#bayau

For background, here’s a statement by someone claiming to speak for the “creative intellegensia of Aqtobe” prior to Ninety One’s attempt to perform there during the fall 2016 tour:

We do not need this band, in which vocalists dye their hair and wear earrings.

We are opposed to them performing in our city, and we do not consider them a national group. Such things have never happened before in the history and traditions of the Kazakh people. Young people said they will not allow them to perform. We do not want riots. Therefore, I would like to warn in advance about the possible outcome of this event…

They shouldn't come here. We are for national traditions, wherein a man is a man, and a woman is a woman. A man in our conception cannot dye his hair or wear earrings. We honour and respect the traditions of the people.

(From the Radio Free Liberty piece: “And in Aqtobe, in northwestern Kazakhstan, it's still not clear who was behind the sudden appearance of a group of thugs who blocked organizers from setting up the sound system for Ninety One's scheduled appearance.”)

Apparently some of the hubbub has died down, although the domestic media, as best I can tell, remains somewhere between bewildered and openly hostile: see this piece published after the release of “Su Asty,” in which Ninety One is compared to the deliberately androgynous Chinese girl group Acrush.

Let me re-emphasize the “out of my depth” part here: I have no idea whether these statements about “the traditions of the people” and masculinity in Kazakhstan are true; “traditions of the people” are prone to slipperiness and easy manipulation. (See also this very weird 2008 report from the Telegraph, in which Nazarbayev’s daughter gave a speech noting that “the world of men has become increasingly effeminate.”) I can only tell you that there is no shortage of reports that the rights of gay, lesbian, and bisexual Kazakhstanis are not respected in the slightest, to say nothing of their gender-nonconforming peers.

I also have no idea how Ninety One actually approaches masculinity and gender presentation, because as best I can tell the members have explicitly said very little on the subject. What follows is underinformed observation. And my underinformed observation is that, having received the blowback for their supposedly unmasculine and untraditional looks in the Aiyptama era, Ninety One responded in 2017 by… doubling down.

So let’s recap the three Qarangy Zharyq videos we’ve seen so far. “Su Asty” is the most bro-ish of the three but includes AZ gesturing in an almost aggressively fey way, and biting his lip juuuuust so, and--to be crude and reductive about it--writhing in pain/pleasure while the woman penetrates him. Then comes “Yeski Taspa Bii’,” in which AZ has a ponytail and Bala has a can opener for an earring and Alem is wandering around all moist-eyed and covered in chains and jewels. And now “Bayau,” in which Alem is still wandering around all moist-eyed, having replaced the chains with an absurdly form-fitting turtleneck, and Ace alternates between being splayed on the floor and coyly dropping his head and batting his eyes at the camera, all while wearing a top cut quite low (by Ace standards) and enough eyeliner that I’ve mentally nicknamed him Sex Panda. And Bala? And Bala:

I see no difference. Or at least less difference than I would have expected.

(Admittedly, I’m cheating slightly; follow the video for ten more frames and you’ll see Bala’s about to start snickering.)

The increased makeup and submissive posing isn’t universal among the group--ZaQ has buzz cuts and more coded-to-my-eye-as-masculine attire for both “Yeski Taspa Bii’” and “Bayau.” And again: no one’s actually coming out and saying, “Screw you, gender police,” or making the kinds of welcoming statements American pop stars make to their fans. You may like the idea of Ninety One as foot soldiers in a global war against homophobia, transphobia, and gender policing--okay, fine, I like it. It lets my perceptions of my political aims and my baser instincts play happily together. But this is one area in which Ninety One has a very different domestic situation than does its rivals in the global pop sphere. Don’t set your heart on their being able to follow the kind of queer-friendly narrative that’s become more available in the West, is what I’m saying.

(...to myself, too.)

(...it’s not working very well.)

(...I’ll tell you one more thing: although the same makeup artist did all three of the Qarangy Zharyq videos--Zhadra Abdulzhapparova, long may she live healthily and happily--the sole credit for styling in the “Bayau” video goes to AZ.)