Focus on singular body parts exacerbates attempts to see women as whole
The popular opinion of 2014 seems to be of one mind and two cheeks. Pop culture: music videos, TV shows, magazines and of course social media (ahem Kim Kardashian’s endless over the shoulder selfies) seem to all agree that while it may not be the year of the donkey, it’s definitely the year of the ass.
This subject matter with male artists seems to be a well that will never run dry, “She got a big booty, so I call her big booty”, “My anaconda don’t want none unless you got buns hun”, “Fat bottomed girls make the rocking girl go round”, and my personal favorite, “Been around the world don’t speak the language, but that booty don’t need explaining” (so simple even Jason Derulo can understand).
What’s new, however, seems to be the lengths female artists will go to showcase their backsides.
Maybe artists are thinking since Miley Cyrus’ twerk-ademic shot her to new levels of fame it’ll work for them too. Titles like Nicki Minaj’s, “Anaconda,” and Jennifer Lopez ft. Iggy Azalea’s, “Booty” cut straight to the point: I got a big booty … and that’s it.
The videos feature the artists wearing nothing but a pink G-string and the women in bodysuits having what looks like corn syrup poured all over them. The visual stimulation practically block out any vocal qualities to get as many views as possible (no matter if all of them are most likely to be newly pubescent boys.)
Recently two of these artists, Minaj and Azalea were feuding after Minaj made a public gibe that Azalea doesn’t write her own lyrics. I guess it’s nice that they think it matters what their lyrics say? And honestly Nicki, you took the hook and premise of your song from Sir Mix-A-Lot don’t act like that was so original.
I watched Nicki Minaj’s "Anaconda," and immediately thought of the Venus Hottentot, an African woman brought to England in the 1800s to be stripped naked, and displayed in a cage like an animal to the good English people for a small fee.
Minaj and her dancers dressed up in jungle attire to writhe on top of each other in the tropic heat thus enforcing an even stronger likeness to that poor woman’s objectification long ago. Is it okay because Minaj chose to do this? Is it empowering because she’s making the money off of it? I don’t see how.
Stripping a song or performance down to a single body part takes away the humanity of the artist therefore making the woman an object.
It’s the same concept advertisers have been using for years to sell products using women’s bodies. If it’s just her leg or her cleavage or her mouth who cares about her brain or her emotions?
For men to see women as equals someday, women need to be seen as human. Humans are sexual beings, and these artists are definitely driving that point home, but with an entire nation and world as their captive audience it seems like they could think of something a little more empowering to say and do.