While Liza Monet’s track tackles sexuality as it relates to the actual act, Diam’s “Jeune demoiselle” tackles the issue from the viewpoint of romantic relationships in an attempt to counter the stigma of love being a weakness. Davy argues that given the fact that a strong sense of masculinity which sometimes drifts into hyper-masculinity is prevalent in rap, sexual acts hold more weight that romantic ones.16 It is often assumed that sexual acts involve pursuit and
penetration. In other words, they require action, which is commonly perceived as masculine while passivity is commonly perceived as feminine.17 However, romantic relationships, Davy notes, put women and men on an equal playing field, which does not correspond to the image of the caïd (big shot) because romantic relationships require emotions and the breaking down of barriers, which leave people open to being hurt.18 In this track by Diam’s, she lists her
expectations in a romantic partner, using various musicians and celebrities as references, such as American rapper Jay-Z and French comedian-actor Jamel Debbouze. In the chorus of the song, the rapper chants:
“Jeune demoiselle recherche un mec mortel Un mec qui pourrait me donner des ailes Un mec fidèle et qui n'a pas peur qu'on l'aime Donc si t'as les critères babe laisse-moi ton e-mail Jeune demoiselle recherche un mec mortel
Un mec qui pourrait me donner des ailes
Un mec qui rêve de famille et de toucher le ciel.”19 (“Young lady looking for an awesome guy
A guy who could give me wings
A loyal guy and one who’s not scared of being loved So if you fit the bill, leave me your email
Young lady looking for an awesome guy
16 Davy, “Le rap au féminin : une quête impossible ? ”, 111.
17 Amy K. Kiefer and Diana T. Sanchez. "Scripting sexual passivity: A gender role perspective." Personal
Relationships 14, no. 2 (2007): 269, accessed March 5. 2018,
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1475-6811.2007.00154.x.
18 Davy. “Le rap au féminin : une quête impossible ?,” 63.
19 Diam’s, “Jeune demoiselle,” (Dans ma bulle, EMI Music France, 2006), lines 1-8, https://genius.com/Diams-
A guy who could give me wings
A guy who dreams of having a family and touching the sky.”)
Beginning with the first two lines, we note that the Diam’s is searching for a man who can help her rise to new levels, offering an alternative to searching solely for a man who can satisfy her sexually. The fact that she is the one searching focuses on her agency and presents romantic relationships as active and engaged. In the third line, Diam’s emphasizes that her partner must be beyond the phase of his life where he wishes for nothing more than sexual encounters and emotionless relationships. This line frames love and relationships as large tasks that demand plenty of strength from the individuals. To open oneself up to love means to leave oneself open to damage from a partner, which is what Diam’s expresses here. In framing love as a challenge, Diam’s takes romantic relationships out of the sphere of passivity and into the sphere of activity. She frames love as a high-risk pursuit of self-improvement and maturity, which cannot necessarily be gained through sexual encounters alone. In the last line of the passage, Diam’s uses the notion of family to suggest that she requires stability and commitment in a partner, but uses the phrase “toucher le ciel” (“touch the sky”) to assert that should she find this partner, he will not try to confine her to gender roles, and she will not allow herself to be confined to them.20
For the rest of the song, the rapper continues listing traits of the ideal romantic partner, but in the beginning of the second verse, she raps about how her partner should treat women, reinforcing the idea that she wants a partner and not a master. Diam’s raps, “mon mec a des valeurs et du respect pour ses soeurs,” (“my man’s got values and respect for his sisters.”) making it clear that the treatment of women is values above the overall experience of being in
love.21 She uses the way the potential lover treats his sisters as a gauge for his actual
compatibility with her because she seeks to promote romantic relationships as empowering not oppressive. While Diam’s confronts stereotypes about romantic relationships in this song, she also happens to put down other women. Twice in the song, she insults other women, calling them “bitches” and “bimbos,” demonstrating that Diam’s conception of the liberation of the woman does not factor in free-reigning sexuality like Liza Monet’s, hence the derogatory terms she lashes out at these other women.22 Despite her stance against more open displays of sexuality, Diam’s track presents the view that a woman need not necessarily engage in multiple sexual encounters in order to be in control of her body. She can enjoy liberty as a woman in a traditional monogamous relationship. The song ends with Diam’s playfully requesting that any potential applicants send some photos to an email address she gives out after listing her requirements for a partner. Diam’s requirements demonstrate how she has control of the situation because she will not waver in what she seeks. Additionally, she chooses who to acknowledge, provided they fit her criteria.
In the work of the female rappers considered here, we note that expressing female sexuality does not run counter to calling out misogyny as it presents an alternate viewpoint to dismantling sexism in hip hop culture. Rather, it allows women to reappropriate terms and perceptions used against them by men for their own empowerment. Additionally, it allows women to display their sexuality by discussing their bodies and sexual encounters they have. Addressing misogyny and expressing sexuality represent the steps leading to de-gendering, wherein the female rapper chooses to promote other features of her music such as politics or race relations instead of her femininity. In one way, addressing misogyny and expressing sexuality
21 Diam’s, “Jeune demoiselle,” line 35. 22 Ibid, lines 13, 66.
represent the steps leading to de-gendering. Addressing misogyny contests and counters issues in the genre. The second step then celebrates the female body, focusing attention on women. De- gendering can be seen as going beyond the other two steps because it does not explicitly deal with issues related to gender and allows the female rapper to make music as a rapper, which would signify equality. However, it is also possible to view de-gendering as the rejection of expressing sexuality in French hip hop. De-gendering allows the female rapper to distance herself from preconceived notions of women.