As football season progresses, this means that the
biggest game of the year approaches as well. The Super Bowl. Whether you watch
this game for the family bonding time, the commercials, or actually for the joy
of watching football, everyone knows that the biggest contributor for the views
of the Super Bowl is the halftime show. This year it was announced that Justin
Timberlake will have the honor of headlining this event. With this announcement
comes with it the echoes of the infamous scandal that involved Timberlake and
Janet Jackson in 2004 when her breast was exposed to the entire world
accidently. The backlash of this event was catastrophic to say the least, but
what was more tragic was the fact that Janet Jackson caught most, if not all,
of the heat from this event. Many critics considered this a career ender for
Jackson. She was blacklisted from all music channels, her statue in Disneyworld
was removed, and she was disinvited from the Grammys the following week where
she was set to perform a tribute to Luther Van Ross. Timberlake however;
receive little to no backlash for his part in exposing Janet on stage. Not only
did he attend the Grammys, but he also performed and received awards that night
as well. This event highlights exactly what white male privilege entails.
Because Jackson was a woman, not to mention a black woman, she was blamed for
the event. People sneering that she should’ve known better, or even that she
set this incident on purpose for publicity. Not the fact that Timberlake pulled
on her costume too hard, or should’ve stepped up more publicly to take some of
the blame. How would this situation be different if the races where reversed
and if Janet was white and Justin were black? How much of the blame would then
be on Justin, and how much sympathy would then Janet have gotten? If the races
were reversed the media would have pictured Justin as a black oversexualized
beast who was too aggressive and couldn’t control himself, or even that Justin exposed
Janet on purpose so that HE could get publicity. This event was extremely
taxing to Janet’s career and public image, even though this was completely accidental.
However; for the media to lay the brunt of the blame on Janet when Justin
pulled too hard on her custom is showing the privilege that Justin, like many
have, as a white male. To be able to cause something that could ruin a career
and walk away from it not only unaffected, but also awarded by winning several Grammys the next week shows the power of the white male in American Society.
Janet is victimized for the actions of Justin, and took all the consequences
that came along with it.
WC:464
WC:464
You hit the nail on the head; if Justin Timberlake was black and Janet Jackson white, the situation would have been much different. Taking into account America's long history of depicting black men as over-sexual, animalistic, and aggressive, if Janet was white and JT black, he would have been crucified by the media and the American public at large who would have portrayed him as a sexual predator through the evocation of a thinly veiled version of the "black man raping innocent white woman" trope. This reminds me of the reaction to Beyonce's un-apologetic celebration of blackness during her 2016 Super Bowl performance, which led to a mass white-lash of people complaining that she was being 'too controversial and political.'
ReplyDeleteYou guys are absolutely right about how privilege and race played roles in who received what kind of backlash. I was actually blissfully unaware that this had even happened, so against my better judgement I watched the performance on YouTube. One thing that struck me was the irony within the lyrics of both of their songs, relating back to the black-man-raping-innocent-white-woman trope. Janets lyrics are about a new generation full of hope and against fear. When Justin comes on, its all about sex and being in the club. When the moment came and Timberlake pulled Jackson’s costume down, he had just finished oh-so-unironically saying, “Imma have you naked / by the end of this song,” and then we were looking at a breast. Not only did his pulling look intentional (accidental as it may have been), but his stage persona in that number was hypersexual. If he had been a black male, he definitely would have been crucified by the media. It boggles the mind that Janet Jackson got most of the heat for this incident; literally none of what happened was her fault. If only our generation had as much hope and lack of fear as Jackson had been singing about, maybe we could actually put the blame where it belongs, or who knows, even stop losing our minds over a breast.
ReplyDeleteI think y'all are making some really good points getting towards one of the central issues of this situation: the hyper sexualization of black, female bodies. Historically, black bodies have been hyper sexualized by white society as part of the commodification of black humanity. Moreover, white society looks at black femininity as a sexual object to be exploited. Take Josephine Baker for example. Her dancing courted the dominant stereotypes of black women as erotically exotic
ReplyDeletebecause those were the bounds that white society placed on her. More than just her though, the hyper sexual stereotypes lead to an exaggeration of feminine features for black people, giving them bigger libs, breasts, and butts. These forces were definitely in play with the super bowl incident because as a black woman, Janet Jackson is inherently sexualized by white society. The ripping of her costume is influenced by the hyper-sexualization of black womanhood, and the blame is placed on her because black women are so highly sexualized in white society.
This is a super interesting point to bring up. I had not thought about this incident in that way and did not know the backstory. I think there is a gendered dynamic to this situation as well, apart from race. The female body has become increasingly policed by the mass media we consume (i.e. Instragram doesn't allow pictures of female nipples), despite our so-called post-racial, post-sexist society. The continued fear and need to suppress female sexuality only adds to the dangers of anti-sex positive communities. Sexual conservatism, particularly when it comes to female sexuality, harshly inhibits our progression as a society towards the inclusions and acceptance of all types identities and physical appearances. In the case of Janet Jackson, if Justin Timberlake had taken his shirt off on live TV, it can almost be guaranteed there would be no social backlash. Male bodies are featured in all forms on national television without censorship. This instance was the specific targeting of the female body and the televised presence of female sexuality.
ReplyDeleteI believe you explained this perfectly Brian. The effect of privilege due to race in today's world can play as a major catalyst in the way that result of different situations turn out. It is sad that the world has to come to this stage, because it is a barrier for minorities are equivalent or sometimes even better than whites at what they do. As shown in this situation with Janet Jackson, privilege due to race has the ability to make someone's life do a complete 360. Performing at the Super Bowl in 2004 was something that I am sure Janet Jackson was looking forward to as one of the most exciting times of her life. Like you stated, it is an honor to be selected to partake in something of this magnitude, and for this situation to take place killed off all of that happiness. Matters were made increasingly worse in my mind due to two things. The first being that this took place during halftime ofthe Super Bowl which may be one the most viewed events that is televised during the calendar year. This made it rather easy for the media to get a hold of it and spread it like wildfire all across the world. The second was that Janet Jackson received no backup from Justin Timberlake to clarify the situation and put all of the talk to a stop.
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