Lana Del Ray's Call for Equality

Opinion

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Lana Del Rey posted a lengthy paragraph on Instagram on May 21st, titled Questions for the Culture. 

The post soon became controversial as Lana name-checked several female artists, including Doja Cat, Ariana Grande, Camila Cabello, Cardi B, Kehlani, Nicki Minaj, and Beyoncé, for creating number one songs about “being sexy, wearing no clothes, fucking, cheating." Lana furthered with the desire for freedom of expression without judgment or criticism. She questioned in her post: "Can I please go back to singing about being embodied, feeling beautiful by being in love even if the relationship is not perfect, or dancing for money, or whatever I want – without being crucified or saying that I'm glamorizing abuse?" 

In the span of a few days, the 34-year-old singer was being condemned, or shall I say, castigated by the public for lashing out at other artists, the most controversial issue being on the matter of race.

Indeed, it might not be a fantastic idea to 'tear down' other artists to underscore her own relationship challenges. However, in my opinion regarding the accusations of racism, I truly believe Lana was not targeting black artists. The names she mentioned represent mainstream pop culture in our era. We can always find their names on Today’s Top 50 playlist on Spotify. On a different note, neither Ariana Grande nor Camilla Cabello are black.

The message gets ugly as soon as bystanders (the critics in this case) start targeting the specifics to have a bone to pick out. Bystanders crave entertainment, and that's why they twist the singer's words and mold it into a racist comment. Overemphasizing the magnifying parts of her speech in the post ironically defeats her points. The singer was calling for equality in the reception of female artists -- not racial equality for white people, but content wise. For decades, male rappers have been normalizing“being sexy, wearing no clothes, fucking, cheating" -- the realizties of life. At the same time, females in the music industry have been facing double standards because they cannot express the same without judgement. Finally, with artists such as Ariana Grande and Beyoncé, their real emotions and life situations are being normalized in society and the music scene. Within her message, Lana wants to further the equality to include matters of dark relationships and bleak emotional feelings that others tend to avoid. 

I think that Lana was only advocating for freedom of expression in terms of toxic relationships. Inequality is what the world presents us and undoubtedly, will continue to persist. But for some inequalities -- roles in relationships -- we as a society should move toward eliminating the issues, if not at least reducing their severity. From beauty standards that adversely affect the mental health of teens to body stereotypes that prevent and discourage individuals from pursuing certain career or social aspirations. The diversity of our bodies have created categories judged by social and cultural standards that affect one's future prospects. In this regard, diversity plays a dual role, both as a road to better understanding and as a destination. In a society like ours, we should all aim to live and work together harmoniously. Whether we self-identify as belonging to a particular group or not, society imposes labels and descriptions on us that impact our livelihood and that we have no control over. The only thing we HAVE control over is to spread unity in our communities and beyond to enhance relationships among individuals leading to collaborative, universal success. 

Lana Del Rey is doing the right thing in                                                                                                                                                                      publicly advocating for equality.