With the debut of openly gay rapper Fly Young Red's "Throw That Boy Pussy," comes the sexual objectification of a new class, gay black men.
The video that has garnered close to 1-million views since its' debut back in March, features male video vixens who are viewed as nothing more than boy pussy. You never once see their faces full-on, they aren't welcomed at the same table where Fly Young Red and his boys are living the high life of a rap star. But instead they are merely there to put it all on display for the nation to consume as FYR raps:
"Throw that head back like you got a 27 inch/ Throw that ass back like you riding an eleven inch/ Bend it over, show them ratchet hoes who you better than/ All them hoes broke, all them hoes is irrelevant/ Throw that ass I'ma catch it, beat it, stretch it, eat it, pass it/ Cause I ain't tryna arrest it, and I ain't tryna handcuff it."
In an interview with the Huffington Post, Fly Young Red discussed his inspiration for the song, originally released back in September 2013.
“I decided to make this video for lots of reasons. When I go to gay clubs and I look around I see a lot of gay guys dancing to songs that are made by straight rappers talking about females… I think females are beautiful I but I don’t find them sexually attractive. I like gay guys, so I made a song for gay guys to enjoy and dance to. I made it to play at gay clubs. I never wanted this song on the radio at all — I’m not trying to push a gay agenda on the African American race or turn young black youth gay. This music is not for either of them. All I wanted to do was make a song for the gay people that like hip hop to dance to. That’s it.”
The song and it's accompanying video have received it's fair share of criticism not only from heterosexuals, but also from the LGBT community, in addition to raising some new issues for the gay community.
Some believe that as an openly gay rapper, FYR should have seized the opportunity to release a song that fought against the stereotypes of gay men being overly sexual. One that would force the masculine world of Hip-Hop to open its' eyes to the talent that can be found within the homosexual world, instead of going for shock value--releasing a song dedicated to "boi pussy."
What's interesting is how contradictory the rapper's message is. When speaking on wanting to portray feminine men in a positive light, Fly Young Red's response was, "Yes I am [attracted to feminine guys], very much so. I’m attracted to feminine guys or sometimes masculine guys. It’s about the person, it’s about what they have going for themselves, their conversation, the connection. And that’s what I wanted to show."
So, how is a music video featuring faceless men gyrating to a pulsating beat, to a song where the primary message is "Throw That Boy Pussy," supporting any of these gentlemen's sense of self-worth? If anything it glorifies them for their physical attributes, as men whose value lays deep within the sheets of the tops they sleep with.
There are young black gay teens in their most impressionable years who are viewing his video. Just like young girls who grew up seeing Superhead, Vida Guerra, Melyssa Ford and other video vixens, these young men will get the impression that this is what it means to be gay. To be a sex object for a man…that this is all the gay community has to offer. They will get the impression that they have to reshape who they are to be in the gay community. They must choose to be fem or thug. That they must be defined by their sexual-preference, and if they are a bottom--they must be submissive.
While the rest of the world is just being introduced to this "new-objectification," this is nothing new for gay men who have been objectifying themselves for years, or who have been subjected to it.
Over the decades we have become increasingly obsessed with our appearance, with social media playing a role in raising narcissistic, online pseud--celebrities who place their worth on how many Facebook friends or Twitter/ Instagram followers they have. Fuck that.
In the gay community everything little imperfection seems to be magnified as we pick apart ourselves and others for some of the most superficial things. We focus so much on the bullshit, the false sense of self-worth that we often lose sight of us being more than just our physical beings.
Go on any dating site, create a search that includes only bottom and verse-bottom men, I guarantee that on every page of your results there will be one photo of a guy spreading his cheeks or at the very least, showing off his American Eagles.
These are the same men who get offended when a guy approaches them in a sexual manner. Why be shocked or upset when your marketing ploy for getting a man is your ass? You can't be that naive to think that you are going to find a good man by showing your fuck hole to every guy in the world. Do you really believe that a man who puts a ring on your finger is going to be okay with knowing that there are tons of photos of his husband nude, all over the internet on other men's laptops for them to jerk-off to at 3AM?
Do you think he's going to be okay with taking you out to a gay social gathering where almost every man in the room knows what your hole looks like? Are you looking forward to that awkward moment when you meet his friends and they all recognize you and your ass from the internet?
It is your right and there is nothing wrong with posting videos and photos of yourself on the internet (as you can see from the content displayed on this blog). However, before you post an image or clip of your ass, think about the consequences. Think about the message you will be sending and if that is aligned with what you want to convey. Take into consideration that once you release something to the internet, it is out there for forever. And just because one site takes down your photos, hundreds and thousands of other anonymous people have already "right-clicked" and saved your photos.
Don't make a post of you exposing yourself just to receive compliments from complete strangers as your self-esteem will continue to starve. Where there are compliments, there are also negative comments that will surely halt your mission of finding your sense of self-worth, if you are looking to others to define it for you.
It is these same attention seeking men who find underground doctors to perform illegal butt-injection procedures, risking their health and their lives just to attract a man who only thinks of them when he wants to bust a nut.
Back in 2012, Augusto Cesar Hernandez a 21 year-old dance teacher died after complications stemming from a silicone injection procedure meant to enlarge his buttocks. According to his family, Augusto felt as though his buttocks were "inadequate" forcing him to go to a friend of his to have his buttocks injected with the foreign substance.
Just hours after his injections Augusto began feeling intense pain. He soon was hospitalized after suffering from asphyxiation. The silicone had slowly began to enter into his blood stream, eventually reaching his lungs and killing the vibrant young dancer within a week after the procedure.
That same year porn star Hot Rod literally popped back onto the scene with a new set of cakes. It didn't take long for fans of the adult entertainer to begin buzzing about whether or not his buttocks were real or fake. In an interview Hot Rod continued to deny that he had any work done.
"I got my ass from Wal-Mart! That is my final answer! [pause]… My ass is not paid for. Things happen in life and people change. I’ve made dramatic body changes since I’ve started in the industry. I’ve gained 20 pounds overall. I don’t know why people just focus on that. [But] I love the assumptions."
The assumption that all you are worth is what you have to offer sexually.
It's weird how over the years gay men have taken on heterosexual roles without us even knowing.
Somewhere along our path to adulthood some of us were taught whether by nature or nurture, that our sense of worth is based on our ability to attract men. Tops want while bottoms want-to-be-wanted, wanted so bad that they will subject themselves to objectification and the consequences of such actions.
Sexual objectification can lead to so many life threatening consequences. Body shame, self-worth and life satisfaction, cognitive functioning, motor functioning, and eating disorders. Eating disorders in men have steadily been on the rise over the past decade, a 66-percent increase according to Britain's NHS. Some of this the result of a man objectifying himself, leading to him comparing himself to other men, feeling inadequate and willing to sleep with whomever, or do whatever he needs to in order to feel good about himself.
Have you ever noticed that on every flyer for a gay themed event, there is always some oiled-up, tatted-up, half dressed sex God? What's more interesting is that majority of the men on these flyers have no affiliation with the event and some of them are straight male models who wouldn't give party goers the time of day. But you better believe that there will be men flocking to any number of these events in the hopes of meeting men who live up to the standards of the model on the flyer.
When someone is sexually objectified, they are dehumanized. They are simply an object, a breathing sex-doll that is to be used for someone's pleasure no matter how sadistic their intentions may be. And as a bottom whether you objectify yourself or you let another man take upon that role, do you only want to be seen as an object?
Some of you who are reading this post may be looking around at the images and videos featured on this blog, wondering how Schone Seelen is not contributing to this "new-objectification." To some I may be doing so, but for those who truly follow this blog, they know that the real mission of this blog is to celebrate everything that we as gay black men are and that includes a healthy relationship with sexuality.
We can all look at Fly Young Red's gay anthem as a sign that we have finally arrived and that the playing field of heterosexuals and homosexuals has begun to level out. But all this song goes to show is that much like our heterosexual brothers and sisters, we too have a serious problem with objectification.
And if you are going to release the visual for a song about boy pussy, at least feature men who have hot cakes and not pancakes.
No comments:
Post a Comment