Expressions Of Female Sexuality in Blues

From the sexually-charged lyrics of Nicki Minaj and Lil’ Kim to the lyrical exploration of love and sexual independence by Beyonce, black female artists of today use their music as a vehicle to express their sexuality. Black female blue’s artists expressed their sexuality through their music, which distinguished themselves apart from the Euro-American, patriarchal notions and ideals of female sexuality. Men were consistently depicted as wandering, philandering partners in songs, so by depicting women as equally sexually adventurous and non-committal to traditional monogamous relationships, female blues artists were asserting their independence and freedom from dominant, romantic-love ideals and expectations.

Bessie Smith, As Queen Latifah steps into the role of Bessie Smith in HBO's biopic "Bessie," which airs this Saturday, we're taking a look at how Smith's meeting with "The Mother of the Blues" early in her career would change her life forever. She's less remembered than Bessie these days, but she opened the door for Bessie and many others to walk through.

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Young Bessie Smith may have learned about more than music from her mentor Ma Rainey. Whether Ma Rainey was directly responsible for Bessie's interest in women is something we'll probably never know, but the fact is that after her time in the tent shows, Bessie was more open to alternative lifestyles than before. Bessie became a subtler, more agile singer than the raw, more direct Ma. As she developed her style, she was able to sing almost any type of song convincingly, from traditional blues to pop music like "After You've Gone.

" Although there would always be an earthy quality to Bessie's singing, it was never as uncultivated as Ma's, which was closer to the sound of country bluesmen like Robert Johnson or Charley Patton, men with a rough-hewn sound who also recorded in the 1920s. Although they crossed paths for a very short period early in their careers, Bessi e Smith and Ma Rainey became two of the most important figures in the burgeoning genre of the blues.

After reading the articles, I am so impressed by how blues artists challenged the heterosexual notions of female sexuality in a time when lesbianism and female love existed as a secretive, oppressed subculture in society. They were brave enough to express the real feelings and talked about women’s love interested and affairs. ’Cause they say I do it, ain’t nobody caught me” the lyrics in Prove it on me blues” is so touching to me. They were looking for sexual freedom even in a not so “free” time, I think musicians at that time were pioneers, they gave people inspirations, even till today. I am also very impressed by how confident the musicians that time, like Ma Rainey, even though she might not a conventional attractive woman, she sported wild horsehair wigs on stage and wore gold coins around her neck. She carried an ostrich plume and had capped gold teeth that would flash when she sang. She was very brave to show her desire even though the time she lived in was conservative.