Water Slide Reaction Video + Thoughts on Black Fat Feminine-Spectrum People in Hollywood?

The internets have been a buzz. The latest installation in Janelle Monae’s “Age of Pleasure” Water Slide has been released to the public.

Thank you to the few folks who tagged me, remembering that we just had a conversation a few weeks ago around the lack of inclusion of Fat Queer Femmes in the launch of the new work with “Lipstick Lover”.  I was taken aback by the responses both affirming and also unkind. It’s still shocking that in 2023 people are still asking “why do you need to see yourself?” A special kind of gaslight when the person asking is normally part of the groups of people who are always considered, seen, uplifted etc.

I think at this point Black,Fat, Feminine-Spectrum People just want to know whether y’all give a fuck or not? Because at the end of the day we all deserve to be part of the stories that are supposed to reflect the communities we inhabit. Blackness and Black Queerness are not a monolith, not even in Hollywood. So how do we pause in our creations to intentionally name who we are speaking to with specificity and also reflect enough to see who is absent in the room.

For what it’s worth, the timing of the release of “Water Slide” and my Instagram post are uncanny. I have no tangible evidence that our conversation influenced a shift or emergence of new work, this very well could have been in the chamber. But what I will say is that I love an artist that can take notes and move accordingly. I love that their team said “this one next” when they pushed publish on “Water Slide” . It provided many who long to be apart of this “Age of Pleasure” an opportunity to see themselves and not just hope to be included.

Temptress