If in France, being a committed artist does not pose a problem, having an activist voice is much more complicated when you are a woman. Camelia Jordana, Yseult, Pomme … Several singers are currently paying the price, being the target of violent attacks.
"Yes, I speak, I speak because I live like you in these shocking, unsettling and reassuring times at times." It is on Instagram that the singer Camelia Jordana responded, this Tuesday, February 16, 2021, to the criticisms she faces. At issue: his militant, feminist and anti-racist speeches. This proves, once again, that our society seeks to silence women in general, and in particular, those who are racialized, when they are not queer or at the intersection of several forms of discrimination.
Being a young woman of color and / or queer: a double penalty
Camelia Jordana has spoken out in defense of minorities in recent months. In January 2021, in The Obs, she spoke about male privilege in our patriarchal society. "If I were a man I would beg your pardon", she explained. The reactions had been very virulent, accusing him of allegedly unwarranted misandry. And this was not the first time that the ex-candidate of The New Star was heard so that his words could be decribilized or distorted. In May 2020, on the plateau of We only ask to laugh, on France 2, she had thus denounced racist police violence. Once again, the reactions on social media had been unprecedented. The mass of angry Internet users demanding one thing from Camelia Jordana: that she be content to sing, no more and no less.
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However, Camelia Jordana is much more than a young and pretty singer, there only to distract us, and she recalls it in her Insta post. "I grew up under your eyes. Today I am a woman and I am content to say the things within me. Those which carry me and which animate me, inspire me and make me grow: nature, racism, love, feminism ", she insists.
She is facing the same trial as the singer Yseult, who has received negative reactions since her speech during the Victoires de la Musique, on Friday, February 12, 2021. Current values did not hesitate to qualify it as "activist who chose lament and excess to break through." According to far-right media, the artist is even "the new star of the Ouin Ouin generation." However, Yseult rightly maintains that she will not be silent, despite the incessant criticism that is raining down on militant artists. As if by chance, they are not only engaged, but also from minorities that our society likes to harass so much: people of color, fat and queer.
Apple, crowned female artist of the year at the 2021 Victoires de la musique, also paid the price. A few days before the ceremony, she was the target of violent comments for having testified to Mediapart about the harassment and sexual assault she suffered early in her career. Then there is the actress Adele Heanel, exposed to constant criticism since she stood up at the Cesar 2020 ceremony when director Roman Polanski, accused of rape, was awarded an award. Worse yet, singer Hoshi was blamed and harassed at the 2020 Victoires de la musique for being what she is: a young lesbian woman who campaigns for the rights of LGBTQI + people.
Even when they do not speak up, it is they, lesbian women and activists, who are targeted at the first bad buzz. The singer Angèle is the perfect and sad example. In September 2020, when her brother, rapper Romeo Elvis, was accused of sexual assault, she was blamed via the # BalanceTonBrother tag. All must answer for their actions, for those of others, justify their activism, but also the simple fact of being themselves … at the risk of moral exhaustion.
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Yseult, Camelia Jordana … Role models for women who are not entitled to their platform
However, their words are so precious … It is thanks to Yseult, Angèle, Hoshi, Camelia Jordana or even Apple that a light at the end of the tunnel appears for those who do not have the chance to express themselves during hours of great listening. In the show Click, on Canal Plus, Yseult had moreover justified (once again) its position by addressing the privilege it enjoys on television sets."I see 'shut up and sing delusions.' But in the name of what, in the name of whom ?! Stop targeting minorities. We ask for respect and empathy. (…) I take advantage of the light that is given to me to be able to ' call out 'and I will do it ", she said. By taking the floor in this way, Yseult reminds us that she and her sisters are human beings before they are artists. These are women who have built themselves and who have endured, anonymously, the oppressions of an exhausting patriarchal society, where misogyny, racism and homophobia are rife.
Manners now have to change. This is why these artists are taking advantage of the platform they are given (finally!) So that young queer, racialized and fat women no longer suffer from this discrimination. And this is the whole point of their many militant statements in the media: through their notoriety, they are a breath of fresh air, an inspiration to millions of others.
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These female artists, feminist, LGBTQI + and anti-racist activists should not have to justify themselves for who they are, nor to want to transform an unequal society. Through their status as public figures, Yseult, Pomme, Camelia Jordana and even Hoshi convey politicized messages in style and help generations of women, finally represented on the screen and in our playlists. For that, we fully support them and we say thank you.