There’s an emerging new genre for some female artists: self-imposed sexual objectification. Nicki Minaj utilizes many sexist stereotypes in her “Anaconda” music video. (Photo courtesy Universal)
Who needs a dude to make you a sexualized stereotype? Not when you’re Nicki Minaj — whose new song and music video “Anaconda” is part of a disturbing trend: female singers defining themselves as sexualized objects.
Some people believe the song and music video for “Anaconda” shows her in a position of power.
They say Minaj’s sexual aggressiveness and glorification of her body parts gives her control and agency over her sexuality. She’s the aggressor and center of attention, they say. She’s not in a subordinate position women like the women in a music video such as Robin Thicke‘s “Blurred Lines.”
But the only power she’s exhibiting is providing a fantasy of sexist and racist stereotypes.
Using self-imposed stereotypes in a music video
The controversial music video shows her as exotic object in a jungle atmosphere. There are numerous shots of women shaking their butts and Minaj joining in with them. She provides more pornography-influenced male fantasies by eating a banana, spraying whipped cream over her chest and giving a lap dance to rapper Drake.
The “Anaconda” music video concludes with MInaj doing a lap dance for the rapper Drake. The video contains imagery from pornography and strip clubs. (Photo courtesy Universal)
And the media’s been eating it up. Just like it did to Miley Cyrus with her new “Girls Gone Wild”-style music videos for her Bangerz album.
So the media recognizes and gives attention to women who self-commodify themselves as sexual objects. Women who don’t play this role seem to have to fight harder for attention. Pop music has often had an element of sexuality to it. But Minaj and Cyrus have used imagery from pornography to define themselves — which is far from a natural sexuality.
Mixed messages in the Backlash Era
Minaj and Cyrus are active participants in the so-called backlash to feminism. Susan Faludi‘s 1991 book Backlash continues to be prophetic. Faludi’s argument was that because of the strides in women’s rights there was an enormous backlash against it.
This has created an odd state of affairs for women. On the one hand they’re making strides in some areas and gaining positions of power in the business world and have more agency to choose their own paths in life. But at the same time there’s more overt sexism than ever in the media as retaliation against the new power women have.
The result? A confusing mixed message to women about their role in the world.
What’s disturbing in the continuing backlash era is the willingness of some female singers and actresses to participate in the backlash. And these women are often the creative force driving their own commodification. It’s happened in TV shows from “Sex and the City” to “Girls” and in female singers such as Minaj and Cyrus.
Minaj uses a series of images from pornography to commodify herself as a male fantasy sexual object in the “Anaconda” music video. (Photo courtesy Universal)
What she’s after: sex, drugs and materialism
And what is Minaj’s worldview in “Anaconda”? She glorifies drug dealers, a narcissistic view of her body, and uber-materialism.
Here’s what she basically says in the song:
“I got this boy toy from Detroit who’s a drug dealer. He’s got so much drug money he buys me designer clothes. I’m really high and he can tell that I’m not some skinny thing — I got some real serious booty. He likes it that I’m not boney and he’s got something to grab onto. I got my Jaguar that gets his attention too. So we do it in the car with some really nasty oral sex.
Then there’s a dude named Michael who is really well-endowed. I’m so good at sex that he’s going to fall asleep just after we do it. I let him have his way with me because he’s a drug dealer who sells cocaine. And I let him buy me some designer shoes afterwards.
And by the way, I hate all you skinny women.”
Yeah, that’s it. That’s what the song comes down to: I love my butt, he loves my butt, I dig drug dealers, and I’m a materialistic girl, all the way, baby.
Here’s the music video for “Anaconda”:
