Answering a call to tackle a social issue in a course at Panamerican University in Bogatá, Columbia, graphic design student Alejandra Hernandez (via Fusion) is shooting some visual darts at reggaeton’s most misogynistic lyric offenders, pairing hooks like “A ella le gust que le den duro y se la coman,” (“She likes to be hit hard and eaten”), from “Gasolina” juggernaut Daddy Yankee‘s “En La Cama,” with an image of a bound and beaten naked women literally being eaten by a man with a fork.
Since launching a campaign called “Usa La Razón” (“Use Your Reasoning”) on Facebook and Twitter in May, these literal reenactments, clearly meant to shock and some times taken out of context, are starting to pick up viral steam, with a community of over 17,000 on Facebook and counting, Hernandez explaining to Fusion, “Our goal is not to ban reggaeton and other urban rhythms. But maybe there can be some change, maybe lyrics can change so that women aren’t mistreated.”
Whether or not the dubstep of Latin America clan will care, and actually stop to think in the heat of the sweaty “perreo” – glorified twerk – moment that some of the genre’s most primal sentiments can be harmful to women is a noble thought. Social media has done some interesting things.
But this campaign can kind of go both ways, here. Are these images fair? Or are they, in a more grassroots way, like the FDA’s failed attempt to put corpses and tracheotomy holes on cigarette packs? In other words, should we let the audio porn be. Either way, it’s hard to envision Daddy Yankee, Arcángel, or Yaga & Mackie giving a damn.
