Hip Hop and Rap videos are known for the degrading ways in which women are portrayed in both the song and the music videos. Women are often referred to as "bitches, hoes and gold-diggers" and in the music videos "video vixens" are often scantily clad with exaggerated bodies.
This is really nothing new when it comes to the hip hop, and music in general, industry. However I was extremely surprised when I saw the following music video by popular artist Chris Brown.
Firstly, I will start by noting that the song is called "No Bullshit." The lyrics basically implies that if a woman does not leave the club or whatever she is doing, to promptly have sex with a man then that is "bullshit." It reinforces the idea that women are vessels of male desire and not independent, respect-deserving individuals.
However, what really disturbs me most about this video is that the woman is not only virtually clothesless, but she is also faceless. Chris, the male in the video, has on much more clothing and his face is shown continually. The face is extremely personal, in many ways it is what makes all human being unique. In fact, the only parts of her body that are really seen are her breasts and her buttocks (which is being licked). By not showing her face the video reduces women to the most sexually pleasing parts of their bodies.
How can women be seen as equals if they are faceless....?
I completely agree! I know this song very well and at first I didn't completely understand what he meant by "no bullshit". But when I thought about it, It seems like he is basically saying that when your girlfriend says no to sex, she is "bullshitting" and that you might as well get to business because in actuality, she really wants its.
ReplyDeleteJust the fact that he starts the song saying that he's horny and that she needs to come to his place to put a smile on his face is very demanding and leaves little room for her to even say no. And if she says no, shes "On that bullshit".
It's freaky because most people know that he was found guilty of brutally beating his ex girlfriend Rihanna and yet he still feels comfortable coming out with a song like this.