I know it’s not the ‘in’ thing to do, but I’m going to have to defend Nicki Minaj’s ‘Anaconda’.
I managed to catch the music video this morning after seeing that Best Coast’s Bethany Cosentino had posted a still of it on instagram. Curious, I took to youtube to see what all the hype was about. The video, which had only been live for a handful of hours, already had 1.5 million views. Not surprising though, as we’re dealing with two elements people can’t seem to stop talking about: Nicki Minaj and twerking.
When Nicki Minaj revealed her album cover late last month, I doubt anyone expected it to be an album of children’s sing-a-long songs. Nicki Minaj is a female MC over the age of 18 who has been known to leverage her sexuality for success. Not unlike Rihanna, Miley Cyrus, and Lil’ Kim, Nicki Minaj has used a combination of her sexuality and talent for what she and others would consider the best results. She isn’t new, and her tactics aren’t new either. Still, people did what they do best, pecking at the music video like vultures from every possible angle.
I read cries of ‘this is terrible for women’, ‘this is so degrading’, ‘this music video portrays black people badly’ and more and more--like an echo chamber of stupid opinions. I’d like to propose something controversial about this music video and Nicki Minaj in general: Nothing about it is offensive for the reason you think it is.
My boyfriend, who is admittedly not a Nicki Minaj fan, criticised it for its lack of storyline and for the song itself. Subjectively, he is a Radiohead fan whose sensibilities don’t quite line up to Nicki Minaj’s demographic. I applaud him for not mentioning her body, calling her a slut, or discussing race at all. When critiquing a video like this, it helps to be objective and provide real grown up analysis instead of squawking incessantly about complex social issues you don’t fully understand.
This particular comment reminds me of Sarah Baartman, a southwest african woman brought to 19th century Europe as a part of a “freak show”. Europeans during that time ridiculed her curves, her hair, and her skin--never having seen a woman who looked like her. Though the time has passed for women of colour to literally be displayed like sideshows, it still remains that our bodies are sexualised and used to express repulsion when the ability to articulate coherent criticism fails.
Involving race into your personal criticisms of the music video doesn’t say anything about Nicki Minaj in the context of race or perception. It says everything about the people who watch the video in order to project their own personal prejudices and stereotypes onto successful female artists.
Shortly after Nicki Minaj released the cover art for ‘Anaconda’ cries of indecency overtook reasonable conversation. People said what she was doing was shocking and setting women back in the fight for equality. If there is anything setting women back in the fight for equality, it is the divisive conversations about what is degrading to women and what is not.
There is nothing degrading about a group of women of all colours and sizes in the company of other women--many of whom are trained dancers and performers. ‘Twerking’ or any other type of ‘suggestive’ dancing is only suggestive and/or degrading when you consider their bodies as sexual objects in the first place.
Taylor Swift’s newest video, for example, is a great way to illustrate the sexualisation of women’s bodies in contrast with Nicki Minaj’s video. Many of the dance sequences in Nicki Minaj’s Anaconda are choreographed and showcase the technical proficiency of each individual dancer. Their faces are clearly seen which acts as a subtle reminder that they are human beings.
The dancers in Taylor Swift’s video, however, literally serve as a way for Taylor Swift to distance herself from the ‘twerkers’ in question. Swift stops just short of screaming ‘I’M NOT LIKE THEM. NOT LIKE THEM AT ALL.’ She makes sure their faces are hidden, that she is the centre of attention, and that these women are ambiguous enough to be merely a pair of legs and butts, but obviously people of colour. If there is anything that is degrading in the most literal sense of the word, it is this representation of urban culture. It further illustrates a perceived difference in the representation of both races.
If there is anything happening in music right now that is damaging and degrading to women, it is the special snowflake mentality championed by feminists who don’t have the sense to embrace intersectionality. Taylor Swift represents the women who will watch her video with amusement, but abandon all critical thinking skills when it comes to Nicki Minaj.
Nicki Minaj’s video has its faults. Hell, the song even has its faults. But when discussing whether or not something counts as a valid piece of art or popular culture, there has to be genuine unbiased discourse. I am a fan of this video. Nicki Minaj’s body is outstanding (despite any rumours surrounding certain body parts) and so are the bodies of the women in this video. Pretending it’s a “setback” for women is a waste of time on everybody’s part.
