Janelle Monáe wants you to know she’s ‘happy’ and having ‘the best sex’ of her life right now
Janelle Monáe (Getty/ Paras Griffin)
Janelle Monáe has detailed the very specific ways that she’s manifesting queer joy right now, and it involves having “the best sex” of her life.
For pansexual, non-binary music star Monáe, The Age of Pleasure is more than just the title of her latest, queer-centric album. It’s a description of the way she’s living her life.
Monáe’s most recent music videos, for singles “Lipstick Lover” and “Water Slide”, are a love letter to beautiful queer bodies and the joy of queer intimacy.
While the LGBTQ+ community in the US is battling an onslaught of homophobic and transphobic legislation, much of which targets young trans people, Monáe, who uses both she/her and they/them pronouns, has said that it’s vital to “steal joy” to get through the darkness.
Speaking to Associated Press earlier this week, the singer implied that she’s getting through this troublesome period by prioritising herself.
“I have a lot of things that keep me busy. I’m practising guitar. I’m having the best sex of my life. I’m happy,” she beamed.
“Even in the middle of all that’s going on in this world, I’m finding time to steal joy, to centre joy and to stay surrounded by the people who bring me joy and whom I can bring joy to.”
When asked how she deals with those who are trying to take away her queer joy by slating her music or performances – as American rapper Uncle Luke did recently, when he suggested she was having a “mid-life crisis” for showing skin – Monáe’s response was priceless.
“That has absolutely nothing to do with me,” she declared. “I love everybody. I’m in the age of pleasure. You shouldn’t care what anybody has to say. You just care what the right people have to say and everything else is muted.”
It’s an inspirational way to live life, particularly in the face of politicians who are intent on restricting the way people queer live, and Monáe has previously vowed to stand by her LGBTQ+ siblings.
“You respond by fighting back, by speaking against, standing with our trans community, my siblings,” she told radio station Majic 102.3 last month. “As a non-binary, queer, pansexual person, I am proud to be in this community… I will never sit back and be silent about the injustices that are happening against our trans community.”
Delving more into why she’s committed to tackling anti-queer legislation, the singer told AP that she would be “lending a voice” to those who are being silenced.
“Even if your freedom doesn’t look like that person’s freedom, you understand that we’re fighting against something much bigger than us… so we got to band together, we got to stick together, making sure, if we have privilege in certain areas, that we’re lending a hand, lending a voice, amplifying a message.”
The Age of Pleasure is out now, while the star has confirmed that a tour is in the works.
