Welcome to another Feminist Friday column! That time of the week where we fangirl over our fave feminist videos, and this week we’re heading into the weekend jamming out to some new tracks from artists whose music is certainly putting us in an empowering mood.
First up is feminist rapper Brandie Blaze, whose music video for ‘Model’ is giving us some serious body positivity vibes. It premiered exclusively on WBUR.org’s The ARTery column, which highlights New England-based musicians. The single is off Brandie’s sophomore album ‘Late Bloomer’, and everything about the track and the music video promotes embracing body diversity and not bowing to the standards forced upon us by society.
“I really am about ownership of my body and ownership of my sexuality, especially as a plus-sized black woman. The way that we’re portrayed in media a lot of times is kind of like, you know, the sassy, asexual best friend that never has a love interest. And I definitely want to play against that type,” Brandie told WBUR’s Amelia Mason. She also adds that as a rape survivor, it is important for her to have control over her body and what she chooses to display in the world. Watch the empowering video below:
The second video this week is the audio track to Australia rapper Iggy Azalea’s new song ‘The Girls’, featuring Brazilian drag sensation Pabllo Vittar. The song is the latest track from Iggy’s brand new EP, Wicked Lips.
“It’s the girls against the world these days,” the drag superstar sings. “But all the girls, all the girls, all the girls gonna be okay.”
As GayTimes.co.uk reports, Pabllo is considered a “beacon of hope for Brazil’s queer community” right now. Brazil currently has an openly homophobic president and the highest-recorded murder rate of LGBTQ people in the world. GayTimes also reports that Pabllo has “the largest social media following of any drag queen in the world, received over one billion views on YouTube, and became the first drag artist to win an MTV Award at the 2019 EMAs.”
Iggy has a track record of working with drag performers in her music and videos: her video for ‘Sally Walker’ featured ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ stars Vanessa Vanjie Matteo, Shea Coulee Mayhem Miller, while her video for ‘Started’ saw an appearance from Trixie Mattel. We can’t wait to see the music video for ‘The Girls’, but in the meantime listen to the female empowerment anthem below:
The final video this week comes from emerging artist Frida Farrell, whose track ‘You Can’t Hurt Me No More’ also serves as the title track to her independent film, ‘Apartment 407’. While the film is the true story of the events that changed her life, the song is the aftermath of that tragic story. In this case, Farrell’s experience surviving sex trafficking. The video is an emotional look at the harrowing experience that changed her life, featuring gut-wrenching flashbacks pulled from the film itself.
Each flashback is a disturbing glimpse into the darkness she had to endure. Juxtaposed between this tragic and painful ordeal, you see Farrell begin to rise from the ashes of her past through strength and determination. On this heartbreaking ballad about moving forward after the worst happens, Farrell is a beacon of hope for other survivors, that they too can come out on the other side stronger than they were before. Her film, Apartment 407, is available now on Amazon Prime, iTunes and Youtube alongside her music video for “You Can’t Hurt Me No More,” which is out now.
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