Experimental icon Arca brings a new stirring audiovisual experience with “Nonbinary.” In the new music video, she appears as a butterfly laden bon vivant, a pregnant woman with animatronic nurses, and the goddess Venus within her clamshell. Addressing sex and gender issues quite bluntly, the sparse electronic song contains provocative lyrics such as “It’s French tips wrapped around a dick / Do you want a taste?” The vocals are delivered in a confrontational rapping style that matches the amelodic electronics. At the end of the video, we see two versions of Arca arguing with one another with flames rising all around them. This striking image paints a picture of the conflict between masculinity and femininity that many nonbinary people face. This is particularly notable given the dearth of music that addresses nonbinary identity. As always with Arca, it will be exciting to see what is next to come from her.
Tag: Trans
Bad Bunny – “Yo Perreo Sola”
Bad Bunny’s “Yo Perreo Sola” was needed in so many ways right now. Firstly, it serves as a PSA teaching all those in quarantine that you don’t need another person to get your grind on. Secondly, Bad Bunny has brought some badly needed gender non-conforming visibility to the Billboard Hot 100 level of mainstream as well as reggaeton culture. And thirdly, it ends with a strong statement around sexual consent.
In this wild video, Bad Bunny performs in multiple drag (or just femme) outfits while grinding alone. He then shows off his subby side, subjecting himself to the multiple chains of enthroned women while he is stripped down to a skirt. Bad Bunny already made a huge public statement of trans solidarity earlier this year when he wore a shirt on the The Tonight Show that said, “Mataron a Alexa, no un hombre en un falda,” or, “They killed Alexa, not a man in a skirt.” This shirt refers to Puerto Rican trans woman Alexa Luciano, who was recently murdered after having just been harassed by police the day before in a viral video.
With his TV appearance and this music video, Bad Bunny is showing trans solidarity in a braver way than almost any worldwide pop star I can think of. As mentioned earlier, the video ends with a powerful statement on sexual consent: “SI NO QUIERE BAILAR CONTIGO, RESPETA, ELLA PERREA SOLA,” or, “If she doesn’t want to dance with you, respect her, she grinds alone.” Here’s hoping this song will make you want to grind alone as well, or at least with 6 feet distance.
Freeing Music 