Name: Why we must stop dancing to the sound of our own oppression | Madame Gandhi
Uploaded: 2020-10-30T18:40:21.000Z
Duration: 6 min 4 s
Description: Thousands of YouTube videos with English-Chinese subtitles! Now you can learn to understand native speakers, expand your vocabulary, and improve your pronunciation...

or, really, anywhere that plays music in the background,

And then I take a second to listen to the lyrics,

lyrics that, for example, place us in a position of subservience

that we would never tolerate in any other context.

And I'm aghast at the degree to which we normalize sexism in our culture.

I don't want to have to turn up to the sound of my own oppression.

You know, music is one of the most powerful forms of communication,

because it has the potential to either uplift or oppress.

Music caters to the emotions. Music caters to the soul.

It opens up our channels to receive information

And while I have no problem with male fantasy,

is that, according to a recent study, only 2.6 percent of all music producers

That means an even smaller percentage identify as trans or gender nonconforming.

Because, if we don't own and control our own narrative,

somebody else will tell our stories for us,

perpetuating the very myths that hold us back.

And I'm not here to tell other people how to make their music.

But I am here to provide and design the alternative.

is making uplifting, energetic, percussive global beats

that genuinely describe my life's experiences

without contributing to the oppression of anybody else.

as to why we excuse so many problematic lyrics;

it's because we love how the beats make us feel.

An example of this is my song "Top Knot Turn Up."

(Sings) I turned off my phone's notifications so I have more time /

No bubbles to trouble my clear state of mind /

One thing to know,  I'm not here to please /

When I'm productive like my ovaries,  eyy! /

Give a grown girl room to breathe, basic rights and her liberty /

Free from insecurity that the world's projecting onto me /

Please do not trouble me when I am focused /

The future is female you already know this /

I'm fighting against the corruption on SCOTUS /

Turned up in my top knot since when I first wrote this /

It's a top knot turn up It's a top knot turn up, turn up, turn up.

It's a top knot turn up It's a top knot turn up, eyyy.

I want us to keep making sex-positive, beautiful music

multidimensional aspects of our human existence,

rather than perform false narratives of degrading sexuality

And another strategy that I take in my music

to combat the misogyny that exists on the airwaves

is to visually depict the very world I wished we lived in.

In the music video for my song "See Me Thru,"

which is like a vibe-y, queer electronic R and B song,

I cast two of my dear friends, Ania and Dejha,

to play the role of the lovers, because they're married in real life.

But what you don't know is that they also are behind the camera

concepting and directing the entire video.

(Video) Heyyyyy ohhhh My emotions were tired

Music should be safe  and accessible for all to experience.

As you can see, it's not about losing the sex appeal or swag

it's about writing messages that infuse tenderness and positivity

into music that motivates us and challenges us.

And while we as musicians absolutely have the responsibility

the consumers can be part of the change, too.

Firstly, we get to choose which songs we want to mute

We get to say, "I respect myself enough to say I don't want to listen to this,

and I don't want this to be in anybody else's space, either."

contribute to the oppression of somebody else?

And finally, we can all be choosing to make playlists or DJ-ing music

that provides the right vibe or mood that we're looking for in that moment

Because it's teaching algorithms in our streaming systems and our world

exactly what it is that we do want to listen to,

creating long-term change and a feedbacking mechanism

Subtitles ListPlay Video

Why we must stop dancing to the sound of our own oppression | Madame Gandhi

vulnerable

authentic

entire

context