I enjoy hip hop dancing...watching it, that is. The closest I come to dancing of this nature is clumsily moving along to an aerobics DVD.
I like the bright, colorful costumes worn by the dancers in this video. Some might think me an old fuddy-duddy, but I prefer costumes of this nature to scantily-clad "babes."
Granted, in this video they are using ordinary people rather than professional dancers. In many ways, I like it better. I grant that people should have agency to wear whatever they want, but at that juncture women and girls weren't being encouraged to dress as revealingly as possible. This doesn't mean the era wasn't without problems where women were concerned. Notice that there are very few female break dancers, and none of the musicians are women.
Warning: this video is extremely explicit. Most videos don't go this far. The women in this video are nothing but objects, and the lyrics are degrading. You might find yourself wondering if I decided to embed porn.
Of course some clever soul trotted out the old "sex sells" chestnut. He also told the commenter who decried the sexism in the video to "go die with your eleven cats." (This explains the eleven cats statement in my response.)
My response:
Sex is one thing, sexism is another. I don't see any of the men in the video stripping down to next to nothing and shaking their asses while allowing themselves to be groped. These women are not being presented as human beings, even as human beings involved in sexual acts. They are being presented as objects for the pleasure of the men. They are given about as much respect as blow-up dolls.
The whole "sex sells" mantra actually translates to misogyny sells.
When men are constantly encouraged to present themselves as sex objects as well, then we can talk about how "sex sells."
I am a mother, and I raised my son never to treat women this way or to view women as objects rather than people. My "eleven cats" have more respect for women than these so-called men display.
Nelly is not a stupid person and he is not a thug. He is a very shrewd businessman. I doubt he treats women this way in day to day life. However, his talent and business acumen do not excuse his ignorance in this case. The way a well-known hip-hop icon treats women in his videos makes a statement to teenage boys watching the video regarding how women should be viewed and treated, and the statement is not a positive one.
Granted, I have focused on hip-hop in this post. This doesn't mean that other genres don't have problems with sexism in their lyrics and videos as well.
I love hip-hop and I love music in general. I don't get bent out of shape when something is a little suggestive, or even a lot suggestive. However, I do think that it is necessary to treat others with respect, including and perhaps especially in sexualized situations.
~DJ Carrie~
