Women have been seen as second class citizens since the beginning of time, being marginalized socially, politically and most of all sexually. Patriarchal society has made it difficult for women to be free to express themselves for fear of being judge for their appearance and reputation. The struggle for women’s right’s while antiquated still moves today with the Women’s March and the voices of female musicians/ performers. Musically, women have moved with tact to alter their appearance to fight against society’s “conventional view” of women and empower other women to take back their image and push it in the direction they want to put it in. The most common way most women have taken control of their image as an independent woman is to be comfortable in their sexuality. The issue that arises comes from within how it’s being taken. Is this a punch in the face of patriarchal society? Or is this giving men an image to buy into for sexual gratification?
The first video (right Beside the question mark) is My Neck, My Back by Khia. The song is extremely provocative and features a video that’s very sexual in nature. Khia is dressed very loosely and she’s surrounded by men while she dances in a way that gets their attention and are physically looking like they want her sexually. The lyrics are “Lick my Neck, My Back, My P***sy and my Crack”. These lyrics while a little provocative actually empower the women that listen to it. Usually, men boast about the act of “insertion” a lot in music, however it’s rare for a woman to suggest a man does something that doesn’t benefit him sexually. In a way, she’s almost demeaning the man to get her off instead of worry about his sexual needs. In an extreme way she’s telling the women of the song that they don’t need to worry about the men, just like they usually don’t care to see that the woman is pleased.
Nadi Rose’s video has her showcasing female empowerment in a different light. While she’s walking through the city with skimpy clothes (no where near revealing as Khia’s) she raps about how much better she is at what she does than male and female MCs. Her approach is probably a little less embraced because she doesn’t sell sex, she views herself as an equal which is something that’s needed in this day and age. Challenging men in their patriarchy is definitely a huge step in destroying the patriarchal complex. Regardless both approaches can get attention from men and destroy their view that they’re “better” than women.
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