How Women are Represented in Hip Hop Videos Essays

How Women are Represented in Hip Hop Videos Essays How Women are Represented in Hip Hop Videos Paper How Women are Represented in Hip Hop Videos Paper Hip Hop Videos For Years, video girls have been a major part of hip hop music and videos, but what is the cost? Are girls losing themselves in the glitz and glam of being a video girl? This video covers Just that: what Image women are giving out by being in these Hip Hop videos. These viewpoints come from a few different people who all have different roles in the Hip Hop world. The video also talks about the negative roles such as walking blind, that girls choose to take on as they begin to be in Hip Hop videos. The video opens by Introducing who will be sharing their opinions throughout the video. It introduces us to Melissa Ford, who is a model, Irvin Got, who is a record executive, Kenned G, who is a radio show host, and Kevin Powell, who is a writer and activist. The first topic they cover is walking blind. The host opens by showing examples of how women are shown In hip hop music videos. She looks Into clips from both a 50 cent video and a Jay Z video. Both videos show females in small clothes, out numbering the males in the videos. This strengthens the hosts point that the girls might be looked at as walking blind. As she states, they may be looked at as nothing more than adornments; much Like Jewelry. Females In music videos are sometimes used Just as an object. They represent a prize or something that can be obtained once you reach a certain level of stardom. According to http:// Neolithic. Wordless. Mom/2012/10/21 the-representation-of-women-in-hip- hop-and- rap-videos/ , Women are ever so often there as mere sexual objects, dancing provocatively in revealing clothing, demonstrating sexual Innuendos with their bodies movements, present in the clips entirely for the heterosexual male artists and ewers satisfaction. With that being their primary, and pretty much only purpose of being in the video, they are not so much full blown human beings, as much as they are considered to be objects to be used. They also are viewed simply as entertainment, according to Irvin. Also, they argue that sometimes the women CHOOSE to put themselves in this position. Some Women think that being in a hip hop video is empowering to them. They feel the need for the extra attention that comes along with being on screen. In this video, each of the four present speakers gives their own personal pollens room different points of view. Having different jobs in the industry, they all have different ideas, even if only slightly. They all have different ideas to share and comments to add to the discussion. After the host introduces the idea of walking blind, the first to speak Is Irvin Got. He speaks about the entertainment aspect of the hip hop videos and the women in them. He says, Our Job is to entertain You think 1 OFF ten man won Is a police man or ten garbage man, or ten cocoons teacher People won have real lives and real Jobs, you think [they care] ? They Just want to be entertained. This shows that he is not looking at the situation as though women are being objectified or given a negative image; He sees it as strictly a business of entertainment. The females in his mind represent something to look at, and something that might possibly brighten a working mans day. Irvin even goes as far as to say that he would allow his own daughter to be apart of one of his music videos. This goes to show how construed the mind of society has become, because of the regularity of these images in the media. However, this Just adds to the realization hat Irvin does not see it in a negative way, and may not see the negative image that the video girls are given. The second to speak is model, Melissa Ford. The host asks Ford, Have you ever felt disrespected? Have you ever felt objectified or uncomfortable? What is that experience like? Ford responds by saying, In my personal experience, I looked at it as a Job. This is a paycheck. This is my stepping stone to get to another level This is also another way you can view this situation. Dancing in music videos may be the only option some females have to get a paycheck. Unfortunately, they are still given a negative image and looked at in a bad light. She makes the point that while some females do it for the business a spect, sometimes being in front of the camera makes a girl feel good about themselves. Other times they simply crave the attention they get from being on the camera. This also opens the door for young, insecure girls to become a part of this world. A young girl might be watching television and see an older women dancing in a provocative way, half naked, on a hip hop music video. That young girl may not think about the negative image that model is giving herself, UT instead might see a woman who is comfortable in her own skin and is getting the attention of many guys and even other women. Melissa tells that the competition to be noticed is more extreme now. Where as there used to be five or six girls, now theres fifty or sixty girls Youve got to fight for the attention. The host then asks the question, How have you seen a change over time Compare music videos from the early asss to music videos from 2007. The question is targeted at Kevin Powell, and he first responds with, muff know, from 85 to 90, 91, you didnt see that. You saw a few females but there was a balance that was happening. This shows that over time, there have been changes in society that also change the image that the girls in the hippo videos are portraying. While before, they might have been Just to balance out a gender ratio, now they girls outnumber the guys. The girls are no longer looked at in the same innocent way; they have taken on more sexual roles and are seen in a totally different light. This is why the portrayal of women in hip hop videos has changed, and is now negative. Powell then sha res how he was actually shocked, and wondered what kind of video is this? He hits on the point that I brought up earlier by saying, little girls actually believe that this is what women hood is. The balance change has left girls thinking that a video girl is all they can be, and their only path to being accepted and successful. The little girls dont see the negative aspect of the video girl, only that they are receiving attention by the guys around them. Lastly, the host asks Kenned if she believed women were being objectified. Kenned quickly replay, Tolerantly 1 00. I AAA nave a problem Walt ten perception Tanat Is going on with women in videos today When you see a beautiful woman, and I respect her for being beautiful, but my problem is what about the little girl that doesnt know that okay, Just being beautiful is not enough. Video girls are giving off the perception to young girls that hey, if youre pretty, then this is what you will get to do. More and more young girls are being sucked into this world, not realizing what theyre getting themselves into. Kenned taps into the superficial aspect of it all when she says, If that girl gains twenty pounds shes out of a Job. So my issue is the fact of how these women are being portrayed in these videos. Young girls see provocative dancing and clothing in these music videos and think it is okay, because its all over television and all over the media. They feel as if this is the norm. So in conclusion, while girls are Jumping at the chance to be in a hip hop video as one of the many video girls, they need to first think what they are portraying themselves as. Any girl that is working towards being a part of the music video world is at risk of having a bad image from that point on. They should look at whether they are playing a role in the belittlement of women, or if they are simply performing a job.