Sunday 24 November 2013

Sexism in Music Videos: It's Not Just Me!


In a world dominated by mainstream media, wherever you go these days there will be the harsh lights of a television screen, somewhere, blaring out the latest chart hits. This means that you could be sitting in a Takeaway waiting for your food to be cooked, having a few drinks with your friends in a bar or even just flicking through the channels in the comfort of your home. However wherever you are located there seems to be no escape from half-naked women writhing and dry humping the ego of a rapper (who isn't even that good looking, may I point out!) or even a baby faced young girl performing a sex act on a sledgehammer.

You can't tell me that music videos do not have an impact on the young, or even the argument of 'if you don't like it switch it off'. Music videos such as these deemed my early teenage years awkward and uncomfortable. I will never forget the teacher switching on MTV in the school gym and as the unrealistically toned, yet curvy in the right places, female backup dancers started gyrating, my peers turned on me.
'You're a skinny white girl, you could never dance like that.' (I didn't particularly want to anyway)
'Ha! You don't have any boobs like them Nicky' (I was 12 you idiots, what do you expect?)
And so the comments continued against me, given that I was the awkward, skinny white girl who you would least expect to see draped over a motorbike in a hip-hop video. Looking back on it, I am horrified that my peers, who were just children themselves, felt that they had to sexualise themselves in order to mimic what they were seeing on TV in order to gain respect. It was exactly like that scene from Mean Girls where Regina George's baby sister is copying the MTV babes.

I always felt as though I was alone in these thoughts, feeling disgusted and offended every time a fully clothed male had about 20 naked women dancing around him. However hope came to me in the form of http://www.rewindreframe.org/ an organisation and website set up to provide a platform for those who are victimized by the state of today's music industry. Rewind & Reframe encourages us to speak out about the rampant racism and sexism in the charts and provides us with a template to teach the younger generation about it.  Therefore I decided this week to carry out a poll to see how certain figures across society felt on such an issue and asked them to tell me which music video they felt was worst for sexism and why.

Here are the results:

Drew Athans - Author of 'Black Book: The Live History of Blur'  Father, Husband and Musician.
'Much as I love Blur, Country House video is lousy. In both those ways (sexist and seedy) too. 



Hannah Rose Thomson - LSE Graduate and Feminist.
'50 Cents 'Candy Shop' Women used as interchangeable, ego stroking accessories....bleurgh! I haven't watched that video in nearly seven years...that impression has stuck with me. In fact that video made me find Feminism.' 

Annie Heath - Feminist.
'Videophone' Gaga and Beyonce: cos my little boy said 'those ladies are just wearing pants and guns?' (who run the world?) 




Alice Shipton - Teenage Feminist
Eric Prydz 'Call on Me' - 'I don't know what to say about it, I just don't like it'




Becky Ferris - Modern History Graduate. Fashion PR and Blogger.
'I hate that one by Benni Benassi, it's called 'Satisfaction'. Not only is the song awful, it actually makes me feel sick. It's a bunch of greasy 'sexy' (not actually sexy) girls doing 'building' with tools but all they are doing is making out to be sex, that's all it is about is just sex, sex, sex. Which okay, sex isn't bad but the way the women are portrayed in the video is that we all look like that and the only thing we can do is sex and look 'sexy', etc. I use the sexy in inverted commas as those girls are the opposite, they are yucky.' 




Jonny Edwards, writer for PUNK GLOBE magazine and singer/guitarist for DIRTY PSYCHO also had this to say on the issue 'I don't think you need to show everything in a video, the music should be the focus. Sexism is a disease that needs to be stopped.'  

 As you can see, music videos are not just an issue which feminists can get on their high horse about. The reason why I compiled a few thoughts and examples on sexism in music videos is that is has to be stopped, not one day but as soon as possible. How can women ever be taken seriously in the real world when we are being plagued with these images of us as being nothing more than eye candy? Even women artists are portraying their own selves in such a way. (although I have always maintained that Rihanna has little choice but to appear semi-naked as she certainly can't sing- sorry, catty remark right there!) If David Cameron wants to protect children from pornographic images than he needs to turn his attention to one of the most influential industries and push through the censorship laws of music videos by giving movie style age ratings. If you feel as strongly as I do than I suggest you drop an email to your local MP or sign the petition set up by Rewind & Reframe.
Sign Here






Saturday 9 November 2013

BAMBI: 'Reap From The Dying Love' Review


With the name BAMBI, many would visualize a wide-eyed Disney character, frolicking with his woodland creature friends. This is not the BAMBI that has recently exploded onto the London scene. Having only formed as little as 7 months ago, their unique and original sound has caught the attention of Tom Odell, Professor Green and Mark Ronson, all of whom they have supported.

'Reap From The Dying Love', their debut single which will be released on the 17th November, grabbed my attention and held me captive. The melancholic, intricate intro combined with James' haunting vocals crafts a gothic feeling, not dissimilar to the sounds of Echo and The Bunnymen. This couples well with the Victorian romanticism in the imagery of the lyrics (She's the Jekyll to my Hyde) which creates overall an ethereal atmosphere with the harmonizing vocals, but the track is still deemed danceable by Jordan's work on the drums.

Give it a listen here https://soundcloud.com/bambihq/reap-from-the-dying-love

If you like what you here you can pre-order the single here: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/reap-from-dying-love-single/id725207921

Still can't get enough? Than make sure that you catch BAMBI at Camden's Barfly on the 13th December.