Bad Bunny’s Transgressive Gender Performativity: Camp Aesthetics and Hegemonic Masculinities in Early Latin Trap

Abstract

This research project is a discourse analysis of Bad Bunny’s camp aesthetics as a strategy that makes visible the artificial naturalness of hegemonic masculinity of Latin trap music.Hyperbolic virility characterizes the masculinity performances of contemporary mainstream Afrodiasporic (urban) Latin artists.While contemporary urban Latin artists perform violence-oriented, sex-driven, and wealth-flaunting masculinities in their lyrics and actions in music videos (Carballo Villagra, 2006), other media like promotional photos, Instagram posts, and news media coverage help construct their star image. I argue that Bad Bunny’s camp exceptional individuality demystifies the naturalness of the hegemonic masculinity performance in Latin trap while simultaneously reinforcing its limits. Thus, Bad Bunny represents a transgressive masculine performance that makes visible the limits of hegemonic masculinity without disrupting or expanding them.