CAS 100: The Sexual Politics Of Visual Culture

“Beyoncé, Sex Terrorist: A Menace for Conservatives and Liberals Alike” is an article written by Matthew B. Crawford after the world famous artist was attacked by Bill O’Reilly and bell hooks regarding one of her music videos. Both of them closing themselves to the possibility that Beyoncé might have been in fact creating art. The author indicates what he believes, “By condemning the pop star, both Bill O'Reilly and bell hooks profit off her body while ignoring her art.” Perhaps Crawford is right, disregard the possibility that a type of art exists behind controversial actions.

As many youth goes around singing “Drunk in Love” by Beyoncé Knowles they don’t know the true definition of her lyrics. Although they might think the song is talking about drinking watermelon, she is really talking about getting freaky with her man. The lyrics that young girls are singing mean the complete opposite of what they are thinking. In the bridge she states “I’ve been drinking watermelon” which means I been sucking penis and he came in my mouth and I swallowed. “Boy, I’m drinking, park it in my lot, 7-11”, Beyoncé is saying that she wants Jay-Z to make love to her any time and she’s always ready for him. “Then I fill the tub up halfway then ride it with my surfboard”, Surfboard is a sexual position where Jay-Z is laying flat on the bottom and Beyoncé is riding on top of him. “Can’t keep your eyes off my fatty, daddy, I want you”, She keeps repeating that he keeps staring at her big booty. In this song she is basically telling her listeners that letting her business out about what goes on in her sex life is okay.

Beyoncé recently released her music video on Saturday February 6, 2016. Beyoncé 's "Formation" video forms messages in text and visuals that fits today 's social issues. They call attention to the audience mainly for women and Black America. This piece of rhetoric creates meaning in society by giving us events and visuals to help the

Music has always served as a channel for African American men to eloquent the issues they have living as an oppressed entity. But because of how rap artist portray African American women in their songs and music videos, they have stigmatized black women as non-intelligent sexual entities. In Dionne Stephens’ and April Few’s article, they examine the eight sexual images of African American woman in today’s society which originated from Stephens and Philips study in 2003. The widely accepted images are the “Diva, the Gold digger, the Freak, the Dyke, the Gangster Bitch, the Sister Savior, the Earth Mother, and the Baby Mama” and they are portrayed in the hip hop music industry and culture. (Stephens and Few) These categories that society places the

During the duration of the music video Beyoncé makes numerous references to historical events. She uses these references as a way to illustrate the story and educate the morals behind them. For example, Beyoncé purposely uses the sinking New Orleans police car to demonstrate the story behind the event. The narrator, Beyoncé, visually communicates the story of how Hurricane Katrina traumatically demolished the city of New Orleans. By laying on the sinking police car she is simply visually stating that police officers, during this dramatic event, were drowning the people of New Orleans, rather than aiding them in a desperate time of need. There does seem to be a casual relation between the people of New Orleans and the

The video Dreamworlds 3 is showing the audience how females are portrayed in music videos. Most times when women are presented in these videos, the focus is on their bodies. This picture shows the audience that the definition of female is sexuality. Women in the video were often wearing less clothes, dancing and playing with their own body to reach for attention. I agree with many of the claims about how women often are portrayed in this way. I regularly see this when watching music videos. No matter if the music video is devoted for a female or male singer, the video happens to have a specific pattern of how to picture women. When watching videos

In “Sorry” Beyoncé is accompanied by other African American women covered in intricate face and body art. The art is another aspect of Yoruba culture that Beyoncé chooses to include in Lemonade to further note to African American cultural history. The art is meant to connect the spirituality to the body. Having women show their spiritual strength by referencing to the complex and significant history of African American culture is intended to entice black women to feel proud of and embrace their history. Showing women in such a unique and meaningful manner is another way Lemonade is beneficial to the black feminist movement meant to show the strength, beauty, and courageousness of black

The music video for the song represents the song perfectly. The video features Solange surrounded by many black woman in many large open spaces. The video shows black woman standing and sitting together in beautiful clothing that ties them together, creating feminine decadence. The video basically forces you to pay attention to detail. Black woman are shown as comfortable and naturally beautiful.

While the video enforces a rape culture, it simultaneously sexually objectifies women. This sexual objectification that occurs is when the women’s sexual body parts are separated and paid close attention to in relation to the rest of their body (Gervais, Vescio, Förster, Maass & Suitner, 2012). In the video, Thicke continues to sing while the women, fully naked apart from a small nude thong, stand around looking into the camera with a clueless expression. While they dance around Thicke and play around with the meaningless props that do not have anything to do with the video or the music, they essentially become body props for the pleasure of Thicke and the other men in the video. In one scene, Thicke’s has a close up shot of his face while he uses the woman’s feet as a tool of a microphone

They have somewhat of a sensual conversation before leaving the prison about the recent behavior of Gaga. The video uses numerous stereotypes about women and their behavior both in public scenarios as well as their sexuality. This includes the lesbian kissing scene, and the apparent love relationship that builds between Gaga and Knowles in the second half of the story. Another is the general misleading view that women who are in prison are large and strong women. This is often not the case. One label that is broken in an attempt of feminism is a pretty simple stereotype about women. The vehicle that they leave the prison in is a large Chevrolet pickup truck that says ‘Pussy Wagon’ on the back. This argues that not only men drive big trucks. Olivia Smith of the New York Daily News wrote “Beyonce - who else - sporting black lips, has come to rescue her…in a souped-up fire engine red and yellow pick-up truck with a flame motif seared into the paint.”

Another effect of popular music is violent acts towards women. Often in music videos, women are portrayed as objects. They appear to find rappers so irresistible that they are willing to do whatever it takes to be with them. However, it is not always the male rappers objectifying the female dancers. Sometimes the women rappers themselves are to blame. Ayana Byrd’s article Claiming Jezebel states, “…Bringing it back to the female rappers is Lil’ Kim’s video ‘How Many Licks,’ in which she turns herself into a doll with replaceable parts, a move so infused with self-objectification that it seems almost laughable in its own obviousness.” Women rappers allow themselves to be viewed as sexual objects and rap almost solely about sexuality. They talk about their ready and willingness to have sex in their songs and dress scantily. They call themselves “bitches” and “hoes” (Byrd, 2004). However, it is important to keep in mind that these women work in a male controlled industry with their male bosses telling them what to dress like and how to present themselves (Byrd, 2004). Regardless, the rap

The reactions of both genders stays true to reality, in my own experience. I feel that if she experienced those reactions from her male partner that it’s a fair response to contemporary relationships in American society. Every relationship is different, and I’m sure there are relationships that mirror the relationship shown in the music video,(independant female taking devoted male partner for granted), but that is what she experienced, meaning many others have, too. Beyonce feels that she would make a better man because she understands how relationships are from a female perspective and knows what would please a woman. She goes on to say what she would do if she were a boy. In the relationship she is currently in she feels that she has been taken for granted. The beautiful relationship they once shared has been destroyed.

In the video, Minaj strikingly shakes her own booty, wiggling it both under her own control and on its own from its girth. There are also those bikini women shaking their own things, both in the jungle and against a blank white background on chairs, making it more vividly clear. Minaj goes on to show her hourglass figure in another scene of the video, she appears to be working out and only in a thong, bra and sneakers. The video then shows Minaj in a kitchen where she peels a banana, looks at it admiringly and then tosses it away. What is the message here? Males, it represents a male’s genitals. Remember, there is absolutely no male presence. Even with booty everywhere, it 's all done under a lack of male gaze. The audience is simply watching a group of beautiful women with impressive butts and flawless twerks around a man-less tropical island. Nicki 's gives her "I do what I want, when I want, how I want" brand of feminism. Towards the end of the video however, there is a man, rapper/singer, Drake. Minaj shakes her booty in his face, as he is about to touch her butt, she swaps it away. Minaj explicitly shows that unless you have her direct permission, one better not be touching. And then she 'll strut away leaving you all alone to contemplate your extreme irrelevancy to the entire endeavor- she has that power. Minaj is owning to to her sexuality. She can do that; she denies her sexuality to drake. The lyrics of the song emphasizes such, they generates an

The respondents described Beyoncé as being ‘really talented’, having a ‘nice voice’ and a good dancer. The music videos is appealing, at least from a woman’s point of view, said the two female respondents. The male respondent, however was unenthused by the same music video and instead noted that he was enthused by another of her videos- Check Up On It featuring Slim Thug, the theme song for the movie Pink Panther.

In the explicit song Minaj’s message is not quiet clear until you get towards the end of the song, where she is skinny shaming any girl who is slim and does not have a thick body. She goes about this message in such a sexual way, which confuses many people what her point really is. Although Minaj is well known for using her body for sales she is receiving a lot of criticism for being to sexual in the song and music video as well which is the problem even though Nicki Minaj is a grown woman and is capable of making her own decisions she does not take into consideration that adolescents are watching her every step and many may believe that this is what boys want to