the most toxic form of discrimination

[@AliceCappelle]

Sorry about the sound problem at the beginning guys. We tried to fix it but clearly we could have done a better job. it’s only problematic during the first minute though :)

[@anushk444]

I would love if you also take about the word "modesty" and how it is used for women

[@gaelbrd]

@@AliceCappelle * non-headphone-users not even noticing *

[@caiden3396]

@@anushk444 It's a shame it's come to be used by some guys in such a sexist way.

[@Kaylor-xo3oo]

You really should have cited her "Copines". People would recognize it from tiktok trends.

[@HarnoorSingh-pt2vf]

Make video on Mr beast situation

[@oldishandwoke-ish1181]

The French and the English tend to call each other arrogant. I think they're both right.

[@mariebourgot4949]

^^🥲

[@Dragrath1]

Yeah arrogance and intolerance seem to be the root of imperialistic "culture"

[@anju8376]

not to mention racist, thieving, and genocidal

[@youtubesangryopinionramble1465]

But not the Algerians, Kenyans, Zimbabweans, South Africans, Vietnamese, Nigerians, Malaysians, or Malagasy? What about American “tolerant liberals” being arrogant about their culture despite condoning destructive U.S. foreign policy?

[@youtubesangryopinionramble1465]

Or what about the “Africanist” policies of Robert Mugabe? Wasn’t that also arrogant and destructive? Or is it just the fault of 19th century “white colonial heteronormative patriarchy” as leftists say?

[@jayxtacee5695]

The irony of it all is that those guys who were dunking on Aya not representing France probably celebrate when the French team wins a trophy with a team full of players who look like they could be Aya's brothers

[@Happymind-happyworld.]

😂😂 you know they do. Someone said it makes sense why the west wins a lot of medals at the Olympics. Look at their teams.

[@Mayhamsdead]

"who look like they could be Aya's brothers" ...that's not exactly the "win" you probably thought it is.

[@jayxtacee5695]

@@Happymind-happyworld. when they're winning medals or trophies, its a win for the country & they're French. When they face any problem, they're immigrants & should go back to Africa

[@SugarMamiii]

@@Mayhamsdead Why not? She looks like them so if French ppl are racist then they should also NOT CHEER when the French Team win because they are mostly BLACK.

[@jessicahay9305]

Right, bc they don't care about her race. They care about the way she behaves.

[@peterwilson4248]

Alice Cappelle - you couldn't have done this video without having an open mind and a love for different cultures. You are a true world citizen and do the world a lot of good with your innate humility. This was a random video that popped up in my KZbin recommended videos that I might be interested in watching. I took the chance and liked what I listened to. Kudos from America!

[@TheTeeProd]

bad video. aya's music is the worst music. its a whole ad for aya's music. this music is equivalent to burger king. shouldnt be allowed to be digested

[@sujitroy3628]

Latin teacher here. "Vulgus" or "the mob" has always had a negative connotation, because ancient Roman writers had a very pro-elite, anti-populist bias. Thanks for the video!

[@stiofanmacamhalghaidhau765]

situations like this fascinate me. what term might those 'vulgar' people have used for themselves? did they have another term that was respectful, or did they just use 'vulgus' with respectful connotations?

[@blede8649]

Same for "villain", though that comes from French instead. Curiously, the Italian version, "villano", has a slightly different meaning (still negative though): it means rude, unkind, not evil (though it's still in the same ballpark).

[@blede8649]

​​@@stiofanmacamhalghaidhau765 The only positive use of "vulgar" I can think of was when the Italian language separated from Latin (something similar likely happened for other languages) the new language was called Vulgar, with all the usual connotations. It was seen as some sort of pidgin or slang, just like the banlieue slang Aya uses, and no self-respecting scholar would write in it. Then new, young authors started writing it, and reclaimed the word. For an Italian example, Dante wrote an essay extolling the value and dignity of the Vulgar language. He still felt that Latin was superior though, since he wrote that essay in Latin (De Vulgari Eloquentia, if you're interested). Still, it is was a temporary designation, by the time of the Renaissance no one was calling the language Vulgar anymore, it was just Italian. It had become the norm for literary production, and only theological and (sometimes) scientific literature was still written in Latin. This is to say, in a century or so (or maybe less), we'll all talk and write like Aya, even in serious circumstances (maybe not at the Elysée, but that's about it).

[@keraleam]

@@blede8649Actually in French I’ve never heard it used for meaning « evil », it’s more of a way to say « mean / bad » or « ugly »

[@Daniel_Zhu_a6f]

this reminded me that a lot of jurists consider Roman legal system to be some kind of ancient standard of civility when Romans were a nation of slave-owners and warmongers.

[@dude-lo9jf]

As a brown woman with a college degree in literature, whenever I go on a date with a man who wants to prove he knows more about literature than I do (even tho Im the one with a degree), he'll use the most abstract language to say absolutely nothing of value, or complex or new and it pisses me off. I know this has nothing to do with the video but when you said that thing about using abstract language to say nothing at all I felt so validated hahah

[@suzygirl1843]

This is why I am pleased more and more Africans are learning Mandarin. Language is Colonial tool to put us down and Mandarin for thousand years has only centered East Asian sentiment, its' got nothing to do with race. Hopefully this rearranges how Africans think about race and move away from race as an ideology.

[@swarupkumar2]

Would the experience be different if you are not brown?

[@AugustRx]

Some people do that Jordan Peterson routine not bcoz they want to come on top but bcoz they might be worried that you will find them stupid and a bit unrelatable

[@merlin5662]

@@AugustRx quite possible, its like being in a room of geniuses and not to be insulted you try and fumble to compete with them, not to appear better but to appear that your not stupid.

[@solrubyx]

@@swarupkumar2 maybe it wouldn't have been any different maybe it would have. some people think brown woman are less educated than white women. so, it could've been either misogyny or both misogyny + racism.

[@midnitelion5238]

Racism and envy. Nothing else. Some call it arrogance, but it is more than that.

[@rattgod]

Add misogyny to that as well, it’s so obvious she’s getting this hate because she’s a black womam, unapologetically herself and confident.

[@thandie67]

Or symbolic violence as she says.

[@chalkandcheese1868]

Envious of what?

[@AMGF815]

@@chalkandcheese1868 Being a successful black woman. Having full lips and a butt that isn’t flat. The 2 most popular cosmetic surgeries for white women across the globe.

[@chalkandcheese1868]

@@AMGF815 Not even in the top 10 honey, and if some women do want to get those procedures done it has absolutely nothing to do with looking like you, why would they want to lower their attraction level? So put your wig on and sit down

[@apjoeapjoe]

Fantastic video! As a Black man, an English teacher and an anglophone (bilingual) who lives and works in Quebec, I found this video to be very enlightening. Francophone Quebecers often say that they feel judged by French “accent purists”. I’ve also heard or felt the “you should be grateful” sentiment even though I was born, raised and educated here. I work, I pay my taxes - why do I owe more gratitude than anyone else? Why can any of my neighbours critique society but if I do I’m told to “go back where I came from if I’m not happy?” Great video 👏🏽🙂

[@Burnthiswitch]

That is just awful. Here in the Netherlands that statement of "go back where you came from" has led to Dutch people of third and fourth generation Moroccan descendence to feel more moroccan than Dutch. It just leads to more segregation, more hate, less understanding. I am myself a fourth generation Kenyan immigrant. However, due to genetic intermixing with the palest of the pale for three generations, I have a fair skin, green eyes, red hair. I néver get told "go back to where you came from" even though I shóuld get told exactly that by their standards. So whenever I hear it, I say something about it. Something along the lines of: "So, I too should go to a remote village half a day's walk of Nairobi and live with my African family who don't speak a word of Dutch?" Just to make them think about it. It is ridiculous. I really hope more and more people will value you just for the person you are in the future.

[@ambushpredator7629]

Hello, I live in St. Catharines Ontario Canada and I would like you to rethink calling yourself "Black" as this word comes with many negative connotations as we Melanated people actually come in many shades of brown and or Tawny/ Melanated/ Copper Coloured Indigenous People of the world 🤗. You may identify how every you want but I would just ask my Melanated people to look at the etymology of "Black" and understand why we should not Identify with it as it is a colonizers tag that is not a people ,race nor nation nor land mass.

[@terataylor158]

⁠@@ambushpredator7629this is an interesting point. Many people groups take the slurs used against them and take ownership of those words, thereby taking the negative power away from them. One example would be the word “queer.” Similarly, I have asked several of my colored friends how they would preferred to be described, such as ‘the petite black woman who is speaking to the musician’ as opposed to “African American,” or “colored” etc. She said she would be comfortable with either description if it was used in a positive manner. I can’t take her response as a representation of the desires of all people of color, and while there are always other ways of describing people that doesn’t include stating their color or national origin, sometimes it does come up, and can be an awkward discussion. As for people saying “ go back to where you came from,” that works just as well on white people, because they aren’t indigenous to America (where I am) and used settler colonialism to not just steal land from the true Native Americans, but committed wide scale genocide in the process.

[@Maderlololohio]

I have been feeling this about white and black for a while. Do you know of any or have any suggestions yourself for others words we could use? @@ambushpredator7629

[@Maderlololohio]

​@@terataylor158 I would like to ask why only choose between the words already on offer? I think we should use different words maybe even invent or merge other tbh more beautiful and uplifting.

[@lihchong2267]

I bet those guys complaining about aya had no issues with gojira (who sing in english) and celine dion (who's canadian) being in the opening ceremony.

[@Boo0o258]

I'm french and you're right.

[@ekva2963]

The problem with aya isnt the language or her skin color. Alice chapelle is totaly missing the point here imo. The problem is that the music itself is outrageously bad, there are PLENTY of popular musicians from african, arabic, spanic decent who have a good reputation in france, nobody cares about where they come from or how well they pronounce the language. Aya nakamura's music is very poor, empty as hell, the lyrics are poor, the singing performance is non existant and autotuned, the beats are repetitive afro trap type beats, there is nothing interesting about it for a lot of people, but it resonnates well with lower class people, especially those of african decent

[@seeleunit2000]

​@@ekva2963... Wow, way to demonstrate that not only are you a classist, barely closeted bigot, but you most likely don't have much of a taste for music.

[@a.l.michael6240]

@@ekva2963you didn’t see anything wrong with what you just typed right now?

[@ashamed2Byt]

@@ekva2963 What do you mean by good reputation?

[@frankwilliams8011]

In America they also constantly "move the goalposts" basically underhanded racism.

[@TheTeeProd]

this video is a major boost for people that cannot let go of their victimisation. Nakamura's music is one of the shittiest music period. similar to taylors swift and ed sheeran's music and thus when your music becomes irrelevant than you become a symbol to represent black people and here it becomes a problem

[@bonecracker23]

@@TheTeeProd Ta musique (si tant est qu'on puisse nommer cela ainsi) est une catastrophe, tu n'as pas la moindre compétence pour émettre de tels jugements de valeurs (même sur de la musique objectivement plutôt pauvre)...Désolé d'être un peu abrupt en brisant ton petit cocon d'illusions, mais c'était important de te le dire.

[@TheTeeProd]

​@@bonecracker23 C’est un exercice d’impro que j’ai mis en ligne pour me souvenir de la date. Ce n’est pas un single que je considère/déclare comme un top 10 sur Spotify. Entre mon exercice et la musique d’Aya Nakamura, les deux sont terribles, mais une seule personne parmi nous deux se prétend artiste n 1 mondial, tandis que n’importe quel morceau de piano de première année du conservatoire a plus d’accords ou de créativité que sa musique😆

[@TheTeeProd]

@@bonecracker23 C’est un exercice d’impro que j’ai mis en ligne pour me souvenir de la date. Ce n’est pas un single que je considère comme un top 10 sur Spotify. Entre mon exercice et sa musique, les deux sont mauvais mais une seule personne parmi nous deux se prétend artiste n 1 mondial, tandis que n’importe quel morceau de piano de première année du conservatoire a plus d’accords ou de créativité que sa musique

[@EclecticPotpourri]

0:10 BABES the ONE ANSWER is ✨Misogynoir✨ African descent and African American descent Femmes who are told their style is not good but when a cosplay of Black American culture and praised.

[@Honeydoyou]

👏

[@momentinhistory333]

THIS!!! 👏🏽👏🏽 the hatred of Black women as you stated (misogynoir.) They mad cuz they ain’t us’😂

[@queensarah7720]

Clock it

[@lindamcghee6296]

I am a African Black American and I like her music, in fact I listen to a of music. They do same here in America with our people music. We plenty much ignore them. She is a beautiful young woman. So I am going to give her flowers. ❤❤❤❤.

[@fryone]

collecting words like pokemons, not a pinch of self awareness, what happens if people dislike you for other reasons ? will you be able to differentiate them or will you throw them in the same basket? i opt for the latter...

[@GrayCatbird1]

It’s kind of hilariously ironic that many of the greats from art history were absolutely hated by the Academics in their time, accused of lacking respect for the rules, of being vulgar, and all. Like early Victor Hugo, or the Impressionists, just to name a couple. Yet these smug ones just keep repeating the script without taking the hint.

[@thedualtransition6070]

Most academics are defenders of the status quo, as their careers were built on learning the status quo canon, teaching it, and add tiny bits to it. Paradigmatic change threatens their careers and academic reputations and respect.

[@gudetamaminiso513]

Victor Hugo considered as a bad writer when he was alive ? I hope it's a joke

[@GrayCatbird1]

@@gudetamaminiso513 not a bad writer, but a controversial one. He was hailed as one of the greats during his lifetime. But some of his plays like Hernani and Ruy Blas were at the center of _extremely_ heated debates between the emerging romantics and the classical establishment.

[@gudetamaminiso513]

@@GrayCatbird1 Indeed but his litterary level had already been rewarded since he was in high school. The future will tell but I sincerely have a hard time thinking she compares him.

[@stripedpolkadots8692]

@@gudetamaminiso513another classic case of discrimination

[@kippen64]

This is the first time I've heard of Aya. It strikes me that she has impeccable manners. There's no way that I could have remained that polite during an interview like that. I wouldn't have been impressed and the interviewer would have been made fully aware of my displeasure.

[@satoshiamane]

Good to see people actually managing to admire her, i cant, not because of her songs or black background, but basically because one of her songs got me bullied (long story short, it's about the song djadja... and this word... look and sound similar to my nickname and an arabic word and basically got mocked because of it) maybe it's petty but it really marked me especially cuz i was young and it whent on for months...

[@meeraftaddesse8956]

@@satoshiamanehow is this Aya’s fault rather than the people who bullied you???

[@satoshiamane]

@@meeraftaddesse8956 Oh no it's not her fault at all, just the association...

[@meeraftaddesse8956]

@@satoshiamane I suggest you work on directing your upset toward the people who deserve it because with all of the racism that is being directed toward her, it simply sounds like you’re just one among the crowd, whether or not that is actually the case. And, just so you know there are actually notable singers who are terrible to meet in-person. Save your frustration for the ones who genuinely earn it.

[@satoshiamane]

@@meeraftaddesse8956 not sure how,I don't see those people anymore and it's been years, ye i know its petty but still marked me badly, i think if she never made that song it would never happen, also it has nothing to do with her skin color, we are from the sane continent (which means nothing, just a fact)

[@acmulhern]

It's terrible how much hate she gets. I was not aware because I haven't watched french TV in years. The whole thing of saying that women look like men, especially black women, is such a low attempt to silence a woman and it's disgusting. Mysogy at its finest.

[@FindYourBalance5478]

Not especially. EXCLUSIVELY black women. This is why it is important to be apart of the solution and to advocate and support black women. Stating dislike does nothing compared to speaking up about it off-line. That's where the impact support and liberation lies. They come for black women. Right before they come for all women. Specifically white women. No one listened to us about Trump. About the propaganda and racism sold and consumed for Republicans bc it didn't affect most people. Until it did. Then black women had a zoom call if community and common goal and low and behold everyone got in on the action. Advocate, believe, stand up and support us. When no one is looking. When praise will not be given,when you do recieve self gratification. Our liberation is wrapped up in your's and so many others liberation.

[@geageart]

Moreover it's stupid. She is super feminine with a pair of woman attrait, long hair, often in dress, she do makeup... It's so absurd. Racism at is finest

[@lkeke35]

Lets be clear its called trans-misogynoir. A horrible confluence of transphobia, racism, and misogyny, often used (at least in the US) to call into question the womanhood of Black and Brown women. A person can easily express their transphobia, racism, and misogyny by questioning if Black women are really women at all, and that is a pretty old tactic.

[@MtJochem]

I honestly don't think she gets as much hate as conservatives want you to believe. They use big words, but you have to compare it to the amount of love she gets in the charts.

[@geageart]

@@MtJochem it don't matter. One person threatening your life is worse 10 peoples saying you changed their life in a better way

[@mariahp7635]

as a brazilian I find it funny when I see some portuguese people claiming that we speak "brazilian" or "wrong portuguese" or whatever, because this language was forced thru our country by the violence of colonisation ignorance about colonialism is so pathetic and it clashes with the own idea of eurocentrism, there is no enlightment in not knowing its own past

[@balajiraju4157]

Every language is forced upon it population in all over the world...but you guys only cared pointing European countries

[@jinolin9062]

@@balajiraju4157brother there is a big difference between colonialism and ... speaking the same language as the people around u?

[@balajiraju4157]

@@jinolin9062 lol...old Jewish land were captured during roman and arab invasion and Jewish were kicked out of homeland, just like us done to native American tribes....but left logic is if white people capture land it will be called colonialism but if other races done the same thing in the past they would be labelled as just occupation

[@no.6377]

@@balajiraju4157 Well, Europeans are the ones acting all purist about their languages even though they forced it on other countries. Like they don't understand that language will inevitably evolve as it crosses borders. Obviously not all, but the ignorant elites it bothers make a point of demeaning anyone who doesn't speak their language the """"right""" way

[@a.r.tavares1322]

@@no.6377 It's not ignorance, it's a way of keeping the power. It's very intentional.

[@Ellecramfraiche]

As an Afro-Caribbean woman… this is great breakdown and hits so many different points. Thank you for using your platform to bring awareness to this important issue.

[@marieerikson]

I found Aya Nakamura's music several years ago, and it helped me learn about how plenty of people actually speak French (because native speakers don't sound like what French textbook would make you believe). I was so happy to see her at the Olympics. She may not be may favourite singer, but she presented to the world that France has a multifaceted culture, even if it often likes to present itself the world as a monolith Great video, especially for people unfamiliar with French culture and debates

[@willbyers_clizzy]

I never saw it that way, it's true that her music can be didactic in terms of slang Because we frenchies integrate so much slang in our way of speaking that it's incomprehensible to foreigners

[@gudetamaminiso513]

Well actually as a french native speaker I don't understand her...

[@HereDiianas]

​@gudetamaminiso513 I don't either, but I am 41 and don't represent every French person. When I was a teenager, I understood the slang of RAP artists although I was not even into RAP. But the music was so popular and loved that most people in my generation understood it while my parents did not. My nieces who speak French perfectly understand her because they are much closer in generation. Slang is not a new thing. Each popular or rural young generation has a slang that may vary depending on if you live in Marseille or Paris or Lille. But when it's put into music and become so popular than many youth of that generation no matter where they live in France all appropriate or at least understand that "slang". This a music that young people enjoy so I found it concerning to see mainly old French people complaining about it. This is just music.... no drug, no violence, no complaining.... Just young people enjoying music lol.

[@AD-jq7ow]

Most french people or people who speak French don’t understand her lyrics

[@philobellus4105]

I am french, and the majority of french people don't speack like her.

[@solarmoth4628]

I thought I hadn’t heard of Aya before but as soon as you mentioned Djadja it clicked. The misogynoir in the way Aya is being criticized is very heavy. It’s sad Aya is being criticized for creating music that she wants to sing, listen and dance too.

[@seeleunit2000]

Exactly. I've never heard of this woman until now, however what you say is true. Just watching this made me so angry for this woman.

[@FindYourBalance5478]

​@@seeleunit2000how are you willing to use your rage to advocate and support her and or women like her?

[@FindYourBalance5478]

​@sandyella55I pray for your evolution to dismantle your centering of self. It's not about you. If even a white woman is pointing out what black women have been speaking about since its rooted creations, dismissing and generalizing black women / and the white woman who pointed it out. This will literally and effectively in the end harm you . There is no right,wrong or you involved in empathy, Compassion, understanding and a willingness to believe and bare witness to someone's humanity. It's absolutely free and hurts no one and nothing but ego.

[@carolinegardner8214]

@sandyella55France is worse than America

[@LPcapricorn1980]

​@sandyella55Actually, the French past is worse (i.e French Colonization). You might wanna rethink that last statement.

[@ATLIEN333]

You have given me more optimism about the future of humanity. Thank you for leading your voice to educate and sharing this to the world.

[@kelvin_darwin]

Pretty spot on. I have also noticed, abstract art from "common" people isn't all that appreciated, validated, or credited until the elite contextualize things to their benefit.

[@alicequayle4625]

Yeh there's a whole bunch of special artspeak words and phrases used to validate images. Or to dismiss them / the creator. Eg 'facile'.

[@kelvin_darwin]

@@alicequayle4625 I think we do our best to sort through the complexities, but we are always limited in our perspectives. This being the case, I think it's very important that people are having this conversation. Especially at this particular moment.

[@deeh9563]

As both a maker & lover of abstract art, I agree 100%!

[@alicequayle4625]

@@kelvin_darwin another dismissive phrase is calling a technically competent work 'workmanlike' or 'illustrative'....

[@kelvin_darwin]

@@alicequayle4625 Post-Modernism in a nutshell.

[@shinke2835]

I find this to be very interesting because it's the same way white americans view black americans when they speak in AAVE and how speaking ''proper'' english is the norm because they do not interact with any black people but eventually start using words from it and call it Gen Z slang

[@Hooga89]

I don't know what country you are living in but AAVE hasn't been disrespected in 30+ years anywhere in the US except maybe pockets of racist small town holdouts in the Southern US states. Hip-hop is one of the most popular genres of music on the entire planet. A black American has been president. At some point you should learn acknowledge the progress.

[@punnettsquares]

denying the existence of a problem doesn't stop the problem. the existence of one black president does not translate to a fundamental shift in distribution of power. Alice talked about the existence of "symbolic violence" which clearly still exists. Sure, progress has been made, but inequality still exists, and symbolic violence still persists. It's important to keep vigilant, acknowledge the reality, and address it so progress happens.

[@Hooga89]

@@punnettsquares Inequality will always exist because we live under market capitalism, the idea that if you just make capitalism greener, redder, browner or more female, it'll suddenly stop being unequal is a fantasy. But maybe your goal is to just have a little of the inequality for yourself.

[@ballman2010]

​​@@Hooga89If I'm being charitable, I guess you are thinking about the rising popular appeal of black culture in the US in that timeframe. While this is definitely a thing that has happened, to say AAVE hasn't been disrespected in that timeframe seems delusional. Study after study has shown how names that sound non-white on resumes are chosen less often for jobs. And that's just a name 😂. And to invoke that we had a black president as evidence? When a big part of Obama's appeal was how well he could appeal to white voters and not alienate them? Seems like a very narrow interpretation, if not just a bad troll. I do apologize if I'm misunderstanding your meaning here.

[@Hooga89]

@@ballman2010 In other words, there is no good society, nor is it ever reachable, there is only the eternal ideological grift; left-wing ideas are only a tool to make sure you have a bourgeois-level income within capitalist society.

[@goldieARZ]

Your use of the word "vulgar" reminded me of an incident that made the news decades ago. There was a well documented encounter between english-born mega Hollywood icon Elizabeth Taylor and Princess Margaret (sister to the Queen of England). Taylor was wearing the famous and huge Krupp diamond ring (33 K) a gift from husband Richard Burton. The Princess asked if that was "the" diamond, and remarked that it was very large, and "Vulgar". A few moments later she asked Taylor if she could try it on and Taylor immediately slipped it on her finger. And as the Princess admired the rock Taylor smiled and said "Not so vulgar now, is it?" As a black American woman, Aya Nakamura's journey sadly comes as no shock to me. For generations the term vulgar (and worse) has been used to describe black people's physical and facial characteristics, our music (blues, jazz, rock-n-roll, hip hop, rap), the way we talk, the way we dress, the way we wear our hair, and our athleticism. It has been said in an insecure effort to "keep us" in our place. But our culture now permeates throughout US society. Today black folks have excelled at all levels of society, in business, entertainment, sports, science and yes even as US President. And like Elizabeth Taylor, perhaps the best response is for us to look across the table, smile and remind them..."It's not so Vulgar now...is it?" As an immigrant, Aya has overcome much in her life. She is a strong black woman, and w/ her millions of followers she knows what to do about the Haters. Ignore them. PS, how's France doing w/ the deplorably low number of female artists whose works are exhibited in the Louvre? Thank you for your thoughtful and provocative discussion.

[@cc-by8uk]

I love your comment - it is so true. The elite regards everything as lower class or vulgar they do not posses. In the moment they like it or own it. It turns to elegant or acceptable in a miracolous way. And to stay on top of society the elite needs to be a class you want to be part of and you want to copy. But they are already in decline. Every new trend starts in the lower and middle class not in the elite class. In fact the elite is worthless and spoilt and should not be copied anymore.

[@ZeldaZonk-zt8fr]

She is a very strong black teupu.

[@DuskyJewel]

@@goldieARZ 👏🏿👏🏿👏🏿👏🏿

[@chelseashurmantine8153]

I love how the elite fear the working class

[@PHlophe]

I hope they fear us real good because when resources will be sparse they will be on the menu. Because i will be one those people that would say "vous n'êtes pas au bout de vos surprises"

[@michaelodonnell824]

Only in France - because (let's put it this way), at one stage, the French Working Class "performed some surgeries" on the Class system. Memories of such "surgeries" can linger...

[@LisaMartin-r1n]

Especially in France, they KNOW we will come for them eventually, and the day it happens it won't be the time to talk anymore.

[@michelehehn229]

Sometimes the working class can win, at least for a period of time. See Bangladesh.

[@Just_some_guy_1]

Despise. Trust me, they don't fear your poor ass.

[@immarycatherine]

i'm surprised there wasn't a mention of misogynior in this video. very simply misogynior is the unique way Black women face discrimination because they sit on that intersection of anti-black racism and misogyny. i had never heard of this case, but it doesn't surprise me considering the way Megan and Harris (mentioned in the beginning of this video) are publicly being treated. i made a video on Megan Thee Stallion talking about how she is treated vs a woman like Ariana Grande who is just as sexual in her music. to quote Malcolm X, "The most disrespected person in America, is the black woman. The most un-protected person in America is the black woman. The most neglected person in America, is the black woman." WE MUST DEFEND AND PROTECT BLACK WOMEN ✊❤️

[@karisno7798]

Very surprised! ‘Looking like a man’ is a classic misogynoir comment. Edit: sp

[@desinope3828]

yeAhhh maybe because class dynamics prevails and material conditions dominate gender dynamics as well, so unlike u she was going right to the source :)

[@karisno7798]

@@desinope3828 intersectionality disputes that idea. It says all these things can be true at once it’s not a competition.

[@gaeig]

She did mention colonization so many times in the video. Racism is ultimately a recent rebranding of elitism in a post colonizing war meant to encourage the heirs of the colonizer elite to subjugate the colonized, instead of the heirs of nobility being encouraged to subjugate the peasantry. She took a more generalized perspective on this because there are many low class women having no racial difference with the bourgeois who are also called vulgar.

[@karisno7798]

@@gaeig I agree there are many low class women who face similar criticisms of vulgarness , but you’re all acting like you can’t be black, woman and poor. Poor black women have it bad! Intersectionality is missing from all your comments defending her approach. She failed to mention by name what Aya is experiencing that is specifically because she is black AND a woman - it’s misogynoir. She could have spoken about how class intersects with this given slang terms often derive from immigrant communities and the proximity lower class white people have to this language. You won’t convince me that intersectionality is irrelevant when talking about a black woman’s experience.

[@alatielinara]

If you have boobs, everything "elegant" becomes "vulgar" suddenly. So it seems like "elegant" is also about not being "too feminine" with curves and all.

[@akay3787]

It’s not about curves, it’s about being a black woman

[@MatthewBretton-cu2el]

​@@akay3787it's Intermingled. Black women tend to be curvier

[@maxinewarnest894]

​@@akay3787Diana Ross was curvy and elegant.

[@victoriasvibesss]

Yes, as a curvy/busty woman and dancer, I've noticed this. Some people are confused by my introverted, creative, awkward personality when they sexualize me before getting to know me. It took me some time to balance my fashion with modesty and sexyness. And don't get me started on when I say I've studied Ballet, contemporary as apposed to twerking or sensual dancing (which I also like to dance lol)

[@mills8]

Yes it’s true. Women with smaller boobs can wear super low cut revealing neck lines and look elegant, if you have bigger boobs wearing these neck lines is suddenly too revealing too sexy. Same for wearing tight clothes with big hips/bum, it’s seen as being too revealing and sexy whereas a skinnier woman can wear it and look elegant

[@gamelife622]

As a Senegalese who lives in Senegal, everything you said about the loss of some part of our culture due to colonisation really hit me. Growing up I've witnessed it. Whether i like it or not, french culture is in my blood and I have to live with that. And as Aya, i found very naturally a balance between those two cultures. For me it was easy but I can't imagine how hard it was for my grandparents who literally were forced to change their way of life. Great video ❤️👍🏿

[@milky8471]

I'm also senegalese ! Yes it is so sad look at wolof for example. How many people can speak pure wolof none ? Not that many

[@gamelife622]

@@milky8471 yeah that's so true. I'm lébou but if you speak to me proper Wolof, I wouldn't understand a word 😅😂

[@blackmagic6]

I'm your African bro. You need to wake up and fight against the eradication of your African culture. This is not a joke. Do not tell me that you are French. If you present to me who is an African that you are a French I no longer see you as a Friend. Wake up. Show African pride and dignity. This is why the Sahelian nations of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, today are the premium Africans ...... because they are doing what no other Africans are doing. I love them for that.

[@awambengue2820]

Well said bro

[@f3vermore]

they call them “vulgar” but they’re usually just women who are confident and not afraid to express themselves 😛

[@diarmuidkuhle8181]

OK but then there's some women who think the definition of 'glamorous' is looking like a street walker. The more skin you have on display the more dressed up you are, apparently.

[@PatienceOpoku-rr6yx]

@@diarmuidkuhle8181so what?

[@elleanna5869]

@@PatienceOpoku-rr6yx there are other women (often black African women) that need no permission to call this vulgar. Nothing to do with discrimination, racism and all the topics of this vid, and not even with female self confidence. This lady is just a skilled entertainer monetizing her fine body til she can, and the controversy help her even more ...all this debate is just an amusant pourparler , hiring her didn't make Macron any lesser colonialist towards Africa than he has always been like all his fellows French premiers, "left" or right.

[@frishter]

So basically someone with no sense of shame...

[@PeacefulSavageKS]

I'm confident and I am not afraid to express myself. I've never been called vulgar but since my expression doesn't match the new age shit, I've been called many things that I'm not. I don't care though. Because that's what confident truly means. Being true to who you are not trying to fit it.

[@roxannelittle]

I'm so grateful for what you shared! You articulated my own experience in the US so much better than I could! Thank you!!!

[@Tinfoilpain]

My left ear is very pleased, my right ear is neglected.

[@1HiroTheLife1]

Isn't that what they call... Leftist Audio

[@potts995]

Mono audio was our true ally all along!

[@briemme]

it gets better at 1:53 :)

[@Fantomstranger]

Thank God it wasn't just me

[@liamchoux6160]

leftist audio

[@serpentlaw5961]

Thank you for shedding light on French cultural racism.

[@Grace-zx7yx]

I live in the german speaking part of Switzerland and speak "school-french". It‘s so exaggerated that her lyrics is supposedly incomprehensible. I understad quite a lot but am aware that I don‘t understand the french slang words. which, guess what, is not unique to the french music scene. A lot of german rappers also use slang that I have to google. They get the same accusations, which are passive aggressive due to their migration backgrounds. I think rap, hip hop, r&b are genres that are looked down a lot even though it takes intelligence to be able to freestyle and rap.

[@Betweoxwitegan]

Living in Switzerland is dreamy 😂

[@candytwiggytwist3506]

In nightmares

[@evilemuempire9550]

You have it English rap too, though usually less criticized since it makes its way into popular culture pretty quick.

[@rubbishrabble]

The Last Supper drag show was what was trending so why all this about somebody nobody noticed? If you don't believe me then just search this nobody musician against the other nobody in the Last Supper drag show.

[@dw9524]

Because if the 90% really went anarchist it would be game over. Right now they're teetering in the edge of not wanting to piss us off with wealth disparity and also showing off.

[@marcelamsss]

It's called racism. The word most Americans fear. I'm Brazilian and I have a "coke bottle body", which means small waist and big butt and boobs. Being brown doesn't help either. No matter if I'm wearing the same clothes American women wear. It's not always about the clothes! It's about our bodies! Americans (yes, a lot of them, so I can generalize!) treat me as if I was a prostitute. To the point people talk in the third person about me in front of me! I overheard women at my job trying to figure out if I was natural (I am. Never set foot in a gym either) or if I had a BBL. I started to find my butt ugly, too big, vulgar. Today I'm in therapy. But I'm still in a state of shock and sadness. Specially because my therapist agreed all of this was indeed happening to me. Having a professional validating my feelings and confirming their behavior is racist made me go down in a spiral of insecurity, frustration, disappointment. It made me question my whole life in the US.

[@samhaucward3633]

I understand what you are saying but talking about "racism" in USA when you are from Brazil is funny at least or clearly hypocrite 🙄

[@billiealexander7484]

They're not being hypocritical at all. While there are differences Brasilians and Latin Americans also experienced the effects of colonialism and how it's shaped how people view bodies of color. Our lives are VERY different sure. But I'm thankful for people commenting on it and pretending racism doesn't exist even though their country is "more diverse" than ours in the US.

[@Ibnafrika]

Sista, I hope you love yourself more. Engage in the history & cultural context that produces Brazilian beauty. Your people have been subjected to over 4 centuries of victimisation & discrimination. That is the core of the problem. The comments today, the dirty looks, the insinuation of being a prostitute all will anchor themselves onto your inner turmoil & insecurity. If you can remove your desire to live up to ‘American’ standards & replace them with standards you choose; their consent will become irrelevant. Peace and blessings.

[@NMiller80666]

'Coke bottle body' is a beauty standard in the Caribbean and Latin America :). The 'Americans' and they are only called this because of nationality they are not the true Americans. A curvy body is a beauty standard in America also but the majority aren't born naturally like that, and most have to undergo surgery to get what you have, they are JEALOUS because you are beautiful. I also believe there are those who feel eurocentric beauty is been threatened, and this manifests as racism and making other non - european body types inferior.

[@marcelamsss]

@@billiealexander7484 Thank you ❤

[@debrabrower3864]

Ungrateful is a common word used for Black successful people who criticize the status quo.

[@woodywoodverchecker]

There was once a marketing agency offering the slogan "Wir können alles. Außer Hochdeutsch." (=We can do anything, except speaking standard German) to the state of Saxony, and they declined. They later offered the same slogan to Baden-Württemberg and they accepted it and used it quite successfully. Baden-Württemberg's accent is seen favorably, as it's an economically strong, wealthy region, but Saxony's Eastern German dialect, while being very distinctive, is seen less favorably and they would have probably been made fun of.

[@yolekvlt]

Never ending classism. It is "fancy" when you are rich, but "trashy" when you are poor.

[@JackTheOrangePumpkin]

Using the accent of saxony is mostly done as the butt of a Nazi/Afd joke (the right wing party in Germany)

[@MDonuT-of7px]

As somebody who lived in Dresden for 17 years and has mastered a Walter Ulbricht impression, there is a very good reason why the Saxon Accent is made fun of. People associate it with not only a lack of decorum and poverty, but self-inflicted misery, jealousy, racism and ignorance. The kind of person who spends all day complaining about how bad their life is, but refuses to even lift a single finger to make life better for their kids. I remember growing up and knowing a girl in elementary school who had better grades than me, but still had to go on the trade school track because of her bum of a father didn't want to put in the effort of raising a child with a future. That's Saxony. Self-perpetuated misery, and a visceral hatred of anything that might remind them of that. I really hope they changed, but considering how many stories I hear of right wing extremists over there, I really doubt it.

[@Nicole-yw4vq]

Western Germans are just better than Germans from the East, especially in terms of education and moral standards. Not my opinion, but a very common one.

[@uschurch]

​@@MDonuT-of7pxI agree that Saxony is miserable and has some pretty nasty representatives. I am not sure to what extent it can be described as am inherently Saxon problem though. You almost sound classist/racist when you talk about the Saxons...

[@SVK91]

As a Québécois I have met a lot of French people who look us down because of our accent, some without even realizing it; and some even when they made the choice to come live here. A lot of French people are super nice, but some of them are SO condescending in a weird colonial way... I can only imagine what people from African origins must hear on a daily basis! When I visited France, many people told me how they were surprised that they can understand me perfectly when I talk, like "wow you don't actually sound like an uneducated savage (surprised Pikachu face)". Thank you I guess? Anyway... I have a complex love/hate relationship with France! Bisous du Québec! ;)

[@eligiagolembieski7268]

Well, imagine if you were from a 3rd world country that was colonized by them… being Brazilian and speaking Portuguese i can relate a lot to some things that she says in the video, since we are colonized by them, and for them we are speaking in a less educated and polish manner. Same for Spanish and other South American countries. I guess the comments about the language and pronunciation itself wouldn’t bother me if I knew exactly where and why this is coming from.

[@poliquitit]

Which is ironic because Quebecois are speaking a way less corrupted version of the French language than what’s being spoken in the mainland today.

[@Yellow.1844]

​@@poliquitit also a massive amount of french people come live to Quebec, Quebecois people only go to France to travel. Its funny how they still think theyre better than us lol

[@David-rb9lh]

@@Yellow.1844 France is collapsing socially and economically due to bad political decisions and excessive immigration. Ironically, the French are really flocking to North America, especially Quebec. Let's hope Canada doesn't make the same mistakes with immigration. What's even more annoying is that these French people fleeing the consequences of socialism also vote for candidates from this political camp.... In fact, the only country that speaks well of France is France .....

[@slowjamsliver7006]

I'm from western Canada and know about the French looking down on the Québécois French. Though it really just reinforces that French are snobs stereotype we hear from other parts of Europe.

[@k.c1126]

I noticed that the complaints about Aya in the news report were all from men whom she wouldn't look at twice... My impression is that they are intimidated by her beauty, sensuality and exoticism... But maybe I'm reading too much into it...

[@Vxjx15]

Exotic is not an appropriate word to use to describe a human being.

[@k.c1126]

@@Vxjx15 I see your point. However, it's apparent to me that the MEN see her like this. It's not my view of her that I'm expressing with that word.

[@Nazinsky]

Aka is also a black woman which doesn’t help discrimination against her (I.e. being called a man, she doesn’t look like one).

[@Kuntlip]

Male? Yes. A "man"? No.

[@onlineonlineaccount2368]

She is not ''black'' she is Malian women

[@sesaydeen]

@@onlineonlineaccount2368 she is "black" Malian is just her heritage.

[@Nazinsky]

@@Kuntlip there’s no evidence showing that she was born as a man smh

[@Nazinsky]

@@sesaydeen thank you. Socially, she is black, I appreciate you for clarifying

[@ericdere]

I’m amazed those boomers did not demand intimate knowledge of Latin, being the root of the French language.

[@InfInityNoir]

it's not boomers though, it's a class thing, plenty of young people born in higher classes are using the very same argument to dismiss any art coming from lower classes. If it was a boomer thing the phenomenon would slowly be disappearing when in reality it tends to increase

[@FabianEllis]

@@InfInityNoir yeah I hate classism & lack of empathy people show to people less fortunate than themselves.

[@dorinpopa6962]

Well, if you go back in time a bit to the age of many classical French writer they would surely expect a cultured person to know latin.

[@CoClock]

Ah. But I think you may be missing the point that… the French language is perfection. So there is no need to go backwards to learn it’s Latin origins /s

[@jaiyabyrd4177]

​@@InfInityNoir Good point!! Millenials and Generation Z are very mean-spirited and discriminating

[@TheTalented10th]

i am a Black woman in the U.S. (and a doctoral candidate) and I appreciate this video.

[@chalkandcheese1868]

Sure you are

[@lloroshastar6347]

I find this so strange. We had a lot of Caribbean music in the UK become extremely popular, so much so that it directly influenced a lot of British bands who not only were more than happy to cite their inspirations but even had band members of mixed British and Caribbean heritage, they often sung messages of racial harmony. It did often end up that a lot of British people couldn't always understand the various Caribbean dialects even though it is English but aside from the usual elitist class 'I'm not racist but..' types there wasn't a huge backlash to it. I remember when I first heard about France wanting to retain it's language and the measures behind encouraging that I thought this sounded like a good thing. But now I'm not so sure, it seems to have bred an innate snobbery in a lot of French people where they see any 'perversion' of their language as an attack, it's like language supremacy and puts me in mind of a US politician who chastised someone for speaking Spanish in the US, despite the fact it's not only a recognised language of the US but widely spoken. Language can be preserved without it turning into an excuse for racism or xenophobia.

[@LuDa-lf1xd]

We have the same problem in Catalonia, with the separatist movement encouraging the hispanophobia and the monolinguals from others regions edging them on.

[@dorinpopa6962]

​@@LuDa-lf1xdwell, I'm pretty sure the non-castillans have their gripes with castillian being enforced and promoted to the expense of local languages. I'm for people learning multiple languages, but it's kind of dishonest to blame the opressed cultures of holding some grudges towards the dominat culture. For harmony to be possible equal rights in this matter have to be in place and genrwtions have to grow without the memory of prejudice and discrimination.

[@elsasvenski1566]

Well in France many artists from the Caribbean are popular since the 70’s. We have taxi creole, kassa’v, Francky Vincent and more recently Kalash or Maureen. Also many French Caribbean slang were introduce by the young people in French language, it never was an issue. The problem with Aya is that many teenager look up to her but her songs means nothing even though they’re are catchy, always the same subject be the more beautiful to please a guy, sex, cheating etc.. In French schools we can literally see the level decrease and it has a lot to do with what they look at the TV and what they listen too. So the French Academy are trying whatever they can to avoid this.

[@Ibnafrika]

So French TV has no affairs/ cheating? The gall of trying to say the origin of the French spreading a whore culture stems from here!! Bridget Bardot? Josephine Baker?

[@brianlawson4368]

Ah yes sure, no racism in the UK, UK is so tolerant😂. Just look at the British people on internet complaining all of the time about the presence of non white people in the UK.

[@anomieminalminds]

Yes. It's also often used as a way to justify violence towards women, I think. Or "who is entitled to safety and who is 'fair game'", in terms of possible or 'allowed' levels and types of violence (women socially seen as 'vulgar' being considered not to be as worthy of safety as women seen as 'elegant', or categorized as "wife material").

[@anomieminalminds]

(both by people who inflict and witness the violence being inflicted on the person in question; including the person themselves, as well. The fear of being seen or becoming the socially-endorsed object of violence being used as a meter and motivator for women to continue to self-police, in terms of social presentation; and, I think, one of the reasons why marketing to women tends to be seen as more effective or 'easier to reach' than men, given how many neat categories of 'girl' can come from the habit of self-policing and wanting to be categorized as the kind of woman who is worthy of being 'protected'/not be seen as a woman towards whom violence can be justified. Again, fear, and specifically the fear of social exclusion/violence, and the aspiration to escape the constant threat of it)

[@maybelatta]

I am supposed to be working right now, but I couldn't stop listening to this Alice! Thank you so much for this beautiful explanation of toxic discrimination. I remember living in France in my early 20s and the looks of disgust I would get were just sad. Of course, I would speak French with an American accent, and those looks turned to smiles. As an African American female, it was the first time I experienced privilege in my entire life. But it was sad still. I will continue to hope for a better, more accepting future for us all. We can feel proud of our heritage without putting others down. It's easy. We can do this.

[@FortheLoveofMonsters]

the French are never beating the snob allegations 😞

[@chalkandcheese1868]

Well at least they're not vulgar

[@ms.ferretmanthing2404]

​@@chalkandcheese1868 oh they are vulgar alright. Pooping in a freshly cleaned river out of anger doesn't sound classy at all.

[@alexwixom4599]

I don't understand people's desire for meaning in art. If it speaks to you, that's what makes it art. The artist making the art is doing it and can claim a degree of ownership. But the way we experience it is its own experience of art. It's not the artist's job to dictate our experience unless they also want that to be known. And even in that case, should be taken with a grain of salt like every other interpretation. What matters in art is the creation and experience.

[@lllordllloyd]

... true, so on what basis do we decide who plays in an Olympic ceremony? Would not 'symbolic oppression' be a more accurate term than 'symbolic violence'? The abuse and racism applied to Nakamura is an inherent part of how France sees itself, its sense of cultural superiority, which many outside France admire. France without this just becomes... England. Interesting video.

[@lllordllloyd]

I was on a train in France and a black man with a small child was sitting nearby. The child's feet were touching the seat as he squirmed around... just a kid being a kid and generally being quiet and respectful of the public space. An older lady saw fit to tell the man that his child's feet should not touch the seat, the complaint was delivered with maximum concocted petulance. "Don't worry my boy", he said to the lad. "If it were not for your grandfather, she would be speaking German". My French is only just good enough to have understood the exchange, but it was pretty funny.

[@oldishandwoke-ish1181]

Absolutely. I listen to a lot of music in different languages and I understand either nothing at all or very little of the lyrics. It matters not: music has its own musicality, and I go with the melody and the "feel" of what I am listening to.

[@alexwixom4599]

​@lllordllloyd France is in the same boat of "National Exceptionalism" that America is in. It's more prominent in conservative ideology. Nationalism is the enemy when cranked up beyond "rooting for the home team." On the one hand, I can see how a French Profesional Butter maker may scoff at the quality of non-french butter. When you're truly an artisan, you appreciate the process, respect tradition, and can often conflate those two things with quality. However, it's easy to fall into the trap of exceptionalism. Thinking the old ways are the only way stifels creativity and creates elitism. Elitism looks a lot like racism, sexism, and probably more.

[@alexwixom4599]

​@@lllordllloydsolid burn from train guy 😆

[@AlmostCouture]

“Bet awards” 😂😂😂 that was so cute! It’s actually B. E. T. Which stands for Black Entertainment Television. It’s an American television network that specifically focuses exclusively on Black American entertainment and culture.

[@bootynbass9436]

lol wrong! Eminem was and IS featured on B.E.T. ALL THE TIME LOL 😂 😂

[@kadinelindsayart]

As a Jamaica who moved to Montreal and started dating a French Caribbean person, I was shocked to find out how racism and discriminatory France and the entire Francophone world is. Quebec is the first place I’ve been discriminated against for speaking English…mind u I intentionally live in the historically Anglophone part of the city. Learning about how Aya is treated in France has been such an eye opener, learning deeper what France did to Haiti, learning how France poisoned Martiniques soil. This is the first time I’m seeing the rest of the world seeing how nasty the Francophone space is. The expected assimilation, the expected silence….France is finally being seen for what it is, and maybe this might give the colonies more support to fight against this disgusting colonial system.

[@curlyhairdudeify]

Pretty much America and France are equally racist, classist, and discriminatory. I'm Hispanic, I work in a mostly white and wealthy party of town, and I have to deal with it on a daily basis.

[@elsasvenski1566]

Right but I don’t think it’s only about the Francophone « world ». The English speaking world is so much worse. Take the example of American people, look at the mess they left in other countries or Great Britain who colonized more than half of the world, it the same thing. Do you know about the wind rush generation? All the English speaking Caribbean from Jamaica, Ste Lucia ect who came to help the UK after WW2 and how badly they were perceived and treated. You should learn about this topic.

[@dahliaherrod4301]

This is interesting because we Americans take the piss out of France on a regular basis. I personally think we don't do it to England because they already do it to themselves on a regular basis

[@theinvisiblewoman5709]

As an black American I am shocked that people of the black diaspora are surprised by the racism and discrimination of current and former colonial rulers. It takes more than 100 years (a couple generations) to reverse 100s of years of racism and discrimination and genocide.

[@samaraisnt]

@elsasvenski1566 Tell me you’ve never been to France without telling me you’ve never been. It’s actually unreal like another racist planet and they can do so openly since everyone there agrees with it. Who colonized a whole fraction of Africa? Who’s museums are filled with 1/3 of all African (stolen) artifacts? Who continues to use a certain slur towards black people with impunity while that would get one checked with quickness in the UK/US? Who kills black boys in the street at a much higher rate but says “We don’t see color, we couldn’t be racist!” you should learn about it. You are talking about racist pasts in the UK 70 years ago, we are talking about racist presents we have lived through today. And do not invalidate her experience. Thank you I’m not giving out any more free lessons today. x

[@toqa6735]

Aya is an arabic name means Verse ...that's quite symbolic for a singer, watching from Iraq baghdad and it's cute how u called out the colonial powers in your country .

[@spacebar9733]

Our name is so important to our lives.

[@hueypautonoman]

Another English translation would be "sign."

[@TheBasalte]

You know it's not from there right ?

[@KawaiiGarden]

Yeah, but Aya nakamura didn’t choose the Arabic version, but the Japanese version of her name. Her name Is Japanese and it means « savage beauty », so your comment is off topic. Her name is an appropriation of Japanese culture. Plus people who are not French native speaker talk and talk and talk, but as a French native speaker since I’m French, the way Aya nakamura express herself in her song is not the French language used by most of the people in France , it’s only an Aya nakamura way of speaking, cause people in the street don’t talk like her. She’s just a good artist who found a way to create new language by using french word and mixing them with African and English words to sound great on her beat. People are not talking like that in the street, I’m from the poor class, then I step up to the middle class, I grew up in the hood, like the poorest area in town, and nobody talked like that. Plus, every part of France has a way of speaking. I’m from Marseille, and I’m telling you that most of the time, when we speak, people from Paris don’t even understand some of our words and expressions. And as for the meaning of bet lyrics, she doesn’t talk about colonisation or anything of the sort, it’s an apology of sex, drug, violence, and so on. 😂 Sorry, it’s not as grand as what you think.

[@TheBasalte]

@@KawaiiGarden Encore quelqu'un qui n'a écouté aucun de ses sons et pourtant n'a pas de problème a en parler. C'est comme si je disais que les sons de Jul n'était pas Français car personne ne parlait comme ça dans la rue. Et sérieusement, D'où tu vois une apologie de la violence et de la drogue dans sa musique ? Et si c'était un homme, dirait tu qu'il fait l'apologie du sexe ?

[@Paula-133]

I'm Black Female, American, and a Boomer. And I get this. My encounters with French people in America. Most of them are teachers. And all younger than myself. They seem unnerved and angered about the mixture of local immigrant dialects and the pour French language. And think speaking French correctly will disappear all together. Many White people seem to live with a lot of fear of their power being subverted by people of color most especially the beautiful, talented black women. These are well-educated people but their arrogance is scary and incredibly pathetic. As though their world can not withstand change.

[@Theone-jt4lr]

Change means death to certain ppl

[@cc-by8uk]

I guess it is a typical French thing. As German trying to speak french in France you get ridiculed and ignored by intention. As long as you do not speak French perfectly they do not bother to try to understand you. It has changed in the younger generation. They all try to speak Englisch and have not these arrogance because they know how hard it is to speak a foreign language. I would describe this as the convulsions of a dying upper class.

[@TheTeeProd]

then why not return to africa

[@toi_techno]

Smirking, smug middle-class people are an embarrassment to themselves above all

[@SitchCorp]

rich or poor, you people have no problem riding on the backs of the middle class...

[@Kuntlip]

Whereas an illiterate buffalo twerking in front of her child is classy. Modern American black culture is vulgar and there is absolutely nothing wrong or racist about that contention. The self-pityfest, racism and misandry in the comment section are a testament to the success of the liberal educational system and media in sowing division. Sorry, there are vulgar people from many backgrounds and the premise behind the channel owner's video is plain false. Next, I'll be learning that it isn't vulgar to shit on the beach. Rather, my standard is a "colonial imposition on 'coloured bodies'" or some such pseudo-intellectual drivel. There are objective standards in beauty as well. White women denigrating themselves, or being expected to denigrate themselves, instead of acknowledging their uniqueness is itself a form of racism. When the Barbary Pirates or Ottomans took European female slaves/concubines, Europeans didn't have the power to "impose" a beauty standard on anyone, save perhaps, themselves. Nonetheless, they were regarded as more beautiful than other women. Life may not be fair, but the denial of reality in the service of divisive politics that benefit the rich (who are disproportionately white) is a deceptive diversion from genuine politics. It threatens no one (despite the claim that it does) in power and doesn't elevate those that deserve it the most.

[@seamusdoherty]

Yes and they are mostly leftists.

[@exoticamirah1988]

All I’m getting from this: racism, plain and simple. I wish Aya all the success and happiness❤

[@fmrc93]

It’s France. Ofc racism is involved.

[@Honey_Bee_Fly]

This was a very well produced, educational, informative video essay- thank you!

[@berrycony]

I love this video!!! I'm from South America and a lot of what you mentioned in relation to language reminded me of what I'm studying at university (to become an English teacher). For example, the bit about language varieties and the treatment they receive (and their speakers), in comparison to standard varieties. The example of the interviewer as a teacher was even more spot on! As this kind of discrimination can be associated to places of formal education (schools). :) Love from Argentina, I cannot stress enough how grateful I am every time I can watch one of your videos ❤

[@candytwiggytwist3506]

Very unusual approach as linguistics, largely taught in English studies, is all about differences within the language.

[@berrycony]

​@@candytwiggytwist3506 I'll try to explain again because I think there might have been a mistake :) I didn't mean that in linguistic studies there has been a certain discrimination between varieties. I meant that in these classes we have been reading about how in our society and in formal places of education like primary or secondary schools, a notion of dealing with language varieties has not been present, but instead, that we have a standard version which is correct, and everything else isn't. However, I'd like to know more about what you were trying to say, since I'm not so sure that I understood you right!

[@BonoboPaBo]

For the whole video I was thinking to myself that this screams sociolinguistics. The works of William Labov and Julie Auger come to mind. People from France (and other colonial empires) can't understand how much language is part of ones identity when it was almost stripped from you.

[@andreabrown4541]

It's kind of weird for me, too, because the only reason why I'm familiar with Ferdinand de Saussure, Structuralism, et al., is because I studied French at the Sorbonne 1979-1980 and because of the French dept in my graduate school, the University of Chicago. I always thought that structuralism and la negritude intersected. Or is that because I'm African American and some black women came up with "intersectionality." LOL!

[@sumayyahadetunmbi4347]

exactly

[@kennethgambill4751]

15:48 "american popstars dont get called Vulgar" Yes they do, and they get called vulgar for their outfits, dance moves, and lyrics. Madonna in the 90's had songs banned from MTV because of her overt sexual moves and lyrics. WAP by Cardi B was eviscerated for being too sexualized, and even Cher at times had drawn controversy for her styistic choices. Elvis was seen as Vulgar in the Early days of rock. So, just because you don't see happening to American Artists in France doesn't mean that it doesn't happen in America too. Still, it seems Aya has a lot fans, probably in equal numbers of her detractors. People are going to push back, but that pushback isn't necessarily racially or ethnically motivated. Art is interpretive. not everyone is going to oook at it the same way you do. People still reject the works of Picasso, and Donatello Di Bartini. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder after all.

[@MD0K]

By the thumbnail I thought you were gonna also touch on how they don't give shit to white French artists for basically having careers with music in english. From Daft Punk to Phoenix and every single major french DJ don't use french in their music, but their white and bourgeois so they are within the circle of respectability.

[@asdkotable]

I was about to say! I loved Phoenix and Kavinsky at the closing ceremony, but it was mostly in English!

[@LisaMartin-r1n]

YES

[@gabrielleverlyck6074]

Yes, and I also think that for some part of the liberal bourgeoisie, speaking and thus singing english is perceived in a positive way cause speaking another language, even more so THE globalised language that is english, is a sign of open-mindedness, and of high-level education, that becomes itself a way of differentiation. Especially when french people tend to have and give themselves a reputation of being bad at other languages.

[@wilbysot343]

gojira :Þ

[@Kamfrenchie]

it's not about using english or not i dont think

[@inspectatech]

In the U.S. we use the word "microaggressions" to capture the concept "symbolic violence" used in the video. Also, in the U.S., as it should be in France, when dealing with music coming from Aya's community, bourgeoisie people will embarrass themselves every time they try to be the gatekeepers of popular culture so they don't even try. They already know that if they don't know the meaning of the words being communicated, that they are not the target audience.

[@ravinj8625]

I came to find this answer. Black people all over the world will be discriminated against. From what I getting she's singing in AFVF. AAVE for the French and now they are mad 😂

[@MarquisVincentBissetdeGramont]

France ≠ United States

[@thesilentdiva]

​@@MarquisVincentBissetdeGramont yes France does equal US in this situation. Both racist. Both colonizers. Both European or filled with ppl of mostly European descent. Its a different side of the same coin

[@Smokey348]

@@thesilentdiva bruh

[@frishter]

And it's a toxic phrase that attempts to police people and promote anxiety with people feeling like they are walking on eggshells in fear of having something they've said taken the wrong way.

[@trevormazhandu1032]

The fact that English is probably your second language and you absolutely killed this analysis I'm grateful and impressed

[@Verdanameridian]

As a non-French person, not seeing Alexandre Dumas be mentioned as one of the 'great French writers' was surprising but I guess that's part of the point because he was of Haitian descent. Good video

[@lisaw150]

Sadly he was politically terrible

[@Verdanameridian]

@@lisaw150 ah right, didn't know that. What were his political beliefs?

[@christophe7723]

Alexandre Dumas has a controversial place in french culture, but nothing to do with skin colour as far as I understand. Thing is, his novels were first printed in news papers, one chapter at a time. And only later collected into book format. On top of that, because the speed of writing needed to be fast, he wasn't the only one writing these stories, he employed someone else to write with him. There are several authors with well known stories, translated into movies, which are not considered as "the great authors of french language" for various reasons, even though most of them were white.

[@mondingo67]

I beg to differ. The race of Alexandre Dumas has a lot to do with how he is perceived in French literature. Yes, there are some controversies regarding whether or not all his books were ghostwritten or partly ghostwritten or were fully written by him. Many French people are still not aware that Alexandre Dumas was of partial African descent via his Haitian grand mother. France just doesn't want to give Alexandre Dumas his proper dues as one of France's greatest writers. They will always bring the fact that he used a ghostwriter for his books just to diminish his accomplishments as a writer. France also didn't give his father all his dues either for being the first black General in the world during Napoleon's reign. All of this just can't be a coincidence. France treated his father badly, and they carried on hating on his son, all because they couldn't stand seeing black people doing great things. They even made a film about Alexandre Dumas played by a white man! You couldn't make it up.

[@jayo7812]

​​@@mondingo67Exactly ,I saw that person's comment and couldn't help to roll my eyes a bit (I'm very sorry). Dumas legacy and how it's rooted in race starts from his father (or better yet hi grandmother), but you already covered that quite nicely.

[@MARZINBARZ]

4:23 so micro aggressions are so toxic. You know they are discriminating against you but they leave enough wiggle room to say that not what they meant. Like, please don’t insult my intelligence by gaslighting me.

[@MsZephyra]

💯 If I had a dollar for every micro aggression, I'd be rich... 😅

[@JohnDeBrazen]

French culture seems very different to the UK. The working-class are seen as the ‘legitimate voice’ of ordinary people and middle-class people pretend to be working-class to legitimatise their opinions. You get people claiming if you have the ‘wrong opinion’ or even if you own a smart phone then you’re ‘not working-class

[@eazydee5757]

It’s the same thing here in the USA. That same rhetoric you’re talking about often comes from the right-wing conservative types, where there’s a bunch of rich and upper-middle class folks who larp and cosplay as if they were a part of the working class and attach themselves to patriotic American imagery, in order to garner working class support. And a lot of times to these people, a lot of white-collar and pink-collar workers (think baristas, screenwriters, and hair stylists) are not perceived as working class by right-wing conservative types because because they are often perceived as working less hard compared to blue-collar workers who often partake in manual labor. This narrow-minded view denies the fact that we’re all being treated badly and purposefully neglected by those in power regardless of whatever job we work in.

[@lloroshastar6347]

True I'm also from the UK, I've seen more people deny they are Middle-class and insist they are working class than the other way round, even when they are home owners with a decent salary and a stable life. Even when they have a TV almost as big as the wall, they will still stamp their feet and insist they are working class, say they 'attended the University of life'. On the flipside I've seen lots of actual working class people be called 'elitist' because they are more well read or are able to think critically and don't just agree with every racist headline they see in the Daily Mail. Unfortunately I feel like more and more the mainstream media tries to make working class synonymous with 'yt' racists and everyone else they accuse of being 'elitist'.

[@chillin5703]

I don't think it's just a perception of hard work. I think there's also a culture war and political angle to it. Things like coffee drinking / baristas, journalists, and salons are often associated as "effeminate", in direct service of middle class (progressive/liberal-coded) culture, and thus outside of the idealized image of a "rusticist" american culture. ​@@eazydee5757

[@DoraWinifred]

That is a very very recent thing, in the last 10/15 years, probably coincided with the change to Tory government. Prior to that the UK was extremely classist.

[@lloroshastar6347]

@@DoraWinifred there are still remnants of this. My mother once had a friend over and their car was parked outside and a neighbour came to complain about it but rather than be civil and simply ask if the car can be moved the neighbour started attacking my mother, claiming she was 'living off benefits'. That was within the last 15 years, we certainly still have classism here. For the record, the only time my mother didn't work for a living was a brief period until I was about 5 years old. But I guess she gave off a 'vibe' to this neighbour. Ironic really, the neighbour thought herself superior but my mother is always very civil and polite and the neighbour was acting like a spoilt entitled brat.

[@trojanlol]

The fact that Aya sung in from of the "Académie française" was also an answer to the criticism she received from this institution. (j'en profite pour recommender les videos sur la chaîne linguisticae, pour les francophones, qui parlent de l'académie et de aya nakamura)

[@docteurpikachu6913]

Linguisticae est le gauchiste se prétendant savant le plus infâme de tout le KZbin game francophone. Bien évidemment, cela lui vaut d'être subventionné par le CNC, c'est bien normal. Il se complaît d'ailleurs à critiquer la "Cadémie" française qui se pose en autorité de la langue pour vouloir la supplanter lui-même, un comble ! Bref, rien à en tirer ; sa platitude ne trouve d'égal que sa mine maussade et sa coupe de cheveux approximative.

[@gummypoppa]

What is the academie francaise?

[@sidoniemanyfoba1654]

​@gummypoppa It's an old institution that more or less plays cop for the French language. What is acceptably French and what's not. It even gives, or gave, prices to writers who used good French. It has a lot to do with the mentality behind the language being systematically pushed and spread all over the country, centuries ago, at the detriment of local languages. Look it up.

[@Wellshem]

​@@sidoniemanyfoba1654 Bro today, it puts meme word into the dictionary. What you are saying it's so biased. It's like saying that the Swiss are a bunch of mercenary with no limits, that kills for money and care about nothing else. That was true, a very long time ago. Not today, not ever again.

[@SBC581]

I have no clue what the issue is. She can come to the USA if France doesn’t want her. She can make huge money here and then go back to France to flaunt her fame.

[@DoodleDabble]

I’m a white foreigner that writes music in French. Even as a white person, I have to surveille my grammar and word choice so I don’t get demoted to second-class citizen. But this year at the songwriters’ conference I usually go to, there was a sudden humongous uptake in xenophobic rhetoric, against Africans, foreigners trying to write in French, and even other francophone european countries. One lady from Africa even said that she didn’t want to see African Francophones on the panel of presenters because they need “real French speakers”. Parisian French supremacy and suppression seems to have come out of the shadows since the election (at least in the circles I run in - found out many of these colleagues supported the RN.)

[@MarquisVincentBissetdeGramont]

N'importe quoi, vous délirez. Allez habiter aux Etats-Unis et laissez les Français tranquilles!

[@nini6619]

You are so right like people just unveil. It’s so crazy. J’ai jamais vu autant de masque tomber. Je suis choqué. En plus dans les commentaires ça y va mais de fou malade j’en reviens pas. Et quand tu sors dehors tu sais jamais à quoi t’attendre, je suis une personne noire et quand je sors dehors et que je parle avec une personne blanche dans ma tête, je me dis toujours que cette personne ça se trouve elle est raciste et qu’elle est poli avec moi juste parce qu’elle pense que je fais partie des bons noirs 😓

[@user-sg4ov7ng4h]

@@MarquisVincentBissetdeGramont va dormir stp

[@aidenpearce5137]

I’m French, incidentally black and I support RN. Last European legislative elections showed 90% of the country voted for the RN. Only a few big cities and Paris are massively lean between left and center. People from countryside are voting for RN. Parisian elite and bourgeois will deny that outcome like they have been doing for 30 years now. I’m working with Moroccan people, they speak an outstanding French language compared to Moroccan descendants born in France and with the best free education at their disposal. Aya was speaking ill of France and now she represented us, that’s the ultimate insult and everything is fine now, because she recently obtained French citizenship…? Nah.

[@aidenpearce5137]

I’m French, incidentally black and I support RN. Last European legislative elections showed 90% of the country voted for the RN. Only a few big cities and Paris are massively lean between left and center. People from countryside are voting for RN. Parisian elite and bourgeois will deny that outcome like they have been doing for 30 years now. I’m working with Moroccan people, they speak an outstanding French language compared to Moroccan descendants born in France and with the best free education at their disposal. Aya was speaking ill of France and now she represented us, that’s the ultimate insult and everything is fine now, because she recently obtained French citizenship…? Nah.

[@briemme]

Ooo I love this conversation. I hope we can begin to deconstruct the hierarchy of language. Thanks for sharing this idea!!

[@tatakoala1725]

It's great how you applied Bourdieu's theories to the topic in such a concrete way. Coming from a working class family, "Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste" really blew my mind, when we learned about it at university. For the first time I could understand why I didn't quite fit in neither with my working class friends nor with my uni class mates, as I was in a world somewhere in between. With my working class friends I couldn't have the kind of intellectual conversations I was craving, but felt much more alike with regard to behavior / habitus. On the other hand, at uni, my class mate's taste for opera, fine theater and artsy literatur, their way of speaking, their style, their habitus seemed all so over to the top and aloof to me, and made me feel left out. The upper classes really do anything to make you feel that your culture is inferior and only what the intellectual and powerful are putting into museums, classic concert halls and their abstract books is worth of appreciation. I always used to say "Oh i'm not into art", when in fact I'm just not into the kind of art that is deemed classy and intellectual by bourgois elites. But in fact I do love art: I love comics, anime, drawings, illustrations of all kinds. Just not the kind of art that is usually hung up in their museums and exhibitions. In Aya's case it's even worse as it is mixed with racist and sexist prejudice.

[@zevionflowers6782]

Alice, as an American I’m really glad you are talking about something going on in France, and explaining to people what is going on to people who aren’t as familiar with what happens in French society and culture. I know you’ve done it before, but I would like to see you do it more often. I think there is an incredible opportunity to give insight to those, like me, who lives outside of France to understand more about what happens in french society. I’ve tried doing it myself but it’s difficult when the media I’m trying to understand only speaks in french. And because you do your content in English it is very helpful for an outsider like me.

[@elsasvenski1566]

@@zevionflowers6782 But the problem with her is she didn’t explained this subject properly, she gave her opinion on the matter and makes French people look like the worst persons on Earth.

[@docteurpikachu6913]

You could make the effort of finding sources that are less absurdly leftist news. You're not learning anything of worth.

[@julide885]

Thank you for your vidéo. Coming from the parisian banlieues, it was hard to fit in certain social circles. And now that those very same social circles try to imitate the banlieues, it makes me laugh

[@aeolia80]

I live in the banlieue of Ile-de-France also, but I'm an immigrant and am still learning French (and am married to a French guy that is more bourgeoisie), so I have no real exposure to the neighborhood culture and dialects and I doubt I'll ever learn it because I'm older and when I do get a chance to talk to people in my neighborhood I don't always understand and they can hear I'm not French, and they just see a white woman, lol, and they think I wouldn't understand them . But I grew up in neighborhoods in Northern California like Oakpark in Sacramento and West Oakland in the Bay near San Francisco, and I'd say those areas are A LOT like the banlieues, like a lot, so I understand more where the people that grew up in the banlieues are coming from. And I have to admit how much it bothers me that I'm the one that has to educate my French husband on the people in his own country sometimes and defend those French peoole, and that I tend to identify more with them than my husband's bourgeois friends and family, even though on surface level I look like I'd fit right in with the bourgeoisie, lol, I don't, lol.

[@kendalleve]

Yep, this is called « great replacement » , first social, then demographic, then cultural, and finally political.

[@udcide6090]

It’s simple. As a so called black person, stop explaining yourself and looking for approval from people who will ALWAYS see themselves as superior. Be true to yourself. You’re absolutely AMAZING, ORIGINAL INHABITANTS OF THIS PLANET! 🩷 You have a right to exist!

[@chalkandcheese1868]

Stay vulgar

[@jaijai5250]

@udcide. ….and it’s as simple as that! Well said! Leave them in their state of delusional superiority. The sun is the greatest arbiter. The sun makes it crystal clear who are the original, heavenly created people are of this earth. There’s a group of people who the sun destroys.

[@m1l1tarym1nd-v3h]

The whole thing was a symbolic violence in reverse of what you trying to say here. I felt a bit sorry for France which is quite remarkable

[@isabeault.perrelle]

I teach French in a Lycée, and last year, I had a conversation with my students about the rumors of Aya Nakamura singing Edith Piaf at the Opening Ceremony. My students-most of whom are of North African descent, if not born in North Africa themselves-were against it, saying that it would "soil" the French language and culture, that it was not suitable. I was appalled. I told them that she represents the diversity of French culture and the French people today, but they couldn’t see eye to eye with me. They insisted that it was not French culture (even though Aya's language is much closer to how they speak). I found it sad that, to them, "high" French culture was something inaccessible to non-white people, let alone something you couldn’t play with or reimagine-one way to re-actualize the classics, in my eyes. Anyways, great vid!

[@balajiraju4157]

Language are not just way of speaking but it is also a part of culture

[@roxane1237]

That's funny because Piaf came from lower class, street singing culture... I taught French in the Netherlands and my students really like Aya and Piaf both of them. They each represent a piece of French culture

[@lilylapitre]

french North Africans descendants are kinda racist tho sooo it don’t surprised me at all..

[@onlineonlineaccount2368]

@isabeault.perrelle....high" French culture was something inaccessible to non-white people, let alone something you couldn’t play with or reimagine-one way to re-actualize the classics. Because high french culture was created for French elites and western elites. Aya is Malian and she should focus on high Malian culture, your students who i know are not nuanced in their opinions and lack a deeper critical thinking do have some points. Why would Aya Nakamura aspire to be of ''high French culture'' ? She is not French and people respect people who respect their own culture, values and civilization. Aya can embrase the the high culture of Mali society and present it through her music. But she doesnt want to instead she embrasses American pop culture, French pop culture with alot mixed elements of the working class banlieus of Paris. You see deep down the French elites/burgeouis/upper middle class who are high educated and focused on authentic French culture.....see Aya a degnerate artist who makes bubble gum music for the urban/banlieu youth and not cultured French society so to say. Many of your North African/Megrebian students are the same they will listen to French pop music and rap. But when it comes to high culture of their Magrebian backgrounds they respect it highly and want somone of high status to sing and represent it.

[@NoName-sp5dp]

@@onlineonlineaccount2368she is french

[@winkcloud]

i think that the section on how bourgeois prioritize abstraction and the working class prioritize function is interesting because i think ive seen it in real-time this week with the "it ends with us" discourse. if we're being completely honest, the low-brow conception of the book is one thing, but blake lively in her infinite stardom does use abstraction to say.... absolutely nothing at all?? "shes more than a victim shes a complex and dynamic person..." vs her costar justin's infinitely more helpful promotion of the film as an exposé for the realities real women face. often accompanied by statistics and anecdotes, his interviews always put reality at the forefront, while the rich white woman has done so much abstracting that people have gone in expecting a romcom and have instead seen horrific retellings of their own trauma. like you said, abstraction isnt always a bad thing, but its a very real phenomenon.

[@PoorMuttski]

It’s like vibes-based intellectualism. You can see it a lot with younger people who have picked up the language of sophisticated thought, but don’t have enough actual knowledge and experience to apply it to. Like Teenage girls complaining about “the male gaze” when they are really griping about people staring at them. The Male Gaze is much more pervasive and integrated in the fabric of culture than creeps staring at your butt! Yeah… some people will have a basic reaction but feel the need to dress it up with fancy language

[@winkcloud]

@@PoorMuttski i think thats the "trickle-down" effect as it applies to culture, more like. really, we're facing an anti-intellectualism epidemic (the republican approach to education, "let people like things" media consumption, etc etc), but i do find that the widespread misuse of buzzwords is the result of real, relevant discussion (for example, mina le who researches her videos very well using any such now popularized term being the originating point for this "trickling down" to young girls that dont know how to properly apply such terminology). that, and i think the wrong crowds are picking up real words to use improperly (like men weaponizing therapy-speak to further gaslight or castigate women).

[@Babyblue115]

@@PoorMuttski I think it's important to let people experiment with different terms tho, don't you think, even if they are not using it 100% correctly or don't understand the full context. And terms shift over times and become new interpretations of it's original meaning. I think that expecting people to have 100% knowledge over a subject in order to have the right to use a term is shunning people away from having conversations and dipping their toes in interesting discussions. Idk just rubs me the wrong way that you have to prove how well you know a subject for your voice to matter, seems like it feeds into some kind of social hierarchy, but hey since I can't explain more eloquenty I guess my voice and opinions don't really matter...

[@ellem8990]

@@Babyblue115 I don't think it's fully the fault of these young girls, but it definitely is a shame that very important concepts and discussions aren't being had and it just becomes harder for people to try to grab back onto whatever the original discussion was. It's one thing to accidentally misuse a word when trying to learn and having people, with no knowledge of there even being a bigger discussion, duped into diluting/misusing a word. Sometimes it honestly feels like some people intentionally try to obscure or misrepresent these terms so that young girls don't have these discussions. It's not like in this process there is any learning happening and I believe girls and young women would be capable of grasping these concepts if they actually got the chance, that's the issue.

[@gabagandalfoftheweed]

@@Babyblue115 This kind of experimenting might be one of the reasons why people are so quick to call other people "N a z i" nowadays though.

[@sixman9]

14:07 They think he should 'Shut up and act' (referring to Laura Ingram's comments about LeBron James) - more power to him ✊🏾

[@xrayfish2020]

Jealous one’s always envy!

[@chalkandcheese1868]

Envy what?

[@sky.2310]

aya deserves better,😢and she's so talented I love her pretty voice. 🧡

[@elsasvenski1566]

She have a good voice, it would have been better if she used it to sing good song and not rubbish things.

[@dreameva1400]

@@elsasvenski1566 So why aren't you a hit then since you wanna talk all that mess....

[@elsasvenski1566]

@@dreameva1400 I’m a musician/singer and I compose music for my own enjoyment my goal is not to become a star. I have other things to do since I’m a medical student. Also I believe I have the right to gave my opinion since it’s a public comment section. Furthermore If you spoke French maybe you would have known that the song are not so great and meaningless, they’re just catchy. Everyone doesn’t have the same taste and won’t stick for meaningless songs.

[@hafizanimation2896]

​@@elsasvenski1566you can't becomes star anyway

[@elsasvenski1566]

@@hafizanimation2896 Who told you, do you know my fate? A lot of people become famous for dumbs things and others by singing rubbish music. Anyway, that is not my my goal in life to be famous I prefer enjoy a peaceful life with those I love.

[@baisinbu98]

Wow!!! 🎉🎉🎉This video was very informative. It is my first time watching your channel. Learned about ‘symbolic violence’ and I am quite grateful for the lessons and how the parallels you drew concretised the depth of its impact though not visible but heavily present.

[@margo1628]

I loved that turnaround when it became clear that the singer Aya's family moved to France from what was formerly a French Colony of Africa. This makes her 100% relevant to French culture. She is playing an utterly legitimate role right now according to the principle of turnabout-is-fair-play! She & the people of Mali were underrepresented in a country that claimed to rule them for many years. Let's hear - and in the self-proclaimed ruling country - from the People more & more.

[@MsZephyra]

You popped up in my feed and I'm glad - very thoughtful and informative, especially as I've been disconnected from contemporary French issues for years (as an American who has lived in France, also as a brown woman who is forced to think about racist motives everywhere I've traveled, no matter how much I want to escape all of it). Merci d'exister!

[@PokhrajRoy.]

0:38 In Hindi, there is a slur that originates from the term used to describe someone from the working class.

[@prikkeldraad7112]

What is the slur? Is it majdoor?

[@PokhrajRoy.]

@@prikkeldraad7112Word starts with a ‘K’

[@erenyaeger9407]

​@@PokhrajRoy.K se kaun sa word hai bhai

[@anonymousinfinido2540]

kullu-manali?

[@PokhrajRoy.]

@@anonymousinfinido2540 HAHAHAHA

[@seese9456]

French being racist is no surprise, your government still maintains its colonialist rule in all the nations it occupies.

[@elsasvenski1566]

@@seese9456 Nothing to do with racism though. The singer Aya Nakura is widely appreciated in France by mostly young people like myself. But let me tell you something, I’m black and I don’t like her songs because her song are meaningless, and very poorly written. Black children look up to her as a model and do you know what she sings about? Rubbish things such as how to be the more beautiful to seduce a man, how to make jealous your exes, sex and cheating. They are very appreciated black singers in France but unfortunately they don’t have the same international recognition as her like Mentissa, Soprano or Yseult (even though I think right now she might get her international recognition because of the Olympic Games). And you know why they don’t have international recognition? Because they’re not overly sexual, and have actually researched lyrics and have profound meanings, which don’t correspond to what are trending in terms of music.

[@ThomasThomas-lx1bp]

Not the people's fault that France maintains it's Territories that way. You can ask people who support the more right wing parties and they'll be all for having them handle things their way without France and that we just let them be Comores learned the hard way when they voted to detach from the French. Now they are mass migrating to Mayotte that stayed French and causing mayhem. If it comes to France giving away it's Territories. They'll lose their french citizenship too. We aren't going to do the same thing as Algeria where a special deal was set giving Algerians a special immigration right. (Forgot the exact policies)

[@TheTeeProd]

no racism, just her music is so bad its disgusting

[@HaloGirl67]

wow this is brilliant. thank you for breaking all these ideas down.

[@roisinhackett4320]

Hi Alice, I'm Irish, but speak french and lived in France. I generally found that when I speak or write french people would either think it was not formal enough (too familiar) or too formal. In France there's a specific way that you are supposed to speak or write in certain situations. This doesn't exist in English to the same degree (or any other language I know of). There's such strict rules. People almost think you're insulting them when you use the wrong word or don't say something in a certain way (but it's just that your not native, don't speak the language 100% correctly or didn't grow up in the culture , even when you're Belgian or Canadian etc). So I imagine with this divide between french people and foreigners, it also exists between white wealthy french people who feel entitled and poorer / middle class french people of colour. There's a standard that's very high. As you say it contributes to racism in a way that maybe doesn't happen to the same degree in other countries.

[@PHlophe]

Roisin, i wonder if in france they call you Rochine or Roi-Zen . Perhaps you haven't captured the "middle ground" between casual and professional French just yet . I suppose it takes time to master because if you get frazzled when bored Bourgeoisie uses excessive metaphor or pepper latin expressions here and there around you and you feel you have to keep up. You are in a world of trouble . Your brand of French has to match your personality. I think as an irish . you catches a whole lot less hell than any foreigner. You are the top tier. If you were Romanian you would be the dodgy white and Bulgarian ? on en parle ? . And if you had more melanin . wheewwww Lordy Lord. I am French with foreign parents. The white one AND the Black one. It was always clear to me that my white father had instant privilege and could learn French at a slower pace than my Black mum who had to tackle it from day one. she has received enough racist comments to fill a bible.

[@thedualtransition6070]

The Paris French white elite are the worst, they look down on the rest of the country, let alone foreigners.

[@gudetamaminiso513]

Interesting ! Thank you for your interest in French, i've been to Ireland and found the place very welcoming to us ! Mention to people that you're foreigner and were not aware of the subtlety :) Here I think the debate is a bit different as Aya Nakamura is french.

[@georgigeorgiev2782]

​@@PHlophe I'm curious do French people think and what do they think about Romanians and Bulgarians? I'm Bulgarian, studied French in school but I've only been in France for a couple of months at a time. My cousin is born in France though to a Bulgarian mum and a Spanish mother. She doesn't know any Bulgarian, because when she was little her father said it's forbidden to speak any other language than French in the household. Always wondered whether it's because he was too scared she is going to be bullied for not beeing French enough 😂

[@Thanatar13]

Franz Fanon's writings ("the Wretched of the Earth" and "Black Skin, White Masks") delve wonderfully into this, and the psychology behind it (I've not read the books though I own them... need to get to doing so, but I've read excerpts and they really spoke to me). Not black (Asian, ethnic Chinese) myself, yet this discrimination- and particularly its impact on those who internalize it (ie. engage in self-hating and white and/or western worshipping)- my parents for instance- is just so pervasive, and it destroys lives, I have seen firsthand how it does so. Thanks for bringing such an important topic to your platform. I think it would be really cool for you to delve into the psychological aspects of it on the colonized/POC side, though I would also understand if you don't feel comfortable with it from your background yourself.

[@gctw2341]

Such nuance, and care for this topic and how it can 'land'. I will re-watch a few times. I wish I had seen it sooner to be honest. Well done and thank you!

[@patchworkmuffin957]

I found your distinction between functional and abstract language to be something I've been looking for, as I find myself too often explaining to my more affluent classmates why they shouldn't immediately write certain people or practices as distasteful simply because they lack some higher intellectual meaning or fail to meet some cultural standards (although I'm sure I am also equally guilty of the same at times...). I am disappointed that I did not learn about Aya Nakamura and her music sooner, so I suppose I will be going through her discography as I do my chores for the rest of this week. Thank you for the video, Alice!

[@KingNoctis-b9z]

I have no ideas how this video was recommended to me, but I'm infinitely grateful that it happened. I really appreaciate the topic and what you had to say about it. Most importantly, I've learned somethings here. For example, I've never heard the term 'symbolic violence'. Now, I'm aware of what it is and what it means. So, Thank you.

[@krosettedesigns]

I loved this video... you explained it very well and your open heart will take you far...

[@oregonsenior4204]

18:38 Algerians thrown in Seine in 1961? As an anglophone in the U.S. I had not learned this in school. (Wikipedia: Paris Massacre of 1961.)

[@johannageisel5390]

I had no idea who she is and her music is not my cup of tea (I don't like pop music very much in general), but I think she looks very good. Like all popstars do. Stylish, conventionally beautiful face, the attitude of a diva. Nothing we haven't seen before in admired female singers. It's hard to understand for me where the "vulgar" is coming from, because I don't see it.

[@turnipsociety706]

I find her music crap and forgetable. But damn she has style.

[@elsasvenski1566]

@@johannageisel5390People care calling her vulgar because of her songs, it’s not necessarily linked to her appearance. Her songs are very meaningless, the subject treated in her songs are very poor, but it’s catchy. The problem is many black children including members of my family look up to her as a model because she’s the first French black woman who is international known and celebrities such as Rihanna danced on her songs ect… And because she acts like a diva too.

[@ThomasThomas-lx1bp]

When you put 2 tons of make-up done by professional make-up and 1000s dollars of clothes of course you can look good.

[@jaijai5250]

@@ThomasThomas-lx1bpdo you think the women who represent the beauty standard are natural! They too are caked in make up, applied by professionals, whilst wearing bespoke clothing. Hypocrisy and double standards are quite nauseating!

[@pearlivory3483]

This was great. My family is from Haiti so none of this surprises me. Makes perfect sense ! Beautifully told! Subscribed!!!

[@hunchbackaudio]

All the prejudices I had about the French are confirmed here. Next time somebody tells me I exaggerate, I can confidently ignore them.

[@CurlsandThings]

I agree with you! You’re definitely not exaggerating!!

[@veryirishdude]

One of the first books I read in high-school that made me appreciate how diverse language, (aka dialect or Pigeon Languages) could be was "The Great Train Robbery" by Michael Crichton, he had such a love for all of the different working class slang and constructing interesting conversations with them. I wish more people could be EXCITED about language changing, especially when it's words younger generations come up with. Sometimes slang doesn't have staying power, it's a flash in the pan moment. But other times it becomes so integrated into society that we couldn't imagine not having that word now.

[@CarrotConsumer]

People are constantly confronted by things they don't understand. Adding in new slang is just another thing on the pile. It shouldn't be scorned but I don't think the experience of not understanding something because someone chose to use words you don't understand should be waved off either. We should always be conscious of our word choices and who we are communicating with.

[@libertine40]

I have been speaking on the passive-aggressive behavior and emotional violence of Europeans and European descendants in USA, Inc. I really appreciate this presentation because the same kind of emotional and Spiritual assault takes place here against those in my melanated Aboriginal and/or African descended peoples' communities. It's been going in for centuries while the 'yt' dominant music, fashion and cosmetics industry makes millions off of our culture. Yet the majority look down their noses at, discriminate and exclude us on a daily basis within all of their socio-political and economic systems of 'YT' soopremaC. It's time to awaken from the Western colonial Dreaming and grow up to become Humanity. ---------- --------

[@grandsome1]

"Mé est-ce que t'as lu tout les livres avant de parler." / "Did you read all them books before speaking." Is all I hear when they go on and on about the canon of the language. Which is hypocritical because the said masters weren't well regarded when they wrote their stuff and often were regarded as uneducated and vulgar themselves before being whitewashed by history into model bourgeois people who definetely did not hang out in the slums or the red light district.

[@nocturnus009]

Apologies in advance for posting what has been a controversial quote the past two weeks… “I imagine one of the reasons people cling to their hates so stubbornly is because they sense, once hate is gone, they will be forced to deal with pain.” -James Baldwin [Belated Happy 100th Birthday James] Fear:Anger:Hate:Suffering… I think Yoda and James would have made for profound Salon Gatherings. Gratitude For Moving The conversation forward Alice. Salut, Allez LFG!

[@TylerD288]

I greatly admire both Baldwin and Yoda and wish I could 'like' you comment a thousand times! Not only is your comment completely true, but it's the most original here.

[@nocturnus009]

Thank you @@TylerD288 , Alice has been a profound gift for me as someone that spends a LOT of time on the meditation chair. I have posted that comment so much since James’ 100th birthday on the 1st. It says much that it has induced pushback.

[@nocturnus009]

Thank you @@TylerD288 , Alice has been a profound gift for me as someone that spends a LOT of time on the meditation chair. I have posted that comment so much since James’ 100th birthday on the 1st. It says much that it has induced pushback. There is also the point made in the 14th chapter of The Grapes of Wrath: we are so focused on the trivial we can lose awareness of the collective problem. The zygote has split and “…WE lost OUR land…”

[@sumayyahadetunmbi4347]

hmmm

[@kodeshe8643]

what an elequent frenchly fluid in english spoken summary...refreshing..i drank it up slowly knowing it will nurish my mind like a glass of mineral water,far from boring and short enough for lingering thoughts and ideas about the world we live in,i now have a new word that encompasses the silent violence we experience.Thank you ms Cappelle.

[@raquelnunes9793]

3:26 ok so when maneskin won eurovision, frances entry was lovely, i actually have it in my liked songs playlist on spotify, but it didnt win. Good song and voice.. but maneskin still won. France only allows a certain version of france to be portrayed to the world. Thats why they wont win.

[@raquelnunes9793]

10:24 ALSO, i found out last year that sob is fluent in many languages including mine, Portuguese. Totally gobsmacked! Such a great actor.

[@AHAB-conscious]

i hear a buzz in my ear, when i didn't heard nothing in my right ear, i got really scared

[@afrozzz5634]

This video was extremely eye opening. Thanks.

[@jujuthelazy]

I hate the way Aya has been treated by French media. I don't even like her music, but I think she's a fantastic artist and I feel grateful that someone is enriching and playing with French. Renaud used to use slang back in the 70s and 80s, and he was successful and even praised for it - but he's a white man. Some people say that they don't feel represented by Aya, well neither am I, but she represents a lot of French people and they need to acknowledge that. I was so happy to see Aya at the opening ceremony. I do hope it bothered people who hate her so much without any valid reason (if you don't like her music, than don't listen to it and shut up - but mostly you're just being racist).

[@Saidor570]

Another, older example is George Brassens. He is considered nowadays considered as a 'french poet' even if some of these songs were very vulgar - he even used to be censored in radio back in the 1950s!

[@wsmccallum5069]

One of the paradoxes of French intellectuals is that they will look down their noses at rappers etc. from the banlieue and make fun of their slang, but they are all too happy to venerate old dead exemplaires of vulgar Paris from François Villon onwards, devote syllabuses to them ( and even name a school after them in Villon's case), and are too lazy to google a contemporary slang word but will spend their time studying old dead slang words these authors used because they form part of the French literary canon. The day French culture becomes set in stone will mark the beginning of its end. Happily there are new generations who ignore these gatekeepers.