways to “explore sexiness”, some better than others. Yes, Miley is making a statement about sexuality in a very base and objectifying way. She is not exploring the intellectual pursuit of musical enlightenment. Let’s be smart enough to know the difference. But she is forcing this conversation about sex and social conventions.
Purely from a “devil’s advocate” standpoint; the issue of gender inequality is not a new one, and while the above example is well written commentary, the issue is that people expect Robin Thicke to do that. His persona is based off of it, it’s in his music past and present. What came off so shocking to the world was that Miley Cyrus was doing something outside of her persona and the public perception. She doesn’t owe anyone an apology, or should it be expected, but when you do something that is different you have to be able to accept that not everyone will agree and many will judge you. Regardless of inequality (it’s not going anywhere, and neither is racism, elitism, etc.) we live in a society of outspoken people where everyone’s opinion is better than yours and we as a culture need to realize that while we are all entitled to think and do what we please, we also need to be responsible for that. If she (Miley) doesn’t care and is comfortable with her actions, than she probably doesn’t care what anyone thinks (assumption). We would love to think that all (or most) of us live judgement free lives, but we would be lying to ourselves if we thought that. The “male” dominated society is not just a national issue, but a global one, and while it can be agreed upon that it isn’t fair, it’s also a bittersweet argument. Had Robin Thicke came on without pants on, dick flailing, he would be ousted as a pervert and ruined for life. While the male perception that women are objects may still exist, it also stands to reckon that male sexual expression is frowned upon and thought of as indecent. This isn’t to say that men have it as bad as women, but it goes to show that sometimes it is the responsibility of the person to represent their gender how they want. In closing, life’s not fair when it comes to gender equality, but as long as we can continue to view each person’s choices as their own and not group them together as some larger form of gender expression, we should all be just fine.
TL;DR
Lil Kim.. nuff said… Jahan, your argument is invalid
I have 2 suggestions. 1) Make better music. 2) Take off your feminist glasses and see the world as it really is.
My god.. am I seeing the same crap Jahan just plainly talked about.. I swear most guys act like selfish high and mighty pricks who only think with there D**ks and not use there brains. Just because your a guy doesn’t mean you should put women in a lower class of society they have much right to express themselves and do than guys do. I support new ideas of women presidents. leaders and entertainment artists. Thats why I love krewella because they bring something new and enjoyable. All this disgusting talk about what yahan says make me want to kick them right in the balls.
Brazil, in back of her!