Hip Hop & Racial Politics 2012

DJ Post- Commercialized = Sexualized

 In modern commercial hip hop music videos black women are portrayed and represented as objects instead of subjects. These videos present idealized images of black women; big boobs, big butts, straight hair, pretty faces, and thin waists. These images create standards of beauty that are specific for black women, and create a dynamic in which black women think they must meet the standards set by these videos. By meeting these standards they will be appealing to men who have power, wealth, and status. These images continue to be undesirable to American mainstream standards of beauty. On one hand these images create a space for black women to exist in, but at the same time the women in these commercialized videos are more often than not shells.

Bodies As Objects.

 Ayy ladies is a video that captures the idea that women are objects and nothing else. Woman are simply just danced on or around and used to compliment the male roles. The men in the video are the center of the video; the camera is fixated on them, and only them. Women are only seen dancing in the background.

In this video you see examples of wealth, and the stance that “I come from money”. This flashy setting gives way to the idea that women are seen as spoils that come along with the big house or the nice car. They are also seen as objects of status. They are representations of wealth. One thing to point out in this video is that, the faces of these women are briefly shown; they do not focus on who they are. It seems that their physical bodies play a more prominent role in the video, which is degrading. The camera shows the brevity of their appearance to the masculine environment.

Undesirable Bodies. 

The video Baby Got Back opens with a dialogue taking place between two white woman who are reprimanding a black woman. They make no comment to the fact that she is dancing on top of a pedestal and that that is equally damaging to all women. Instead the two women comment about the body of the woman, attacking her body and sexuality as a whole. They comment about her having a “big ass”, and make other comments that allude to her being a “one of those rap guys girlfriend”. This is significant because it is a prime example of how mainstream American culture views black female bodies. In this case, the black women’s body is undesirable. 

                                   

Confusion, What/How Should I Be.

Bitch Bad shows the confusion that both men and women have as a result of the images shown in these types of commercialized videos. In this video there are two distinct instances of confusion that take place. There is the confusion that stems from a black woman who is trying to define her identity and claim a space and role in society. Then the video displays the confusion that children have when trying to interpret and make sense of the images that they see. Specifically in the music video there is a juxtaposition shown between a little girl and a video girl. At first the little girl is just listening to the song and watching the video girl, but she eventually ends up mimicking the actions of the half naked video girl. This is a strong example of what happens to children who try to live up to the images they see.

                                     

Questions to consider:

* How is the image of black women as either objects or trophies detrimental to the development of black female identities?

* What value do video girls have, and how do they contribute to masculinity?
* What steps can be taken to quell the confusion that is caused by these images?
* Should BET be destroyed?