Pynk is a female call to arms
In Janelle Monae’s all-girl world, the great outdoors are stained pink. Ladies check into motels free of charge and never have to leave. Pubic hair grows freely. And pants are ruffled in such a way that they resemble women’s genitalia.
Monae released “Pynk,” the third single on her forthcoming album “Dirty Computer Tuesday,” and the happy-go-lucky ode to femininity’s four-minute video is, frankly, the coolest celebration of the vajajay I’ve ever seen.
The video’s vaginal imagery is simultaneously cute and shocking. Directed by Emma Westenberg and featuring the Canadian singer Grimes, “Pynk” contains shots of raw oysters, the suggestive insides of a citrus fruit, and a cameo of a pussy cat.
But the most provocative scene features Monae wearing the hoo-ha-esque pants as Creed actress Tessa Thompson, her rumoured girlfriend, wriggles through her legs.
The internet went nutso with birthing comparisons and prompted many to ask whether the ombre bottoms — created by Dutch designer Duran Lantink — should perhaps be called labia pants instead.
“She’s celebrating that part of us that is often shamed,” said commercial voice actor Envy Mckee of Bucks County, a 45year-old former local radio personality who on Tuesday afternoon posted the video on her social media.
“All life comes from a vagina and through the vulva. And we are still squeamish about it.”
But how silly is that? After all, as Monae so plainly says in the song, “PYNK is the colour that unites us all, for pink is the colour found in the deepest and darkest nooks and crannies of humans everywhere ... PYNK is where the future is born.”
In other words, no vaginas, no us. Gay, straight, trans — we all need to revel in that pink fact.
Like Beyoncé’s “Formation,” “Pynk” is a call to arms for women to stand in their truth.
There is something about synchronized dancing, going back to Janet Jackson’s “Rhythm Nation” that evokes girl power by any means necessary.
But unlike “Formation,” which was driven by anger — Beyoncé was hot with husband Jay-Z for his alleged infidelities — “Pynk,” the ultimate summer jam, exudes fun and unabashed pride and joy.
And to top it off, the women in “Pynk” world are completely unconcerned with the male gaze.
“Pynk” could be construed as Monae’s coming-out video.
The 32-year-old singer, rapper and actress released her first single, “Tightrope,” in 2010.