First Draft of Critical Investigation

Do music videos like ‘Anaconda’ by Nicki Minaj empower or objectify women in the music industry?

Despite the efforts made for feminism over the past years, the stereotyped portrayal of women as sex objects is still a topic to be discussed in the music industry. Women are still shown in such a manner in music videos and people say that women are being pressured to follow the status-quo and view the portrayal as the norm. Many blame the hip-hop, R’n’B genre for continuously representing women so negatively in music videos. However, things have evolved now as the portrayal is now viewed as powerful. There are many female artists who portray themselves in such a manner in their music videos. A clear illustration of this would be ‘Nicki Minaj – Anaconda’ which was named one of the sexiest music videos of 2014 by VH1. Similarly, artists such as Katy Perry, Rihanna and Jennifer Lopez are represented as empowering female artists when they sexualise themselves in their music videos. It is evident that the mentality of how women present themselves has changed when comparing it to the music industry years ago. Potentially, this will affect the future generations as they will expect women to have ‘perfect’ bodies and to sexualise themselves which can have a negative effect towards younger girls. This essay will explore the representation of women in music videos so as to see if what would have seemed to objectify women decades ago is what empowers women in today’s generation due to the normality of the representation of women.

In August 2014, Nicki Minaj released the music video for her song Anaconda which shocked the nation. Upon release, the music video received both good and bad reviews. Critics from the national review described the song “as ‘degrading’, promotes prostitution and drug abuse and promotes immorality to young girls” [[1]] and is a “violation of [a] women’s dignity” [[2]]. However, some claimed that “the video is about Nicki asserting her power, not as a sexual object but a sexual subject” [[3]].

During the scene between 3:03- 3:23 of the music video, Nicki Minaj puts more emphasis on the fact that she is sexualising herself and making herself look seductive as she is seen in a kitchen slowly eating a banana and a strawberry with whipped cream; both representing the connotation of someone being seductive. At that moment, the video is slowed down and Nicki Minaj's facial expressions suggest she is confident as she wears revealing clothes and stares straight at the camera in a direct mode of address. Whipped cream is then spread all over her chest and butt indicating to the audience to focus on these areas of her body. The clip then increases in speed as the scene continuously changes from her with whipped cream everywhere, to a banana rapidly turning to her again twerking in the kitchen. The fast close ups clips of Nicki smothering whipped cream and long shots of her in the kitchen twerking gives the audience the overall view that Nicki Minaj is confident about being sexy. She even states this herself: “There are sexual things that I do that aren't for a man. I feel empowered sometimes by being sexy and being comfortable enough to be sexy on camera.” [[4]] This part of the music video suggests that men would be the primary audience due to the level of sexuality shown which shows that the male gaze (Mulvey) is presented. Many where shocked to see such explicit content and it caused a moral panic (Cohen) as people, mostly parents, found this as a threat to society as the music video portrayed women in such a way that parents do not want their children to imitate.

However, Nicki, along with a few others, found the music video as normal and empowering. In fact Nicki stated that it was important to do “the kitchen scene, because it’s always about the female taking back the power, and if you want to be flirty and funny that’s fine, but always keeping the power and the control in everything.”[[5]] At the end of the music video, Nicki is seen dancing on rap artist Drake but what was significant about the scene was the fact that it can be argued that Nicki Minaj is trying to assert power as Drake sits down helplessly as Nicki Minaj confidently flaunts herself around him. She then removes his hand from her butt to show she is in control of her body and walks away. In Nicki’s view: “women should be allowed to be as hardcore and sexual as we want, because men do it all the time”. [[6]]  However, we cannot neglect that Nicki’s lyrics and video content is not what everyone wants to hear or see giving the music video an oppositional reading (hall). But is the reason why some viewed the song as normal because it’s how women empower themselves now?

If we go back to early 70s we can definitely see the difference of the way in which women presented themselves in music back then compared to today. Helen Reddy’s song “became an enduring anthem for the women’s liberation movement” [[7]] as the song uses effective lyrics such as “I am strong (strong) I am invincible (invincible) I am woman”. The song has no sexual reference at all and although there is no official music video on YouTube, live videos that were available showed that Helen was dressed modestly and the main focus was on her lyrics and the liberal values she was promoting. Back then, it would have been shocking to see women sexualise themselves and wear revealing clothes to display power and feminism. At that time, it would have been degrading to see a women do such things.

Things started turning in the 90’s when male artists began to develop the stereotype of women being “shown in such a sexual and perfect way”. [[8]] The Thong Song by Sisqo “drew minor criticism for exploiting women as sex objects, and was credited for starting a new wave of "booty" videos” [[9]] as the song repetitively says “baby move your butt butt butt”. In the music video, the women are dressed in a seductive manner and there are low angle shots so that the audience can have an exaggerated view on their butts and high angle shots for their chest. Male artists began to follow the trend and were then criticized for degrading women in such a way. However, female artists were slowly starting to follow the trend themselves.

In 2001 Kylie Minogue released the song Can’t Get You Outta Head which turned out to be a success. People “described Minogue's vocals as a "sexual come on"” [[10]] which can also be seen through her music video. Even though Kylie’s main focus wasn’t her butt, she still wore a revealing dress that gave the audience the opportunity to see her cleavage. Also, her lyrics weren’t as sexual as Nicki’s because she focuses more on her image. It is clear that “the conception of white female sexuality inscribed in and through Minogue’s body differs little from the one which emerged out of Victorian and colonial discourses” [[11]] as she conveys a different look on female sexuality.

The song Milkshake by Kelis continued the trend of female artist becoming more sexual in 2003. Despite the level of sexual connotations in the music video, the song received a lot of positive views. Milkshake can be described as similar to Anaconda because both songs share sexual content in both music videos and lyrics. Kelis, in her music video, behaves very seductively whilst she wears a top that shows a bit of cleavage. She prances around the diner biting cherries in a seducing manner. Her lyrics also gives of a sexual vibe suggesting that she holds some sort of sexual power to bring all the boys towards her just as Nicki tries to present herself in Anaconda. This clearly shows that by 2003, people wear getting used to the idea of women portraying themselves in a sexual way and using the male gaze (Mulvey) as a way to gain popularity. However, she relates the sexuality to confidence as “she likened one's milkshake to one's self-confidence; "A milkshake is the thing that makes women special. It's what gives us our confidence and what makes us exciting”. [[12]]

Finally we have Madonna who “is seen to variously defy, challenge and redefine hegemonic representations of femininity”. [[13]] In 2005, the song Hung up was released and the music video Madonna wore a slightly revealing outfit but the lyrics and overall content of the music video wasn’t sexual compared to the music videos we see today. However, during that period Madonna was “the female star who perhaps more than any other embodies the new postmodern feminist heroine in her odd combination of seductiveness and a gusty sort of independence”. [[14]] It is said that “she made it possible to articulate feminist ideas in an accessible (or indeed sexually provocative) way and thus paved the way for, and empowered, a younger generation of female performers” [[15]] Following from Kelis’s music video, Madonna introduced the mentality of women feeling confident as she sexualises herself. “While boys enjoyed looking at Madonna as an object of sexual desire, they were perturbed by the confidence she expressed in her own sexuality” [[16]] showing that Madonna’s target audience was not only for men but also for women so that they may learn to empower themselves as she does. Overall, this suggests that society and women in music has evolved to showing sexual motives in both music videos and lyrics with the purpose of empowering themselves and motivating the audience to imitate their mentality and to view it as a feminist ideology. The past 15 years show the ‘degradation’ of standards or as some female artists view it, the liberalisation of the media.

As for the discussion of where the stereotype of women came from, many lean towards the hip-hop genre as the ones who created it. “Some say women in hip-hop videos are adornments much like jewellery, nothing more than walking bling”. [[17]] This is because of the way women are presented in most hip-hop music videos and the way they, male rappers especially, describe women in their songs. This started a moral panic (Cohen) as studies showed that “young women who watched hip-hop music videos were more likely to be accepting of teen violence”. [[18]] But is only the hip-hop genre that encourages the female stereotype in music?

Recently, “pop music has been labelled ‘un-feminist’ and criticised for being one of the many factors that perpetuate misogynist views of women”. [[19]] Kitty Empire a music critic for The Observer says “pop is where the tectonic plates of sex and commerce rub up against each other most vigorously”. [[20]] An example of this would be the song Bang Bang sang by Jessie J, Nicki Minaj and Ariana Grande. Throughout the song, the three female artists are seen bragging about their sexual prowess. In the music video, the girls are shown singing to the song in quite revealing costumes. Also, the colour pink was largely pronounced in the music video so as to promote feminism and female empowerment. The song “represents a fairly significant power shift in pop music — women are in complete and total control of their sexualities while men have become the objects of desire.” [[21]] We can see liberal values have changed because it is now normal “to hear women talking so openly about sex in a pop song — the way men have been "allowed" to talk about sex in music for years”. [[22]]

It can also be said that for the past 40 years, rock music lyrics have become increasingly explicit when referencing about sex and “only 14% presented women as fully equal to men” [[23]] in music videos. Whilst country music also casts women in gender roles, “heavy metal and "gangsta rap" music lyrics have elicited the greatest concern”. [[24]] If we look to the other side of things, is it not the artist who choose to follow the trend of sexualising themselves because despite female pop artists becoming more sexual, there are artists such as Adele who are classified as not overly sexualised artist because she is “focusing on her music rather than her sexuality”. [[25]]

Furthermore, many would agree that representations are overwhelmingly created by men as they continuously objectify women in their music videos. Many of their music videos portray “men as the characters with “power and dominance, and women as passive recipients of their ‘gaze’”. [[26]] One example of this would be the song Blurred Lines by Robin Thicke. Despite the song overall was successful in being no. 1 in the charts, it received a lot of negativity due to the manner in which the song seemed to degrade women. The song's music video was released in two versions, with one featuring three models being topless, while the other censored nudity. The censored music video had the models in revealing outfits as the dance around and the guys flirt, follow and touch them. It was also “proved controversial with some groups, with claims that it is misogynistic and promotes date rape.” [[27]] This was due to the lyrics that was used in the song, for instance, Thicke sings “I know you want it” “a phrase that many sexual assault survivors report their rapists saying to justify their actions”. [[28]] It is a common phrase that male artist use in their music videos when conversing with a female, for example, Sisqo sang in the Thong Song “Girl I know you wanna show” which gives the assumption that she wants it without actually asking her. Many feel that Thicke’s song is about forcing a woman to perform both the good girl and bad girl roles so as to satisfy the man’s desires which promotes the rape culture.

However, songs like Face Down by Meek Mill are released without people giving so much negativity. In the music video, the women’s faces are not shown much because the camera focuses on their body features. The guys on the other hand are shown rapping with money in their hands as they watch and touch the girls and throw money at them suggesting that they are strippers. The sexual objectification in the song “refers to the idea that women are good only for sex”. [[29]] On examining YouTube comments regarding the song, one said that they ‘can't believe more women aren't offended by music like this’, while another said ‘It's crazy how women accept this kind of music’. Considering the facts, it can be concluded that degrading and portraying women in a sexual provocative way is “the currently most honored way of being a man”. [[30]] They represent themselves as powerful and portray the stereotype to the audience through their music and people are now viewing it as normal because they are viewed as powerful male artist and people in power seem to stereotype those with less power (Dyer), in this case women. While this is the case, male artists are influenced by pressures from elites in the music industry persuading them that the only way to maximize sales is to record provocative, edgy lyrics. Most evidence suggests that rappers whose songs present women negatively are influenced by three major social forces: “larger gender relations, the music industry, and local neighbourhood conditions.” [[31]] Because of this, “women are seen as sex symbols that simply must have sex and will submit to any fantasy that a man may have.” [[32]] Now female artists are being pressured to present themselves as the representation portrays them.

The media in general seems to be able to pressure women to act in a certain way. Society has made it clear, through media magazines, that women are most attractive when they wear less and show off their assets therefore, it has become a normal thing to see women sexualise themselves. We have been “dumbed down” (Keen) to accept this fact as the media promotes hegemonic ideology that we are forced to act in accord with which shows that the media, through the music industry in this case, is like a hypodermic needle feeding us their dominant ideologies. From a Marxist feminist perspective, the media is trying to reinforce the stereotype of women being “depicted as existing primarily for the sexual satisfaction of others (usually men) and as willing to accommodate any and every male advance”. [[33]]

It can be seen that female artists such as Lil’ Kim, who calls herself ‘‘Queen B****, “adopt the persona and status afforded [to] them by men” [[34]] and the media causing them to sexualise themselves “in order to maintain status and popularity”. [[35]] People seem to be more incline to watch a music video where a women acts in a provocative manner. It is not only men who enjoy watching women as Mulvey suggests but, as suggested by Berger, women watch themselves being watched indicating that even women watch themselves being seductive. Therefore, many sexualise themselves today so as to conform to the status quo and to gain viewers.  Also, “the inclusion of sexual content in music videos in as important marketing tool” [[36]] hence why female artists today feel “pressured from all points on the Cultural Diamond to overemphasize sexuality in the early stages in their careers”. [[37]] However, many claim that today, many “female artists are degrading themselves and other women in their own videos, as if an attempt to embody the male rapper persona” [[38]] insisting that it is empowering to be classed “the man”.

To elaborate, it seems that the definition of power has changed from what it was decades ago. From a female prospective, in the 21^st century, women feel empowered by their sexuality. There are now many female artists who show confidence and power in their music videos by being sexual. For instance, not soon after Anaconda came out, Jennifer Lopez released Booty featuring Iggy Azalea. The music video instantly starts off with Lopez and Azelea both clad in skimpy, cleavage-bearing bathing suits, colliding their buttd with one another and twerking. A majority of the clip features a ton of booty twerking, spanking, and a seductive scene where JLo is rubbing oil around her butt. The video is also shown in a fast paced montage of Iggy and J-Lo’s butts as they twerk and dance. Alexa Camp of Slant Magazine described the song's lyrical content as "a tribute to ladies who are, uh, 'booty-full'” [[39]] and Lopez herself stated that “it's about owning everything about you and who you are, and embracing that”. [[40]]

Rihanna is also a female artist known for taking risks in her music and representing herself as a powerful woman. In 2010, her song Rude Boy was released which was an oppositional reading towards the dominant ideology as she presents herself as the one in charge in the relationship as she sings “I'm a let you take me higher” suggesting she has the power and is allowing him to take her higher.

Katy Perry’s song California Girls also demonstrated that she uses her sexuality to exert power. In the music video, Katy is seen naked with candy covering parts of her body. At the end she destroys the gummy bears by squirting cream that were attached to her boobs suggesting that her sexuality is what makes her powerful. The song however was claimed to represent California.

“Close-up shots of individual body parts, self-touching of sexual body parts, ample skin exposure, or sexualized dancing” [[41]] are what use to be indicators of sexual objectification but now when people see these action codes (Barthes) they would view is as an indication of sexual empowerment. It appears that “female artists [are] even more likely to objectify themselves than male artists […] objectify female characters in their music videos” [[42]] so as to take on the male role. For example, looking back at the song Bang Bang, “it employs one of the most offensive phrases from Thicke's "Blurred Lines," "I know you want it," as if to say, "Listen up, dudes! You've been claiming to know what women 'want' in pop music for years — now it's our turn” [[43]] This shows binary opposition (Levi-Strauss) between masculinity and femininity as women are now portraying themselves more powerful than men by using liberal values and suggesting women should be allowed to express themselves as equally as men. Nicki made an interesting statement when speaking about her song Anaconda as she says “if a man did the same video ['Anaconda'] with sexy women in it, no one would care”. [[44]]

 According to today’s generation, women no longer want the status of being the princess (Propp) and this can be seen with the recent yet popular song Worth It by Fifth Harmony. It is written from the perspective of a woman telling a man that she's "Worth It", applying sexual connotation. However, the song can be viewed as a feminist anthem, as it encourages "young girls to truly believe they're 'Worth It' and can own Wall Street or any other place on which they set their sights". [[45]] This latter view of the song is highlighted in the music video. In the music video, in the background “phrases like "feminism is sexy" and "women in power" scroll across the NASDAQ-style ticker.” [[46]] The girls definitely go “straight to the "dominate men" level” [[47]] when making this music video.

All these factors discussed can contribute to the future, how women will be viewed and the ways it will affect the audience.  The outcome is, “continued exposure to this kind of representation of women may result in the acceptance of women in a subordinate sexual role and ultimately lead to behaviours that reflect this perception”. [[48]] Since it is now viewed as the norm to see women sexualise themselves, younger ones would grow up with the mentality that women are supposed to present themselves in such a way. Younger girls will view that as the only way to feel powerful feminist. Studies have shown that “children exposed to such stereotypes tend to have a more restricted view of appropriate sex roles than those exposed to counter-stereotypical representations”. [[49]] Not only can it change the way the younger audience view gender roles, but it can also have a “negative consequences for the mental, emotional, and sexual health of youth, especially adolescent girls and young women” [[50]] as they believe that if they do not look or present themselves in such a manner that might bring discomfort to themselves, they are neither powerful or attractive young girls. It can be said that in the near future, music videos won’t be relevant due to new and digital media. People would be more interested in downloading songs rather than watching music videos. However, today, music videos are increasingly available besides pervasive “due to the ubiquity of music videos on websites such as YouTube and multiple viewing platforms, including mobile phones, portable digital video/ music players, and computers”. [[51]] Therefore, all the representations given by both male and female artist for women, will have an effect and change the way women are viewed in the future.

 To conclude, due to the change of feminism over the past decade or so, to some extent, what would have seemed to objectify women in music industry in the 1900s is what empowers women in the 21st century due to the normality of the representation of women. From a feminist perspective, women are able to sexualise themselves and feel empowered and it won’t be seen as sexual objectification as it is coming from a female’s point of view. Rosalind Gill states that the “shift towards women’s freely chosen self-objectification fits very well with broader postfeminist discourses which present women as autonomous agents no longer constrained by any inequalities of power imbalance, who can somehow choose to “use beauty” to make themselves feel good”. [[52]]

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[[1]] (Wikipedian, n.d.)

[[2]] ibid

[[3]] ibid

[[4]] (Beaudoin, 2015)

[[5]] (Brodesser-Akner, 2014)

[[6]] (Beaudoin, 2015)

[[7]] (Wikipedians, n.d.)

[[8]] (Anon., 2014)

[[9]] (Wikipedians, n.d.)

[[10]] (Wikipedians, n.d.)

[[11]] (Railton & Watson, 2005)

[[12]]  (Wikepdians, n.d.)

[[13]] (Railton & Watson, 2011)

[[14]] (Shuker, 2001)

[[15]] (Railton & Watson, 2011)

[[16]] (Shuker, 2001)

[[17]] (Holloway, 2014)

[[18]] (Jennifer Stevens Aubrey, 2011)

[[19]] (Machokoto, 2014)

[[20]] (Empire, et al., 2013)

[[21]] ibid

[[22]] ibid

[[23]] ( Weitzer & Kubrin, 2009)

[[24]] (Family, 1996)

[[25]] (Topping, 2011)

[[26]]  (music, 2014)

[[27]] (Wikipedians, n.d.)

[[28]] (Koehler, 2013)

[[29]] ( Weitzer & Kubrin, 2009)

[[30]]  ibid

[[31]] ibid

[[32]] (Jennifer Stevens Aubrey, 2011)

[[33]] (Gunter, 2002)

[[34]] ( Weitzer & Kubrin, 2009)

[[35]] (Holloway, 2014)

[[36]] (Wallis, 2011)

[[37]] (Lieb, 2013)

[[38]] (Holloway, 2014)

[[39]] (Wikipedians, n.d.)

[[40]] ibid

[[41]] (Jennifer Stevens Aubrey, 2011)

[[42]] ibid

[[43]] (Kritselis, 2014)

[[44]] (Beaudoin, 2015)

[[45]] (Wikipedians, n.d.)

[[46]] (Benjamin, 2015)

[[47]]  ibid

[[48]] (Gunter, 2002)

[[49]] (Thornham, 2007)

[[50]] (Wallis, 2011)

[[51]] ibid

[[52]] (Railton & Watson, 2011)