What Janet Jackson’s #NippleGate says about racism and sexism in the United States

Her nipple would have traumatized Puritan America. At half-time at the 2004 Super Bowl, Janet Jackson, then at the height of her fame, saw her career shattered when Justin Timberlake tore the garment concealing her breasts. But how could such an incident occur during an event so planned, choreographed and too controlled?

This is what the New York Times in Malfunction: Janet Jackson’s disguisedocumentary now available for free in French on the Arte website.

Only one nipple appears and Janet Jackson’s entire career is ruined

Co-produced with Left / Right production company and FX TV channel (the same team behind the February 2021 docu, Shot Britney Spears), Janet Jackson: before and after the Nipplegate scandal takes 1 hour to take the time to tell the socio-cultural context of the United States in 2004, and the state of Janet Jackson’s career just before the events, during the first half hour. This is to better decipher during the second part the consequences of this piece of nipple that so upset this puritan society.

Janet Jackson: before and after the Nipplegate scandal interviews different people involved in the case, production side, styling, choreography, TV channels and media authorities. But also journalists who return to the reception of the event in the media and on the side of the general public at the time, as well as their contemporary vision of this historic event. Jenna Wortham, cultural journalist at New York Timesin particular summarizes:

“Our culture doesn’t know what to do with independent women, let alone independent black women. We are not even talking about an independent black woman who makes money, who knows who she is, and who is obviously totally sexually liberated. If there is an opportunity to punish her for it, we will not lose it. “

Justin Timberlake’s blank check

Through this documentary, it is quite dizzying to realize the injustice of the racist and misogynistic treatment suffered by Janet Jackson by an entire media system, but also cultural and political. A social system that is fast blaming her alone for something Justin Timberlake did to her that American society prefers to consider innocent by default and even had the audacity to reward in the process.

Focused on misogynyism, this story of popular, media and political revenge then sheds light on many gray areas, including the impunity enjoyed by Justin Timberlake, who has based much of his career on the shoulders of women, from Janet Jackson to Britney Spears. . But Justin Timberlake is just a symptom of a patriarchal system that traps women in contradicting double injunctions. Who wants to enjoy a woman’s breasts while he punishes her if seen.

Photo credit on the first page: Screenshot of the documentary on Arte.Tv