Janelle Monae covers the latest issue of InStyle, and it’s the “Badass Women Issue.” I agree, Janelle IS badass. She’s stylish, beautiful, brilliant, talented, political, hard-working and queer. She’s already iconic and she’s only 33 years old. It feels like she’s had her sh-t together for years already. She covers InStyle to promote the acting side of her career – she has a supporting role in Harriet (the Harriet Tubman bio-pic) and she’s been cast as Dorothy Pitman Hughes, the co-founder (along with Gloria Steinem) of Ms. Magazine in a movie with Julianne Moore. In this interview, she mostly just talks about her view of herself, gender politics and deciding to come out of the closet. Some highlights:
She wants to rebuke gender politics: “I’ve always wanted to redefine what a cool young black woman looks like in the music industry. I was never interested in fitting into a system that wasn’t built for me or with me in mind. I’m interested in burning that sh-t down and building something new.”
Her acting career: “I don’t look at myself as just an actor or a musician. I am an artist, and I have a responsibility to tell the truth. I use different mediums, but it’s all storytelling to me.”
On her recent sexier, racier music videos: “One of the things that bothered me before I did Dirty Computer was this concept of respectability politics, men and women who don’t respect agency and think that if we dress a certain way, if we show skin, we’re seeking attention. I don’t want your attention. I’m exercising my freedom.”
Deciding to come out: “The majority of [my family] grew up Baptist, and the sermons would all be around how if you are a homosexual or if you’re gay and you don’t repent and live a hetero-normative life and get married, well … hell is your final destination. I talked to my mom and dad first, and my mom, in particular, had a lot of questions. I said, ‘Mama, the only way that I can create art is to truthfully tell my story. It has to come from an honest place, and this is who I honestly am. I don’t know any other way. I have to talk about my sexuality. I have to talk about my blackness. I have to talk about my womanness. I have to talk about these things. This is who I am as a person.’ ”
She doesn’t want to talk about who she’s dating though: “I’m a very private person, so I’ve been trying to navigate the space of talking about identity without disclosing that information. We’re in a culture where people obsess and obsess over those sorts of things. And I get it.”
Self-love: “I have been in situations where as a young girl you have compromised your morals and your values and you feel used. And I’m like, ‘If my mother had let me have a vibrator at a young age to be in touch with my body more, I could have saved myself from so many poor decisions.’ You know what I’m saying?”
Communication: “I speak android, which is helpful for the future, since we will be merging. But I really want to be fluent in French.”
The idea of childbirth: “I get nervous at the thought of giving birth. I haven’t had a child yet, and I think the Internet makes everything feel like the worst can happen. Then, in actuality, it is true for black women — they have such a high mortality rate when they’re giving birth. [Having a baby] is like a science-fiction movie. It’s miraculous. My grandmother had 12 kids, and I heard she went to work the next day after she had one of my aunts. I come from that woman, you know? If she can do that, you know I can take it to the next level.”
Do you know how many times I’ve thought that same “I wish I had a vibrator when I was in my early teens” thing? I wish mothers and daughters could have those kinds of conversations, even though they’re terribly uncomfortable. My mom wasn’t even a prude or a judgy church mom or anything, but it probably would have never occurred to her (or many moms of that generation) that their daughters need to explore what makes THEM feel good.
Also: “…This concept of respectability politics, men and women who don’t respect agency and think that if we dress a certain way, if we show skin, we’re seeking attention. I don’t want your attention. I’m exercising my freedom.” Emily Ratajkowski in ruins! She’s been trying and failing to say that sh-t for YEARS.
InStyle covers courtesy of Instagram.
She truly is an icon. I believe everything she says (which I can’t say about every other pop artist out there nowadays).
I Love Her. That will be all.
Me too. And I think she is stunningly beautiful.
I acquired a “vibrator “ when I was 11 and never looked back. I figured it out on my own and never told anyone.
Lol. Same.
How? What was this “vibrator”? I discovered the massage setting on the detachable shower head, but it took me a while.
I’ve always admired how naturally she just exudes confidence and style
She really does.
She is the perfect person to be on the cover for Badass Women.
She is everything! So unique, talented, original, a style icon, beautiful and strong!
I’m big fan!
On a completely superficial note, Janelle is absolutely stunning.
She’s so cool, and her music kicks ass.
I could not love what she says here anymore!
‘“One of the things that bothered me before I did Dirty Computer was this concept of respectability politics, men and women who don’t respect agency and think that if we dress a certain way, if we show skin, we’re seeking attention. I don’t want your attention. I’m exercising my freedom.”
My mom would say ‘ugh her outfit is inappropriate.’ Which is controlling. You can think ‘ i wouldnt wear that’ but youre not her. Her body her choice
And yes, teenage girls exploring to discover what makes then feel good. So well put
I agree with everything she says and stands for, but what does she mean by “I speak Android”?
Wasn’t Letty Pogrebin a co-founder of Ms. Magazine as well?
I hope this dosen’t cross any lines but… A vibrator before actual sex could ruin the first time experience! You will expect the same feeling or base all pleasure on that feeling.. I use to masturbate a lot and when I finally, actually had sex I was confused and it took a while to learn to appreciate intercourse(and try to orgasm from it) yes it’s possible, lol!
@citygirl — I took the part about her speaking android as a joke referencing her breakthrough EP, Metropolis, and her first studio album, The ArchAndroid. Her character on those albums is an android named Cindi Mayweather who is sent back in time to save humanity.