Ever since releasing their debut album just over a year ago, Dorian Electra has catapulted themself to the top of the Hyperpop scene. Their album, “Flamboyant,” signified a cultural shift towards normalizing queerness and androgyny, while simultaneously celebrating and critiquing masculinity.
This brilliant body of work represents a future where masculinity is no longer toxic, trans-ness is celebrated, and gender is no longer seen as binary.
In a similar vein, Dorian’s newest double single, “Gentleman” & “M’Lady,” appears to be a scathing criticism of toxic masculinity.
In “Gentleman,” Dorian references their fedora and refers to an encounter with a partner as a “conquest,” which seems to be an attempt to parody the masculinity of incels and pick-up artists.
In a similar vein, “M’Lady” describes a femme who is full of contradictions: “sexy,” but “pure”; “chaste,” and a “wh*re.” This sort of mixed up femme fantasy is exactly the sort of thing that men who don’t respect women want–someone who is hot but not sexually empowered; still a virgin but not cold and “prudish” towards them.
And of course, all of this heavy lyrical content is stated in such a playful way, sung over such bright, metallic beats, that it still feels like fun party music. It’s very classic Dorian to make songs that retain a casual mood while taking a deep dive into this sort of lyrical content.
Dorian Electra has managed to remind us, once again, that smashing the patriarchy can be fun, actually.
You can find “Gentleman” & “M’Lady” as well as “Flamboyant” on all major streaming platforms now, and you can visit the site for content on the double single here.
