BB Sexuality Group Podcast

This podcast episode discusses Bad Bunny's representations of sexuality in reggaeton and their implications for the genre and resistance. The students discuss Bad Bunny's relationship with Kendall Jenner and how it goes against his beliefs. They also talk about Bad Bunny's fluid sexuality and his rejection of heteronormativity. They mention the influence of artists like Evie Queen in opening up conversations about women's sexuality and resisting societal norms. They highlight the importance of reclaiming and decolonizing sexuality in the context of Puerto Rico's history. The discussion also touches on the policing of reggaeton and the impact of race and gender on the perception of sexuality. Welcome to Chief Machete, a podcast about reggaeton. This week we will be discussing sexuality within reggaeton, focusing on Bad Bunny's representations of sexuality and its implications for the genre and broader forms of resistance. We're a group of students from the first Bad Bunny and Resistance in Puerto Rico class at LMU taught by Professor Diaz. I'm Alexa. I'm Raquel. I'm Anna-Maria. I'm Mikayla. So, to start off the chisme, since I know we're all dying to talk about it, what do we think about Bad Bunny and Kendall Jenner? How do they even have a conversation is my first question. I think that's just the biggest concern that I have, first of all. How to be a fly on that wall. I don't necessarily think they're talking a lot, but I don't want to answer that question. It's just annoying, but can you really pinpoint why? It just feels like a little... Like yes, he's a man and everything, but he's... This would be an excuse. I know! Yes, he's a man, but at the same time, he's said things in his lyrics about how, like, oh, todos quieres ser latinos, pero les falta razón. And then all of a sudden, he's with a girl that believes that both of them are. And also has a culturally appropriated... Tequila brand. Like, come on. Are you kidding me? A whole family. A whole representation of her family. I think he could have dated anyone else in the world and nobody would really... Someone would be upset, but to date someone that totally goes against what you believe in, and what he's blatantly said that he believes in, it almost makes him seem like a phony. Like, I'm sorry. I'm not trying to be a devil's advocate here, but we are all products of our environment. European beauty standards are a thing. She is one of the top models in the world. And again, it doesn't justify it, but he is a man. I feel like Bad Bunny is going to, you know, do as he wants. Like, he reminds us. But what do we think that says about his sexuality as a whole? Well, when I think of Bad Bunny and his sexuality, I don't only think of Kendall Jenner, but I also think about, like, how he plays with gender expression and his sexual expression, and how that's been in the news a lot, and kind of a topic of conversation in a way. And it hasn't really been for another male celebrity other than, like, Harry Styles. Like, the way that he dresses or paints his nails, it's kind of, like, all looked at in, like, a different lens. Just, like, obviously, like, Harry Styles, but not to bring him up. But, you know, he just represents, like, a broader culture, I think. Yeah. No, I definitely agree with that. And I think he does a lot of good work by rejecting heteronormativity, through especially, like, his refusal to label his sexuality. There was an interview with the LA Times where he expressed that he identifies as heterosexual, but doesn't really rule out being with a man in the future. I'm pretty sure he said something along the lines that, like, I don't know if I'll like a man in 20 years. No one ever knows in life. But in the moment, I'm heterosexual, and I like women. And so he's pretty open about his sexuality having a certain fluidity. And I think that really rejects the common image that reggaeton produces. Because reggaeton, you know, it's a space really dominated by males, kind of asserting their dominance over women in the industry, and through, like, perreo, as we've seen. And so, yeah, I just think that Bunny's kind of encouraging people to embody who they are, his positionality being one of the most successful artists in the world right now, without labeling his sexuality, I think, does a lot to resist heteronormative systems. I mean, yeah, people should be able to, like, no matter who they are, should dress how they want, like, who they want, do what they want, without having to put a label on that. And I think we have to remember that putting labels on things is a very Western approach to sexuality. Yeah, like, coming out is such a Western concept. And, you know, it's not really something that's viable for a lot of people, or something that should be, like, accepted as a norm. Like, straight people don't come out. Right. You know? Why should queer people have to be expected to come out in order to, or why should anyone have to be expected to come out in order to express themselves? Right. Like, the normal shouldn't be like, oh, I'm straight, I'm not going to say anything. Like, why is that? Just, like, you don't have to come out if you're straight already. Yeah. That makes sense. And, like, reintegrates the regular norm that we have. Yes. And, like, speaking of, like, coming out and everything, like, the way that people have, like, kind of accused him, like, by many of queerbaiting for, like, his expression, just feels like, again, reinforcing, like, this sort of, I guess, binary of expression. Because he's a man and he can't express himself, you know, more femininely. Suddenly, if he does, you know, he's gay, or he's bi, or he's queerbaiting, which is just like, no, what if he just wants to wear those outfits? What if he just wants to paint his nails? What if he wants to sometimes represent himself as a woman? You know, that shouldn't be something that's, like, necessitates having to come out in order for him to do so. Right. Yeah. There was a lot of queerbaiting claims going on during his 2022 VMA performance, where I'm pretty sure, I mean, a bunch of us have seen, he kissed a male on stage. And so. And for who? Yeah. I mean, there were, like, posts online saying that. That was the first kiss, right, like, ever, like, on stage, was that a male? I, there's also a movie where he kissed a man, his, like, first appearance in a movie. The Time article that recently came out talked about it, but I'm not sure what year that was in. But we do know that he's kissed two males publicly. Right. Not that we're counting. Not that we're counting. It shouldn't even matter. Another one of his tattoos. Yeah. Like, I don't know. I just feel like, again, it's like this whole refusal to conform to boxes that society likes to categorize us in, which can be really dangerous. And I feel like that really aligns with, like, refusing to do this aligns with, like, the messages of his work. And, again, embracing our own unique identities, regardless of what broader society tells us, which I think is really powerful in our time. And he also, like, just strays from, like, the Tita culture in general, like, just hyper-masculinity, like, over-sexualization of women within, like, the culture as a whole and in the genre. I think he just kind of, like, strays from that and, like, opens the genre to, like, a different, like, broader audience. So, you know. Yeah, I just feel like, especially since, like, you know, I feel like people don't really get the risk that he is taking. You know, people think that he's just doing this just to attract an audience. But, in fact, he's alienating an audience by choosing to take these risks. Because I think that, you know, clearly through his activism, you know, both on and off stage, I feel like he does care somewhat if he's willing to take this risk in order to perform the way that he does, to include the people that he does within his work. Everything's so intentional that he does. Yeah. And it's very apparent. I mean, he literally brought transgender artists on stage. You know, clearly, like, that says something. He's endorsing these artists and propping them up with the platform that he has. Like, he has, like, his position, you know, and what he's doing with it is so powerful for queer youth that are watching him. Yeah. And feeling represented by him and the artists that he props up. You know, he's introducing to, like, his already big audience. How do you think the reception to his, like, sexual and gender expression is, like, different from that of, like, Harry Styles? Do you think there's any kind of, like, difference in, like, the audience of Reggaeton and how that would affect it? I think that there is, like, a big difference because, like, I mean, again, I'm not too familiar with Harry Styles. So I wouldn't, like, preface that. But, you know, Bad Bunny is primarily gearing, like, towards a Latin American, specifically Puerto Rican audience. He made that clear in his Coachella performance, you know. He's made that clear multiple times that he's singing for the people of Puerto Rico, you know. And we know that in Latin America, there's, like, a very, there's very, like, there's these norms of, like, you know, heteronormativity, you know, patriarchal norms about how men should act. Yeah. Machismo. Machismo culture. Proxy masculinity. Proxy masculinity. Yeah. And so I feel that, you know, Harry Styles' audience, again, I'm not sure the makeup of his audience. But I do know that Bad Bunny, like, in comparison to a lot of, like, white artists, is taking more of a risk. And is, like, you know, not only that, like, is, like, showing a different representation that we're not, that us Latino youth have not seen that often. We haven't seen that many queer Latino artists. We've seen, like, there's only, like, a handful, you know, that we've seen. And it's really powerful when we see, you know, more Latino artists, you know, experiment with their presentation and include queer artists, you know, within their performances. Because it's just, at least in my experience, you know, I haven't seen that much of it, that much. And, like, not only that, he's bringing this to the mainstream and, like, crossing over, you know, to the United States. Well, technically not crossing over, but you know what I mean. He's, like, the biggest artist in the world. Like, it's just really powerful. Okay. So then how do we feel about Evie Queen? What kind of space did she carve then for the entire genre as a whole? Because I feel like that's a big, like, a major person that really opened, like, a space for either Bad Bunny to be as big as he is. You know? Yeah. I think she opened up a conversation about the complexity of women's sexuality. And specifically, like, he listed her as an influence for him. And I think we can see that in the way that his lyrics kind of discuss women's sexuality. And just the kind of, like, Madonna board dichotomy and how you don't have to fall into that necessarily. But I think he's kind of continuing that conversation that artists like Evie Queen have started. I mean, we wouldn't have Yo Pero Sona without Yo Quiero Bailar. Yes. A hundred percent. Like, you know, there was really a need, especially at that time when it was so male-dominated. Like, there's always been, like, female reggaeton artists. You know, we got Rico C. We got, you know, of course, like, Evie Queen. But Evie Queen and, like, these early female reggaeton artists, you know, they really had to, like, kind of push into the space. And really, like, kind of, you know, defend their sexuality. And say, like, you know, oh, you know, I want to dance and everything. I don't want to have to—I don't have to, you know, go to bed. Like, he was, like, kind of expressing, like, how, you know, fight back against the sexualization of them. She was, like, under, like, a microscope, like, all the time. Like, what she was wearing. Was she wearing something? Oh, she's dressing baggy. Why is she dressing like a boy? Like, she's wearing too much clo—or not enough clothes. Like, she's over-sexualizing herself. And it's just, like, always constantly being looked at. And I think that is something that kind of, like, taught us, like, okay, look. I can do what I want with my body. Like, you can't really tell me what I can and can't do. Yeah. Yeah. And I think there is, like, a lot of, like, over-critiquing women of color specifically on their sexuality. Like, historically, that has always been the case. And, like, Bad Bunny even, like, talks about that. And, like, Andrea, when they said, like, oh, you're always being criticized about, like, knowing who she is, really. Yeah. And, like, the policing of, like, women of color have, like, been there, like, since, like, the founding narrative of Puerto Rico, you know? And so, you know, ever since, like, the founding narrative, like, the conquistadores, they kind of turned to black women specifically, you know, for sex because there was no Spanish woman and no more indigenous woman. And so, you know, ever since the founding narrative, you know, women of color specifically, like, black women have been so tied to sexuality. And so it's, like, really powerful when we see women kind of fight back against this narrative and kind of assert their sexuality, whether that is to sexualize themselves or to, like, not sexualize themselves, you know? Yeah, definitely. I feel like the policing of reggaeton, especially, like, that has historically happened in Puerto Rico, like, we've seen, like, through Mano Dura, Contra el Crimen, and what was the other one? Just, like, the attempt to, like, censor the genre and, like, raids. And I just feel like it's, again, another way to police communities of color because it's, in a way, I believe it's seen as a threat since we know, like, reggaeton stemmed as a response. And it's kind of like a platform for resistance for low-income communities of color that had, like, that were targeted by government policies that had a really negative impact. Yeah, especially since, like, clearly, like, this, like, this idea of reggaeton and, like, perreo as, like, a threat wasn't really seen as a threat until it started, until upper middle class, you know, whiter kids were enjoying the genre. Now, suddenly, we need to protect our children because it's become more mainstream. Since, like, protect them from what? Yeah, protect them from what? Exactly. Because I think there is, like, this history of, like, sexuality and sexual activity being viewed differently based on your race and your gender, of course. And even, like, in, within Puerto Rico, it's, like, mestizo sexuality was, like, more tied to Puerto Rican identity and more seen positively through sensuality of, like, Latinx people versus, like, when it's connected with lower-income and blacker communities. It's, like, seen as more, like, primitive and, like, I don't even know, just, like, in a bad connotation. Yeah, and even when people would try to, like, at the time, like, when it was, like, the censorship during, like, the early 2000s, I think, and people tried to, like, defend, you know, reggaeton and everything, they still, like, kind of reinforced these sort of ideals, these sort of ideologies of, like, sex, sexuality with blackness. And so, like, really, like, these discussions are so tied to, like, these, to racialization of black women, and it's, like... Yeah, which ties back to, like, early days of colonialism. It's, like, basically all coloniality. Like, these discussions are all the effects. Like, people should really, like, be aware of, like, when they talk about sexuality, it is so tied to colonialism and racism and to kind of, like, unlearn what we think we know about sexuality, female sexuality, because so much of it is based on controlling black and brown bodies. Yeah, and, like, the sexualization of black and brown women was specifically to justify the sexual violence that was, like, inflicted upon them by their colonizers. The more you know, right? Yeah, and that's why I feel like it's so important, the work that, you know, artists like Bad Bunny and Evie Queen have done, because it's kind of like the celebration of sexuality. I mean, you see Evie Queen's, like, Yo Quiero Bailar, and then Bad Bunny and Caro, and Dressing in Drag, and, like, refusing to put a label onto his sexuality. It's so important because it is a means of decolonization. And that's why, like, reclamation of sexuality has become such an important part of the 2019 protests against Ricky Rosselló, because those protests at its core were very much, like, surrounding decolonization. You know, the reason why, you know, black feminists and queer people were at the forefront of the movement was because they wanted this new future of Puerto Rico to be without those founding narratives of race and sexuality. They wanted the new Puerto Rico to be inclusive of all Puerto Ricans. And that's why, that's why sexuality was greatly, like, reclaimed and weaponized against the colonizers, against the government, you know, of Puerto Rico, because, you know, sin guerrero intensivo, no hay religión. No hay religión. No hay religión. No hay religión. No hay religión. No hay religión. No hay religión. No hay religión. No hay religión. No hay religión. No hay religión. No hay religión. No hay religión. No hay religión. No hay religión. No hay religión. No hay religión. No hay religión. No hay religión. No hay religión. No hay religión. No hay religión. No hay religión. No hay religión. No hay religión. No hay religión. No hay religión. No hay religión. No hay religión. No hay religión.