Women in Reggaeton Music Videos

                                                  

Women in Reggaeton Music Videos 

Christina Aguilera and Lil Kim is Can't hold us down. 

One of the earliest songs that I remember pushed for female empowerment is “Can’t hold us down” by Christina Aguilera. In this song which features female rapper Lil Kim both artists attempted to send a powerful message to “Girls all around the world, who’ve come across a man who don't respect your worth thinking all women should be seen, not heard, what do we do girls? Shout out loud!”  This song came out in 2003, and precisely a year later a new type of music dominated the airwaves and gained widespread popularity in the United States and other regions, and this type of music is known as reggeaton. Reggeaton is a combination of salsa, merengue and reggae along with often over the top sexually explicit rap lyrics in street Spanish. In addition according to an article on BBC News titled Puerto Rico Shakes to a new beat, in the music videos “the macho lyrics are complemented by a hip-grinding dance style known as “perreo” or “doggie” in Puerto Rican slang. In the same article a barmaid Linette Rivera speaks against this insulting genre of music and states “the videos are permeated with scantily- clad women filmed with cameras placed carefully at the most revealing angles”. In another article titled Sexism and racism permeate music videos, according to new report published on The Guardian which states that men are portrayed as the characters with "power and dominance, and women as passive recipients of their gaze" Does this sound familiar? This indeed brings us to the subject of the male gaze. 

La Grand Odalisque by Ingres 

The earliest form of objectification that existed as discussed in a reading in the book Ways of Seeing it is mentioned that back in history during the Renaissance in numerous European oil paintings such as La Grand Odalisque, women were portrayed in the nude and existed“ to feed the appetite, [and] not to have any of their own” (55) How does this connect with the male gaze? To every painting there is a perspective and to that perspective there is an artist and according to the reading the majority of the artists were men and  in result women were victims of their subjectivity.  

Female objectified by the Male Gaze

When films were first introduced, females behind the camera lens were being portrayed in ways in which only men desired to see a woman. For instance in scenes when a woman entered a room would often start with a slow motion panning up her body showing off her figure and occasionally the director would add a romantic tune to intensify this moment of fantasy. The trend became that men were being portrayed in very heroic forms while women would only have to stand there as an object of admiration. Bell hooks  an American feminist emphasizes on the idea that we learn how to act, behave and talk based on what we see. If we look at certain images repeatedly there is a link between representation and how we live our lives. In an online reading titled Cultural Criticism and Transformation  Hooks states that if we watch enough of those images we may come away thinking that certain forms of unacceptable male violence towards females are acceptable. Although much of her work is based on representation of women film this can also be applied to other mediums such as the music industry. 

                                                     Gasolina Music Video by Daddy Yankee

Daddy Yankee is one of the most well known reggaeton artists, girls around the world go head over heels for him. One of his many songs that were popular at the height of reggaeton music is "Gasolina". The music video contains images of females dancing provocatively and suggesting sexual interest while wearing short skirts, booty shorts, belly shirts and wearing about 2 pounds of makeup, and not to mention that the  camera is constantly zooming in and out to different parts of their body. To add on to the heat, the lyrics of this song goes as follows, Daddy Yankee raps “A ella le gusta la gasolina” and the female voice responds “dame mas gasolina”. If you translate word for word those lyrics literally mean,  she likes the gasoline as the female responds give me more gasoline. The truth is this song is not about gasoline but instead is about the male offering up his semen as the female is dancing provocatively begging for his “gasoline”.  

Arcangel in his music video "Bellaquera"

Another song by artist Osmani Garcia titled “Chupi Chupi”, contains lyrics which can be translated to “go make yourself pretty, and turn out the lights, the orgy has begun”. Similarly another song titled Kimba Pa Que Suene by Los Principales which “translates to “shake it so it goes off” - the song is a homage to masturbation”. Reggeaton is also associated with  promoting messages of violence towards women. For instance in the song “Bellaquera” by  Arcangel  he raps “Si fuera un clavo y yo un martillo, quisiera clavarte” which translates to “If you were a nail and I a hammer, I’d want to nail you” . Another example is another song by Daddy Yankee titled “En la cama” the lyrics are “A ella le gusta que le den duro y se la coman” which translates to “she likes it hard and to be eaten”.   In a reading  titled The effects of Violent Music on Children and Adolescence states that  music without a doubt affect our identity and the way we crate relationships with others. In a study that was conducted students were asked to rank music against other sources of moral and social guidance such as school, parents and teachers. The results were “16 percent ranked music among the top three sources of moral guidance, and 24 percent placed music in the top three for information on social interaction" (p158-159)  In an interview the Director of the Center for Media and Child Health Michael Rich  stresses the fact that music is a powerful motivator of behavior and that we should not underestimate it because it touches the emotional system of our brain.  A study conducted by the American Psychological Association found that "songs with violent lyrics increase aggression related thoughts and emotions and this effect is directly related to the violence in the lyrics". What we can take away from this is that music but more importantly the lyrics inevitably can function as social mirrors providing the listener with a descriptions of the world they live in and teach how to construct social identity

"Usa la razon" campaign poster

In response to these violent lyrics a campaign known as “Usa la razon” which translates to “Use your head” started in Colombia South America In effort to bring awareness to the violence directed towards women in reggaeton songs that have become global hits.  According to Global Voices  a news website, "8 out of 10 reggaeton female consumers who listen to reggaeton feel that they are mistreated by it”. In response to this alarming statistic the students created the campaign in which  they took lyrics to some of the songs and turned them into images of women being abused, this was done in effort to bring to their attention the role they have in it.  Some of the songs that were selected are those that were previously mentioned “Bellaqure” by Arcangel, “La Bellaquera” by Yaga & Mackie Ranks and “En la cama” by Daddy Yankee. Despite all the controversy surrounding the context of reggaeton music Daddy Yankee defended reggaeton  in an interview published in the Los Angeles Times where he states that reggaeton isn't sexist toward women and he claims that “It’s unjust to blame the movement, on the music , when it has more to do with poor business logistics”

                   "Usa la razon" campaign poster

                  "Usa la razon" campaign poster

Cuba has take this matter into their own hands and according to the article titled Cuba Cracks Down on Vulgar and Reggaeton Music published on The Guardian, the Cuban Music Institute Boss Orlando Vistel Columbe has placed restrictions on all public spaces from playing reggaeton and other musical styles that contain "aggressive, [and] sexually obscene lyrics that deform the innate sensuality of the Cuban woman, projecting them as grotesque sexual objects." Recordings are already being destroyed from official catalogs and those who decide to play reggaeton are threatened with permanently being removed from official lists, making it hard for them to find work. 

Although not all reggaeton victimize women, those songs don't seem to make it to the ariway as frequent as the controversial ones. In my opinion I don't think that we should go as extreme as Cuba and ban all reggaeton, but  perhaps campaigns similar to “Use your head” should be adapted  in effort to bring awareness in neighborhoods where reggaeton music is more prominent. There are also other ways in which Bell Hooks in reference to films suggest that we as a community can come together and make a change. In her essay Kids: Transgressive Subject Matter- Reactionary Film Hooks talks about how we have the power to shut down a movie that contains content that is unpleasant. She then suggests “Picketing and boycotts are one of the cheapest and most effective ways to let the world know that the images we are being asked to consume are undesirable… demanding a change in what we see on the screen  is one way to transform the culture we live in”. (p96) This can equally be applied to those making an effort in changing the portrayal of women in reggaeton music. 


Sources: 


"This Colombian Campaign Took Reggaeton Lyrics and Turned Them Into Shocking Images of Women Being Abused · Global Voices." Global Voices Overall RSS 20. N.p., 11 June 2014. Web.

Johnson, Reed. "Daddy Yankee Says Reggaeton Isn't Sexist toward Women." Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 13 Sept. 2012. Web. 

Tremlett, Giles. "Cuba Cracks down on 'vulgar' Reggaeton Music." The Guardian. N.p., 6 Dec. 2012. Web.

Wells, Matt. "Puerto Rico Shakes to a New Beat." BBC News. BBC, 07 Mar. 2005. Web.

Berger, John (1972). Ways of Seeing. London: British Broadcasting Corporation and Penguin Books

Hooks, Bell. "Chapter 9." Reel to Real: Race, Sex, and Class at the Movies. New York, NY: Routledge, 1996. N. pag. Print.

"Sexism and Racism Permeate Music Videos, According to New Report." The Guardian. 8 Aug. 2014. Web.

"Violent Music Lyrics Increase Aggressive Thoughts and Feelings, According to New Study." Http://www.apa.org. N.p., n.d. Web.