I’m pretty sure we’ve all seen Nicki Minaj and all her booty twerking it out in a jungle that contains a full equipped gym, yes? This bizarre video has over 200 million views. I won’t lie, it’s pretty captivating- but why is female success in the popular music industry only providing ass-piration? (sorry.)
Singer Brody Dalle recently caused a storm after allegedly ‘slut shaming’ Iggy Azalea and Jennifer Lopez over their collaborative single, ‘Booty.’ Dalle took to social media to criticise the song:
Nice. She described the content as ‘insulting’, arguing that the two artists in question use their bodies ‘as the only currency they have in order to stay popular’. Whilst the content may not be as eye popping as Nicki’s jungle escapade, the theme is still underlying; twerking equals hits, skin equals popularity, and lyrical value is pretty much non-existent the higher you climb in the charts.
These artists have the shock factor and the song’s content is evidently not that genius. However, there are two sides. All artists mentioned have a large female audience who watch these videos and who might be wowed at their bodies before getting critical. It’s contentious, yes, but can these women somehow be viewed as role models?
Iggy Azalea is from a small rural Australian town. She’s a female rapper (in a genre run by men); her success has arguably changed stereotypical norms. Yes she wears skimpy outfits and twerks, yet her success displays a certain sense of defiance and determination. In interviews she’s intelligent, thoughtful and down to earth. She’s worked hard to be top of the field she’s in; surely she can wear what she wants?
JLo is 45. I reckon most 45 year olds would twerk just about everywhere if they looked like that.
Whilst these artists are far from being ‘feminist icons, they’re arguably more intelligent than selling their bodies for views. It’s the liberal flipside of feminism. This song is pretty darn awful and they’re not exactly showing young girls how to behave, but they certainly are representing the older women, the small town women, the women in general in their industry.
Telling Iggy to put some clothes on is denying her the right to express herself (as freely as any other artist), but if she did so and went back to rapping about more meaningful things instead of the fact she possesses a booty (omg really?), she might gain some more respect as an artist.
There’s is no winning here. They may make us want to go and squat, but their inspiration is largely physical. When we see them campaigning for their rights as women to do what they do, we might praise them a little more. Until then, as Brody Dalle finished off her critique: “JLo and Iggy are feeling empowered by their bodies and that’s fine, their bodies ARE powerful, beautiful and life giving. But they are so much more than their bodies.”
Edited by Caroline Chan.
Sources:
http://www.nme.com/news/brody-dalle/79980
Image sources:
http://metrouk2.files.wordpress.com/2014/09/booty2.gif
http://bossip.com/1021788/hate-it-or-love-it-j-lo-featuring-iggy-azalea-…