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Spring 2025
January 15
Tori Vilches, “Sex Sells: A Decolonial Analysis of Feminine Sexual Empowerment in the Women of Reggaetón”
PhD Public Lecture; Prof. Noriko Manabe, respondent
Click for abstract
Labelled as “cultural trash” because of its hypersexualized dancing, lyrics, and music videos, Reggaetón is a highly commercialized genre that has found immense success in recent decades (Negrón-Muntaner, 2009). Although, Hellín-García (2021) and Carballo Villagra (2006) have highlighted how women are not only used as symbols of social and financial capital but also dehumanized and viewed as animals to be hunted. Meave Ávila (2023), Díaz-Fernández (2021), and Martínez-González and García-Ramos (2024) have explored the recent shift in values of the genre to the “commercial opportunism” of inclusion, as seen in Bad Bunny’s “YO PERREO SOLA” (2020) and other quasi-feminist anthems. While Báez (2006), Goldman (2017), and Rivera-Rideau (2015) have discussed agency and sexual expression in Ivy Queen’s music, relatively little work has been published regarding more recent Reggaetoneras. Hoban (2021) and Robles Murillo (2021) have explored purplewashing (surface-level performative feminism) in Bad Bunny’s music, there’s been limited analysis of this concept in context of female artists. As Mulvey (1973) points out, women’s appearances in film are heavily coded with eroticism and their bodies serve the purpose of engaging the heterosexual male gaze. Similarly, in order for women to be successful in male-dominated fields they must adhere to a male-dominated agenda (Davies, 2001).
How do current Reggaetoneras navigate sexual expression, assert power, and reclaim narratives of female pleasure in a genre and perhaps even more broadly a world that commodifies women’s bodies for profit and heterosexual male satisfaction? Some have suggested that the genre of Reggaetón itself or its symbolic sexual dance, perreo, is a decolonial tool (Gentile Reyes, 2021). Others argue that queer artists use Reggaetón as a decolonial tool to interpret and navigate living under oppressive, hetero-normative systems (Pacheco Muñoz, 2023; López Castilla, 2018). This paper acts as critical commentary on commodification of women’s bodies, exploring the notion that “sex sells.” Instead of arguing the genre itself is a decolonial tool, using a decolonial lens, I shed light on how colonial values of capitalism, sexuality, and women as symbols of social status influence current artists in the genre. This lens acknowledges the embedded societal values imposed by colonialism while also exploring the ways that these values are reflected (or negated) in the music and performances of Reggaetoneras.
I analyze various performances by Karol G, Young Miko, and Chocolate Remix to show the varying approaches female artists take on feminist empowerment, to highlight how each artist is navigating, challenging and perhaps even at sometimes perpetuating colonial values through their lyrical, visual, and vocal performances. Karol G incorporates sexual pleasure in her lyrics and vocal timbre, emphasizing a powerful feminine experience that blends empowerment with marketable sensuality. Lesbian artist Young Miko subverts gender norms and provides space for queer narratives, though her performances often replicate elements of traditional machismo stereotypes. Through politically charged lyrics, Chocolate Remix uses Reggaetón as a tool for protest and homosexual pride, which can be unpalatable for mainstream commercial purposes. Using a decolonial lens, I critique the complexities of navigating empowerment within a genre that commodifies women’s bodies for profit. I examine the tension between resistance and perpetuation, questioning whether performances of empowerment in Reggaetón reinforce colonial and capitalist values or create meaningful spaces for feminist and queer agency.
More forthcoming.
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