The performance is an audition to become a pop star. I start the performance by singing the song I performed as a child for a singing competition audition. Afterwards, I realize they're bored and take my clothes off to perform pop songs by women artists of color. At the end of the performance, I distribute contracts for the audience to sign, symbolizing their agreement to sign me as an artist.
My performance raises the question of whether pop culture is a medium of exploitation or empowerment for women, particularly women of color. The intention is to highlight the power dynamics and the normalization of hypersexuality in the music industry, specifically regarding female pop singers of color. For example, in Shakira's song "She Wolf":
A domesticated girl that's all you ask of me.
My body's craving, so feed the hungry
I've been devoting myself to you
Monday to Monday and Friday to Friday
I'm starting to feel just a little abused
like a coffee machine in an office
These lyrics depict Latina women as domesticated and submissive, allowing themselves to be mistreated because they enjoy their sexuality. I believe there is a fine line between exploitation and empowerment, and the distinction lies in whether the sole objective of a woman's sexual liberation serves to satisfy a man rather than herself.
Everyone in the audience showed more interest in the performance during the second part because it is considered normal to enjoy hypersexualized performances by women of color in pop culture. I believe that it's not the artists who truly want to be portrayed that way, but in the pop industry, it's the only way to succeed, especially for women of color.
Black women suffer the most because historically, they were raped and enslaved by white men. When these men arrived in Africa and saw that Africans dressed seminude, they believed it was evidence that African women were promiscuous Jezebels. This archetype was created and still survives today. Further concerning lyrics can be found in "Love the way you lie" by Rihanna and Eminem:
Just gonna stand there and watch me burn.
But that's alright, because I like the way it hurts.
While she waits for him to say he'll kill her.
I started actively exploring my sexuality as a way to rebel against the conservative norms of the society in which I grew up. However, I soon realized that this behavior did not fulfill me. I satisfied men without satisfying myself. Being a woman of color, I feel that throughout my life, especially with white men, I have been seen as a sexual object. I never questioned my own hypersexuality, but now I believe that many of the things I have done may be the result of a desire for empowerment inspired by movies, TV shows, and music videos of this pop culture. For this performance, I drew inspiration from my own life, from pop artists I am familiar with (especially POC), and from ORLAN's performance titled "The Artist's Kiss."
