OPINION:Reggaetón or the Possible Decline of a Genre
Far from dignifying it, reggaeton refers to women in terms of sexual objects, subjects of pleasure, with misogynistic approaches.
The Woman Post | María Claudia Londoño D
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Since its appearance in the 90s, reggaeton has been characterized as a controversial genre based on the content and messages in the lyrics of the songs and the images in the videos that somehow are packaged in an expression that denigrates, violent, objectifies, and minimizes women in their roles as women.
The truth is that taking into account that the current at a global level from various social, political, and cultural sectors is focused on achieving equity, vindicating women's rights, eradicating gender violence, minimizing rates of domestic violence, and promoting economic and labor opportunities for women, it is regrettable that producers and artists themselves continue to launch these repetitive messages that generate annoyance, repudiation, and clash with all the precepts.
J Balvin has just withdrawn his most recent musical release from the YouTube channel, arguing that he addresses the strong criticism and manifestations of rejection and offense that arose from various angles and views, in particular by women from the black community who appeared in his video.
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Apparently the sustained attempt to obtain reproductions from the controversy and its marketing strategy that generates significant income may be leading to a decline for this genre. And of course, at this point, the alienation that occurs as a result of the curiosity aroused by knowing the content that causes so much fuss must be taken into account. Everything as part of a strategy, which probably this time did not go as expected… or did it?
The key role played by the media and information in this regard is undeniable. Ethics, responsibility, dimensioning their role, and rethinking their approach should be a point of analysis and origin about new business, institutional, and even governmental policies in this regard. And the expectation is not to fall into the qualification of "prudishness" from his comfort zone and pose an ill-conceived "modernity," when in fact, increasing the rating indexes and launching awards events are his only measurement.
On the other hand, important here is to take some time to question what guidance we are providing about the content that our youth consume, who is the target audience of reggaeton. Perhaps this situation gives us the opportunity to dialogue and foster a space to minimize the interest that this type of music may have in their playlists and favorites. Proposals in values, equity, opportunity, and valuation should not be delegated to academia or educational institutions exclusively. Our family and social environment are the ideal fields to counteract the possible underground campaigns of successes and awards that carry underhanded messages that affect the future of our new generations. We cannot, we must not remain in criticism without taking action.
