The Weigh In, Week Two

This week's installment of The Weigh In follows up on our article Affirmation or Denigration, Has The Big Booty Craze Gone Too Far? Make sure to click on the links to read more!

"Now a days, it is difficult to turn on MTV or BET without seeing an oiled up butt gyrating on your big screen.  This is predominantly a trend in Hip Hop and Rap music.  Some would argue that this simply a physical expression of exactly what happens in the clubs or at the parties. This is what happens and this is what girls wear, so what is the big deal about having some girls showing off their dance skills when it’s a dance song?  On the other hand, others would argue that this exaggerated and overtly sensual image of women does nothing more than objectify and degrade them in the eyes of very impressionable young viewers." - Unnamed, from the article Hip-Hop Honeys: Object or Goddess, WATTUP. I BLOG. N SHIT.


"During the production of a documentary for BET, which focused on sex and hip-hop, I interviewed a panel of high school students. One of those students, a 15-year-old girl, stated that she was not satisfied with how she looked because she wanted to be like the girls in the videos. After all, the boys want to be with girls in the videos. One of the young men followed up by saying that the girls in the videos were cool to sleep with, but not to take home. In that very brief snippet of conversation, we get a sense of the negative impact that these sexist and misogynistic images have on hip-hop's biggest fans." - Jeff Johnson, from the article 'Cousin Jeff': Don't Blame Hip-Hop for Society's Sexism, 


"It seems all women are represented as sex objects and are used in the videos to purely sell the product. Alongside the suggestive videos are the abuse song lyrics that usually suggest that women are only good for one thing, and we all know what that is! [...] This may all seem harmless on the surface; however do you not think that this may have some influence on the younger generation?" - Lily Bond, from the article Objectification of Women, Bond's Blog.


“Girls do what they see in videos,” a black, pre-teen girl said in the film. “If I can get skinny, dress, and dance like that, I can be in videos too. Hip hop influences the way these young women perceive themselves and their importance in relationships.The negative image of women in these videos has got to do something to their self-esteem."- Tamika Guishard, from the article Feminists Call For Hip-Hop Reform, The University of Chicago Magazine.


Don't forget to comment on this week's subject, both in The Weigh In and our original post! Love and the Black Woman wants to hear all your opinions!