WMST 202B
Professor Levy
February 4, 2010
Artistic Raunch Culture: STILL Raunch Culture
The Grammy Awards show is arguably the biggest night in pop music, in which contemporary musicians receive awards for their achievements and enjoy performances. On January 31, 2010, contemporary pop culture icon P!nk (pronounced as 'pink') performed her song “Glitter in the Air” off her Funhouse album. The artist has achieved tremendous commercial success and is most famous for her punchy, emotive lyrics and in-your-face style attitude (see below).
http://www.insidesocal.com/tomhoffarth/archives/pink-cigarette-5001139.jpg
As a symbol of what Levy classifies as 'raunch culture,' P!nk is typically clad in short, tight, 'punk' style outfits, exuding an image of simultaneous femininity and toughness. This contradiction is in part what Levy means when she describes raunch culture as a way for women to embrace their sexuality and independence on their own terms. P!nk challenges ordinary conceptions of what it means to be feminine through her lyrics, music videos, clothes, and her relationship with men, as she proposed to her current husband, motocross racer Carey Hart. Though her Grammy performance this year was a departure from her typical style, the way in which she chose to portray her song and dance is consistent with her reputation as a product of raunch culture.
The singer, songwriter, dancer and producer emerges on the stage cloaked in a white, floor length cloak. A vision of purity, she sings to only a piano and guitar rift accompaniment, so the music suits the tone of the performance. Yet as the drum beat enters and she sings the lyrics, "have you ever let a stranger come inside," she removes her cloak to reveal a nude body suit, adorned with glitter, covering her private parts with white straps across her body. P!nk then sits on a cloth that connects her to a globe of Cirque de Soleil acrobats, and together they ascend above the crowd. She sings while suspended in this white hammock, proving her vocal talents and athletic ability, moving her legs like that of an acrobat. P!nk is thendipped into a pool of water and rises again, sprinkling the audience with her wetness as she spins and sings.
http://www.nj.com/entertainment/celebrities/index.ssf/2010/01/pinks_grammy_performance_up_in.html
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http://beat.bodoglife.com/entertainment/pinks-stunning-grammy-performance-54180.html
The performance literally brought tears to my eyes. It was so beautifully constructed, so artistic in nature, that I could not believe such an act had come from the artist herself. On stage, P!nk was graceful and delicate, a heavenly vision in white. Her acrobatic feats displayed her strength of body and of voice, connecting the audience with her saturation. But don't take my word for it; see for yourself:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BknDYi-IQ4
Can this be the same raunchy P!nk seen in the first image? This act of art is so far from what Levy constitutes as raunchy that it is hard to believe. Yet perhaps Levy's definition of what is raunch is too limited. Need women be displayed on a centerfold to be considered a product of raunch culture? Must they be dancing topless for cameras on their spring break? Attending CAKE parties, publicly wearing thongs, kissing other women in front of men? Certainly not. For I feel that P!nk's performance, though light and gentle as compared to her other more aggressive acts, is also a product of raunch culture. No, she is not on her knees, mud-wrestling in a bikini, nor is she exploiting herself in the name of all that is sexual. Yet the very performance that portrays her as a graceful artist also serves to embody the raunch culture in which we live. Think about it. P!nk is wearing sky high heels and a nude body suit. She is suspended above the heads of the crowd as something to look at. She is wet and touching herself. In this way, P!nk performs as an object, as a woman with a nice, wet body, instead of as a talented vocalist.
P!ink's "Glitter in the Air" performance is a gorgeous work of art. She both challenges and adheres to contemporary conceptions of femininity. Her body is not that of a typical ballet dancer or Cirque de Soleil acrobat, with a certain figure, body shape and breast size. Yet she portrays a sexy, wet, contemporary pop-culture vision of female sexuality. Levy’s argument, then, is too narrowly focused. She does not entertain the grey areas in which women like P!nk live; in which women like all of us live. A woman can be a sex icon with a fiery attitude, and she can be graceful and artistic. Women today need not choose to be one or the other. Part of the freedom the third wave allows women today is the freedom to be who we are, be it racy or delicate or both. We can embody those typical characteristics of women of the past, or of today's new raunch culture. Or we can, and are, creating a new status quo, a new conception of what it means to be a woman. P!nk's performance of art in action shows us that we can have it both ways.
http://blog.singersroom.com/celebs/?p=9606
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