It has long been said that sex sells, and women exemplify this when it comes to the music industry. Whether it’s video vixens or female artists, women in the music industry tend to be hypersexualized. Although this can garner a lot of attention, it is not always positive. Most women in the music industry have sexually charged lyrics and images. A large portion of women in the music industry has enhanced their bodies to unrealistic proportions. For an added oomph revealing clothes to match showing off their curves (natural or surgeon made). There has always been a thin line between sexual liberation and hypersexuality. So this begs the question: How much is considered to be too much?
Recently Chloe Bailey made waves on the internet for the wrong reasons. Since the Bailey sisters have created separate Instagram accounts, Chloe has been garnering a lot of attention for her…assets. The “Have Mercy” singer posted and deleted a salacious video laying in lingerie, thanking and expressing her love for her fans. The cherry on top (or lollipop rather) was her suggestively sucking a lollipop as she ended the video. Many dubbed the video cringey, while others argued that she is merely exploring her sexuality. This can be categorized as hypersexualization. A simple “thank you for four million followers” would have sufficed. This isn’t the first time she has been called out for posting racy content. The Bailey sisters are known to have a wholesome image which can explain why there is some pushback. Despite this, it seems like she’s trying to use sexuality to set herself apart. Expressing sexuality/sexualization is okay and a part of everyday life, but in the thank you video, it was a bit unnecessary, which made the video hypersexual.
An example that straddles the line is WAP. The song has attracted outrage from the everyday parent to government officials. Both Cardi B and Meg thee Stallion are considered modern-day sex symbols. Although the lyrics of WAP are hypersexual, it represents women using their sexuality to advance. Most women’s sexuality is heavily policed, and they are shamed for using their sexuality. Men use and mention their sexuality freely, while widespread disapproval of women having an Onlyfans account. Many popular video vixens and Instagram models were known to have Onlyfans accounts and even they were not spared from disdain. Although WAP can’t get you everywhere, it was an extreme way to encourage women to embrace their sexuality. Other factors can cause embracing sexuality as being deemed as hypersexual.
The main factor is body type. As mentioned before, many women in the music industry have their bodies done and fit a general “standard.” Snatched waist, large breast, wide hips, and big booty. When women do not have this body type and still embrace their sexuality, they are “doing too much.” Two women who come to mind are Lizzo and big Purr herself, Coi Leray. Both body types are on the opposite ends of the spectrum. When they show off their body people are disgusted. If they had BBLs, no one would complain. It is okay for the city girls to shake what their surgeons gave them, but when Coi Leray and Lizzo do, it’s a problem. There was an instance where Diddy held an Instagram live, and the video vixen and former “Basketball Wives” star Dreya Michele joined. She danced on the live, which included twerking. Lizzo later joined, said live and did the same thing. He stopped her almost immediately and told her it was a family-friendly live – a prime example of how body type can lead to regular sexualization being seen as hypersexualization. All body types should be celebrated, but sometimes a line can be crossed. There was another instance involving Lizzo on Instagram live. Lizzo fired back at people who were once again making negative comments about her body. Lizzo said to “Kiss her A**” then subsequently exposed her bare buttocks to the camera. That is hypersexualization, being that, in this case, it was completely unnecessary.
Overall, sexualization and sexuality are an everyday part of life. Even more so today when such images are normalized as sex sells. There comes a point where one can go too far and exhibit hypersexual behavior when it is not needed. At the end of the day, women should be allowed to express themselves and their sexuality the way they want to without judgment.