Radical Bottomhood: A Critical Translational Analysis of the Songs “Boy is a Bottom” and “Es una pasiva”

This chapter presents a case study of the translation of mass consumption products for entertainment that integrate representations of gender and sexuality. The cases studied are the parody song “Boy is a Bottom”—based on Alicia Keys’ song “Girl on Fire”—released by the drag performers Willam Belli, Detox, and Vicky Vox, and the cover version in Spanish “Es una pasiva.” Both songs are explored using content and thematic analyses to identify how sexual positions (active/passive, top/bottom, activo/pasivo) are constructed in different language systems (English and Spanish). The main argument resulting from the contrast of both songs is that, even though the interlingual cover in Spanish keeps the general theme of the source version, the discourses regarding bottoming and pasividad are divergent.