It was like watching softcore mother-daughter porn. Not something you necessarily want coming up on your Facebook at 8am…
In the last week, the video for a re-hashed track from Jennifer Lopez, Queen of Arse, hit the internet, and like a bout of diarrhea it has uncontrollably spread everywhere, rather quickly. Featuring the continentally-confused Iggy Azalea, (yet to decide on an accent to stick to) the pair are cheek to cheek, polishing their backsides in the hope it’ll help sell some more singles. The problem is, it probably will.
Here’s the thing. In the mainstream music industry, as in anything product based, one must have a USP (Unique Selling Point). One thing that bucks the rule is that sex sells. This can totally tip the scales from someone who is mediocre in their field, to someone who will sell sell sell for their label and management.
At this point I must say, with the omission of the manufacturing of chart musicians, BBC One’s ‘The Voice’ (originally a Dutch television producer’s brain child) has a cracking premise. Take away the main visual crutch when lapping up the budding artists trying to impress and you are left with their voice to judge. Not their bum cheeks or hair stylists.
Reducing one’s selling point to having a bottom and being able to move it in time to music isn’t something to write home about in my eyes. So how has this been allowed to manifest itself? There are various influences that range from male chauvinism to media perpetuation of gender roles right through to simple aesthetically pleasing shapes our brains recognise, without us even being aware.
To a lot of people, it also reduces your validity as a genuine artist in the music world as well. But would anyone really dare say that J.Lo wasn’t a good singer or performer? Not on your nelly. So why has she ‘touched cloth’ with Iggy and gotten sopping wet. It’s just unsanitary.
In the wake of the ‘Blurred Lines’ fiasco, and the feminist rebuttals, I was actually quite happy to see the kick-back and eventual removal of it from the main flow of music outlets and university campuses. It showed that people, although slowly, were beginning to understand how its use was ‘perpetuating rape culture’; a phrase I’ve heard more times in the last year than whatever the fox decided to actually say.
I know I sound like a prude to some, but I’m telling you, just because ‘Jenny from the block’ can stand next to someone half her age and still look attractive, DOESN’T MEAN SHE HAS TO. I hope she comes out and tells us all in 10 years that she actually felt disgusted doing the music video.