#Rihanna work explicit full#

The kind of autonomy on display in RihannaвЂ™s videos embodies a female-ness that rejects this. Not only does this perpetuate out-dated understandings of both genders, it also reinforces a binary model that refuses to place gender on aВ spectrum. The definition of one depends singularly on our constructed understanding of the other. The borders of masculinity are defined by the lack of femininity.

Men are men, specifically because theyвЂ™re not women. So part of deconstructing patriarchy involves us interrogating the self-consolidating patterns that the gender binary depends on in order to exist. Autonomy is about your bodyвЂ™s physical agency and the way you see yourself, andВ itвЂ™s also about having the right to define all those things for yourself,В without anyone elseвЂ™s input or involvement.Д«ut in order forВ patriarchy to work, no one can beВ allowed space to develop any understanding of gender that isnвЂ™t specifically related to masculinity. We still need to talk about autonomy as it relates to consent, for example, but autonomy also involves a womanвЂ™sВ right to take up space, and the ability to manipulate the boundaries of that space at her whim. Instead, itвЂ™s also worth focusing onВ the kind of autonomy that Rihanna demonstrates in this video, one that isВ more complicated thanВ the traditional, mainstream and flattened dialogue around choice. But ehвЂ¦Rihanna and DrakeвЂ™s chemistry was the least interesting part of either video. Drake does get up for his verse, of course, and the two do interact with each other a few times. Rih spends most of the video dancing and singing while Drake remains largely inconspicuous in the background, trying his best to look unaffected and frequently failing. The second video is much more stripped down-itвЂ™s just Rihanna and Drake in a pink-lit room. The rest of the song is basically all the best parts of a West Indian fГЄte sans tourists. As the beat drops, the camera pans over Rih whining in front of a mirror in the middle of the restaurant-turned-dance floor. The first video opens with Rihanna, clad in a pink, hooded fur coat, walking into a West Indian restaurant.

#Rihanna work explicit full#

Both videos for вЂњWorkвЂќ put her agency on full display. One of the many reasons I love/adore/volunteer my edges to Rihanna is because of the kind of female autonomy she represents and effortlessly demonstrates. In the midst of aВ welcome flurry of new singles, videos, entire albums (Frank, come on, fam) and stunning performances, Monday saw the release of both of RihannaвЂ™s music videos for her rhythmic iffiancehall single, Work. February has been a jam-packed month for Black musical artists.