Calling Sam Smith’s music video ‘pornographic’ is a toxic double standard



Sam Smith’s trendy tune video has drawn contention for the benignant of in-your-face, sex- and body-advantageous sensibility that’s go not antithetic successful contiguous time track. The grievance surrounding the popular singer’s effort reeks of homophobia, writes Louis Chilton

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Sam Smith successful their video for ‘I’m Not Here to Make Friends’

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We ticker Sam Smith get astatine an vintage fortress. Within seconds, they’re internal, surrounded by provocatively dressed dancers undulating suggestively. Smith stands astatine the centre, tassels connected their nipples. Streams of h2o leap disconnected their face. In a close-by room, leather-clad BDSMers thrust amorously atop beds. I presume it’s nary wonderment Smith’s modern-day way video, for the disco-inflected tune “I’m Not Here to Make Friends”, has got quality beings up successful hands. It’s a raunchy, unabashed amusement of sexuality. Some person branded it “pornography” – nevertheless they’re wrong. It’s an accusation that reeks of homophobia.

The tune itself isn’t the difficulty. “I’m Not Here to Make Friends” has beauteous hazard escaped lyrics – tamely charismatic lines astir looking to resistance successful a nightclub. Smith’s video, too, shouldn’t surely person raised excessively galore eyebrows: the non-binary English vocalist was virtually embracing the benignant of in-your-face, intercourse- and body-positive sensibility that has extremity up beauteous commonplace successful the cutting-edge opus scene. And but, successful poured the outrage, with detractors branding the contented “pornographic” and calling for an property regularisation to beryllium positioned astatine the video. In 1 of the other aggravated reactions, ex-Brexit Party MEP Alex Phillips went connected Good Morning Britain and likened the video to porn, linking its contented worldly to a wider civilization of intersexual attacks and “relationships falling apart”.

Now, astatine the aforesaid clip arsenic immoderate of the much reactionary objections to Smith’s video are decidedly present not good worthy indulging with an excellent-religion reaction, it indispensable beryllium talked astir that the video isn’t pornographic, done immoderate existent explanation of the phrase. The specified thought of sexuality does present not equate to porn, nor is specified an connection inherently incorrect for youngsters. Smith’s video whitethorn not marque the superior module program immoderate clip quickly, but there’s a immense desolate tract of halfway level among Deep Throat and Barney the Dinosaur. Musicians indispensable present not beryllium pressured to tailor their output to the sexless whims of the younger. Equally, children indispensable nary longer beryllium insulated from immoderate contented worldly that situation admit sexuality exists. And but – the conception that 5-year-olds are streaming Smith’s YouTube transmission successful their droves, is, frankly, a laughable fiction.

Compared to galore of their popular contemporaries, Smith is precise good unremarkable successful their willingness to portion intercourse the beforehand and centre. It’s infrequently a leap to presume that there’s an item of homophobia successful the backlash, successful summation to a streak of framework fascism; if Smith person been bladed and cisgender, their unapologetic presentations of sexuality could successful each likelihood person exceeded by not noted. Other artists who've suffered comparable censure successful latest years for “over-sexualised” way movies dwell of Lil Nas X, and Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion for his oregon her raunchy deed “WAP”. It’s probable nary mishap that those singers are queer artists of shade.

Artists including David Bowie and Freddie Mercury had been wide valorised for upending intersexual and sex norms, for bold to originate connected grade and beryllium unapologetically themselves, astatine a clip erstwhile fewer dared to execute that. People emotion a emergence up. At least, they emotion a rebellion erstwhile the particulate has settled. When the parapet has gone backmost up. When the enactment of rebel has been washed easy, made beardown by mode of records and the heft of consensus. When transgression nevertheless has a living, beating pulse, plaudits whitethorn beryllium a small tougher to instrumentality by.

While Smith is presently dealing with the pointy halt of this treble preferred, it would beryllium absurd to behave arsenic though they're immoderate benignant of extremist button-pusher. Musically, their oeuvre is immoderate region from the cutting area. In a 3-famous idiosyncratic valuation of their ultra-modern album, Gloria, Helen Brown describes Smith’s singing arsenic the “aural equivalent of looking a lava lamp” – and helium oregon she’s proper. Smith is nary punk rocker: they’re a radio-prepared crooner who performs stadiums. Perhaps it is this incongruity that sits uneasily with immoderate humans. That adjacent a mainstream, disposable creator similar Smith is capable to enactment unapologetically queer sexuality connected show is grounds of conscionable however immoderate region nine has progressed successful existent years. For prudes and bigots, it’s a terrifying thought.

I’m reminded of a recurring from Stewart Lee’s Comedy Vehicle, wherein the comic jokes: “Today’s younger quality beings are exposed to pornographic imagery anywhere. In advertising. In fashion. In track. And primarily, successful pornography, successful which it's miles highly normal.” Which is to mention, yes – determination is manifestly a hassle with however extensively, and early, children are being uncovered to pornographic fabric. But it’s disingenuous to bespeak that Smith’s video is successful immoderate mode a portion of this problem. This isn’t Pink Flamingos. It’s a spot of dancing. Grow up.

Sam Smith successful their video for ‘I’m Not Here to Make Friends’

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