Nicki Minaj

[Kayla 7,595]

I think there ARE things with actual meaning in the video, but ultimately it revolves around s-xuality and Nicki's (fab) ass.

 

However, look at a video like PokerFace. It's a cool video, but overall doesn't show a lot of meaning. 

Still, there are some little details Gaga threw in there that mean something. Like the locks on her clothing while she's playing cards. She said those were there to represent that she wasn't going to give herself to just anybody, and that they'd have to play their cards right if they wanted to get her clothes off. 

 

So Nicki might be trying to turn Anaconda into more of an "art" project when really it's just a fun song, but let's not say there's NOTHING artistic about it- there are some elements that are meaningful. 

It's her work, so she can attribute whatever BS, pseudo intellectual meaning she likes to it, but she shouldn't expect other people to buy it

 

"pseudo intellectual" - my best friend and I use this phrase too!

[CDAR 25]

lol, reminds me about that time when that girl who sang "Friday" related her song to religion

[faux 2,190]

It is. Nicki took a song originally about straight men s-xualizing women's bodies and turned it around, creating a song about women owning their s-xuality whose s-xual desires aren't controlled by men. The entire song is about her owning her s-xuality and expressing it in a way that benefits her. The video sets itself up to seem as though it's playing under the tropes of a typical rap video, where women are shown to be props for the s-xual pleasure of men, then throws it right back at you. She tosses away phalic objects in the kitchen scene to show that her s-xuality is entirely up to her. At the end, the lap dance and her leaving without letting Drake touch her shows that she is in complete control of her body and she decides who is allowed to touch it. It's a complete role reversal from the usual male rapper spouting some nonsense about having a big ****.and bragging about how good they are in bed. Honestly, if you think Partition and Blow by Bey are empowering and not Anaconda or everything about Nicki, you should check yourself.

 

 

[Kayla 7,595]

Nicki gets called a slut for saying she really enjoys di*ks and that she's proud of her big ass, but when a man says the same thing about women and how he has a big penis he is praised and admired.  The hypocrisy is too much.   

 

 

Right? People like Baby Got Back because it's hilarious and it was one of the first examples in pop culture of thicker women being praised. Some people argue that it was Sir Mix-a-lot who made girls with large behinds/hips more accepted in the media. (Even throughout my life I've seen the "ideal woman" go from being a skinny blonde girl to a curvy brunette- both of which can be beautiful and deserve admiration.)

Granted, BGB was controversial when it came out and the video was actually pulled from MTV for a while, but nowadays it's not an issue with that song. 

 

Then people hear Anaconda, which honestly is humorous, and try to critique it. 

People get too caught up in how "bad" it is to realize that sometime the ridiculousness of a song is what makes it enjoyable. 

 

However, Nicki trying to take these lyrics and spin it in such an "artistic" fashion is laughable. She can totally prove and show that the song/video has merit, but she also needs to acknowledge that the spirit of the content is humorous.

 

 

lol, reminds me about that time when that girl who sang "Friday" related her song to religion

 

Not to get too far OT, but remember this?

 

 

[Married the Night 3,952]

No. She is delusional.

[Kayla 7,595]

They BOTH are songs by blacks glorifying the large butts of African American woman.

BGB has lines like "Cosmo says you're fat, I ain't down with that" He's liberating black woman from white fashion industry beauty standards. It was a fresh theme back in the early 90's (especially with Kate Moss and heroin chic being popular then).

 

Now it's kind of overdone, and Nicki just seems to be bragging about her voluptuous booty. Which is fine, though maybe not appealing to woman with smaller butts. 

No, I can't think of any pop hits where a guy simply brags about his penis size. Too many people would laugh.

 

PS: Here's Sir Mix a Lot's video. Notice the airhead white girls putting down the black girl at the start. It's saying black is beautiful. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JphDdGV2TU

I don;t see Nicki adding a great deal really - the best part of her song is what she samples from Sir Mix. 

 

[Slayer 9,227]

Any kind of "feminist" statement she was trying to make is made completely null and void by her shaming 'skinny women' in the song. But I don't think she set out to make this statement in the slightest. She wanted to make a video about her ass, so she threw in a bit of imagery (like cutting a banana...?) to try and justify it.    

[BornSimon 4,788]

Oh shut up Nicki.

[Bloody 64,631]

her anaconda could mean anything 

[StrawberryBlond 13,831]

Statements like Nicki's are the kind of stuff that is warping and poisoning feminism. It's the reason why so many feminists are turning towards raunch culture as a form of validation and don't realise how much of a contradiction this all is towards the feminist concept of getting out from under male control. How can you be a strong, independent woman if you're conforming to mens needs and preferences? We're kidding ourselves if we think women style themselves s-xually and put on s-xual performances for their own enjoyment. I think the concept of raunch culture as a feminist notion must have been dreamed up by a misogynist man who's rubbing his hands with glee that so many women were gulliable enough to fall for it (while getting a naked lapdance).

 

Let's talk through the parts of the song/video that are problematic:

 

1. Nicki raps about dating a dope dealer who she's only with because he makes so much money and "he live in a palace, bought me Alexander McQueen, he was keeping me stylish." So, basically, she's a gold-digger and has no qualms about dating a d--g dealer, as long as she's kept in the lap of luxury. This is the exact opposite of feminism. A feminist would rather earn her own money to buy what she wants, not be some trophy wife who leeches off her husband's money.

2. Nicki raps about dating a coke dealer for the same reasons listed above. She even clarifies his dealings are what attracted her to him "I let him hit it cos he slang c-----e." She then reveals that she basically uses their s-x as a bribe by adding: "and when we're done, I make him buy Balmain." So, basically, she's nothing but a live-in prostitute who doesn't care that she's dating a man who's probably responsible for many c-----e-related illnesses and overdoses. Once again, the opposite of feminism. There is nothing empowering about using s-x to get what you want. The other person, the one with the money, is the one with the power in this situation.

3. Nicki and her backing dancers put on a very s-xual performance throughout the video, including twerking, pelvis thrusting, spreading their legs, slapping asses and miming an ass grab. While this kind of thing may be fun to do, there is nothing feminist about it. Men find this kind of thing very titillating and they know it. They are doing this for the approval of men, not for themselves. This is not helping women, it is holding them to the same expectation they have for decades - that women are there as decoration and titillation.

4. Nicki acts out some visual innuendo of penises and c*mshots. She is on the verge of deep-throating a banana, cuts up a bit, puts some cream on top and seductively licks it and then squirts herself with cream all over her bare chest while maintaining an orgasmic expression. Again, nothing more than a performance for the male gaze and puts pressure on women to conform to certain s-xual acts to be desirable.

5. Nicki gives a shout out to other big bootied women in the club, but then says the unforgivable "f*ck those skinny b*tches." This is definitely the opposite of feminism. Women should be supportive of all shapes and sizes of fellow women and certainly never imply that someone is a b*tch because of their body type. For curvy women to put down skinny women is not evening the score, it just makes things worse.

5. She gives Drake a lapdance, though whose decision it was to initiate it is uncertain. Nicki doesn't gain any money before or after and Drake never touches her, but once again, this scene is nothing about s-xual exhibitionism for the male gaze once again and holds women to a very restrictive idea of s-xuality.

 

All in all, this song and video is one of the worst examples of feminsim I have ever seen (and then there's all those awful instances of d--g glamorisation). And what saddens me is that so many people don't see it this way. It just goes to show how toxic raunch culture truly is on society. There is nothing empowering about relying on someone else for money, prostituting yourself in exchange for things and stripping/dancing for people you don't even know. And that's not just for women, it's for men too. If men trotted out these things as male empowerment, they'd be laughed out the room. So, why do women see these things as female empowerment?

 

There needs to be more people in the music industry like Nicki. I would be totally on her side if she didn't call herself a feminist. As this thread so demonstrates FEMINISTS HATE SEXUALITY, that is unless it conforms to their narrow definition of it. They despise when a woman is submissive (in the case of Lana) and when she is confident (in the case of NIcki.) They want all women to be s-xless so they can not be objectified, yet they constantly want to objectify men (which I don't really have a problem with as long as it goes both ways.)

 

Here you are again with your ignorant views about feminism and your distaste towards anyone who displays a feminist view. Most feminists don't hate s-xuality - most of third wave feminism has actually been about the embracing of s-xuality in the last 20 years or so. I don't know what kind of feminism you're witnessing, but it certainly isn't what it's currently all about. The thing is that now more feminists are realising that a lot of avenues of s-xuality can be emotionally and physically damaging and don't want a part in it and are encouraging more women to reconsider safer versions of s-xuality that aren't dished out by the media as the only way to go. I'm a feminist and I like Lana (though I don't agree with what she said recently about feminism) and I don't think there's anything wrong with a woman being submissive (to a point) or confident (to a point). But s-xuality can be damaging as well as pleasurable and that has got to be taken into account. I don't want women to be s-xless but I do want them to be s-xual in a way that they feel more comfortable with and kept the more explicit stuff for private occasions.

[Psychedelic 1,098]

That "f*ck those skinny b---hes" line couldn't disagree more...

[AquaFire Witch 160]

Listen to some CL from 2NE1 Ms. Minaj and learn a thing or two about women taking their power back.

Your raps are crap.

[Katsuki Bakugo 9,788]

I had the power that controlled me to turn off the video 5 seconds in.

[VforVendetta 2,024]

Feminist Ambassador Onika.

 

Please. The video was a cheap way to get attention from the lackluster lead single. If anything the song just proves that the industry objectifies women. 

 

Examples of women who are in charge of their s-x appeal are Madonna and Lady Gaga. 

 

Is there an award for this post or something?  :xtina:   

[Jester 6,274]

You tried Nikki