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Young Thug's New Album Cover Is Sparking Much-Needed Conversation About Gender Norms
The rapper is challenging gender norms and masculinity after wearing what appears to be a dress on the cover of his latest release No, My Name Is Jeffery.
Atlanta-raised rapper Young Thug's highly-anticipated album No, My Name Is Jeffery finally dropped on Thursday night, and while fans were excited about all of the new material they would be hearing, they were also abuzz about something else: the fact that he was wearing what appears to be a dress on the record's cover.
""JEFFERY"" available everywhere tonight at 12am est. Shot by: @whoisglp
A photo posted by ""JEFFERY"" (@thuggerthugger1) on
""PLAYLIST"" I named the songs after all my idols...
A photo posted by ""JEFFERY"" (@thuggerthugger1) on
Rightfully so, the internet took notice of Young Thug's awesome (and fabulous) stand against typical, hypermasculine gender norms and tweeted out their support for the 25-year-old hip-hop artist.
young thug is a walking legend. that is all
— j (@younggwhite) August 26, 2016
If you still hating on Young Thug in 2016 you ain't nothing but an L
— Frank's stan (@kris_karti) August 26, 2016
\u201cy'all mad cuz young thug look better in that dress than u would\u201d— alli fitz. (@alli fitz.) 1472173374
\u201cMEN ARE MAD THAT YOUNG THUG IS WEARING A DRESS BECAUSE HE STILL LOOKS BETTER THAN THEM\u201d— Ro (@Ro) 1472175446
While this isn't the first time that Young Thug has explored with gender fluidity, and while there was plenty of love from fans for breaking the perception that rappers should always present a manly image, it's worth noting that he did receive some very valid criticism from people who think he was, in a way, co-opting what Twitter user Myles E. Johnson calls queer aesthetics. Aesthetics that often marginalize queer men and put them in very real danger (which can be problematic considering Young Thug says he isn't gay or straight).
However you feel about the way Young Thug dresses on the cover of No, My Name Is Jeffery, we can all agree that, at the very least, his act of defying the norm is sparking a much needed conversation in which we start to question the expectations society puts on young men, especially young men of color.
Listen to No, My Name Is Jeffery below, and let us know what you think of the album cover in the comments and on Twitter.
Raffy is a Los Angeles-based writer, editor, video creator, critic, and digital director of Out Magazine. The former editor-in-chief of PRIDE, he is also a die-hard Rihanna and Sailor Moon stan who loves to write about all things pop culture, entertainment, and identities. Follow him on Instagram (@raffyermac) and Twitter (@byraffy), and subscribe to his YouTube channel.
Raffy is a Los Angeles-based writer, editor, video creator, critic, and digital director of Out Magazine. The former editor-in-chief of PRIDE, he is also a die-hard Rihanna and Sailor Moon stan who loves to write about all things pop culture, entertainment, and identities. Follow him on Instagram (@raffyermac) and Twitter (@byraffy), and subscribe to his YouTube channel.
