Wednesday, June 26, 2019

Looking for the Girls

I was drawn to this chapter of the book "Looking for the Girls" because I work with young people who are navigating the transition from being children to becoming young men and women.  I worry when I see these young women who looked so young and innocent in the 5th grade allowing themselves to become sexualized, and changing their appearance to please other people in just a few short years. I know that the media has a huge impact on these girls sense of self-image and was interested to see what Andrea Brown-Thirston had to say about music videos influence on young people.

She begins by explaining the images she sees of black women in music videos, specifically R&B and hip-hop. She describes scantily clad women twerking and grinding in the background while men (and some women) sing degrading and sexual lyrics. She then goes on to describe the effects she sees this having on teens. On page 188 she describes a student "still looking for the girls in the DMX video" and says “I think he meant that the girls in the videos represent a lifestyle that blends money. Power, respect, material wealth, and beautiful women. This lifestyle does not just dominate music videos; much of the “curriculum” in mainstream media focuses on this lifestyle as the essence of the American dream.” (188) She continues to explain how the problem of promoting this lifestyle affects both boys and girls. She says that the dangerous part is “the basic message for African American young men was that money can buy you beautiful, sexy and seductive women.” (189) and that “Black girls may internalize these images and begin to accept the role of sex object.” (189) As we have discussed children needing to develop a critical lens for looking at media and film.

Brown-Thirston then proposes three ways to help counteract this effect on the young women of color in our communities. First to help young people develop their critical lens and ask them to question what they see in the media and if it is positive and realistic. Secondly, to recognize the power these images have and present them with other ways, and finally to recognize the impact that parents, teachers and mentors have and to intentionally guide them to show them that "our confidence comes from who we are rather than what we have." (190)

Finally, to reflect a different perspective I found an article where Cardi B pushes back against the idea that female musicians perpetuate this problem, and that instead, they are showing they are empowered by making their own decisions about their bodies and how they present themselves.

Imagine if we treated men the same way in music videos...

2 comments:

  1. I have those same concerns! I watch the students enter my room in September still naive, but by the end of the year, I can see more of the teenager in them. The girls are changing right before our eyes, and we need to help them to see what else being a girl can mean.

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  2. I also have these same concerns for my ninth grade students. This year I had a first period class of 18 girls and 2 boys (those poor souls). Every morning before class started there was a full on debriefing of everyone's outfits/make up. They are so focused on what they look like and I'm sure it come from all of this pressure from the media that you discussed.

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