Objectifying Song: Drake- “Hotline Bling”
Drake’s 2015 song “Hotline Bling” contains sexist lyrics that objectify women and effectively imply the technique of slut shaming and male dependence. The overlying theme of these song is the idea that this woman has lost all of her self-respect because her boyfriend has left her, showcasing the objectifying idea that men are responsible for the identity of females. When he sings this song, he is implying that men are dominant in romantic relationships and women make decisions about their morality and their respectability based on whether they are single or not, out of respect to their boyfriends.
In one of the verses, Drake raps, “Cause ever since I left the city you/ Started wearing less and goin’ out more” (Drake, 2015, “Hotline Bling”). He is implying in the song that since he left the city, the girl he used to date has turned into a slut who spends every day at the club looking for new men to sleep with. Her revealing clothes are a symbol that she has become easy and he has lost respect for her because she is not being conservative. Drake also implies in the song that he wonders if the girl in question is currently “bendin’ over backwards for someone else” (Drake, 2015, “Hotline Bling”). He is stating in the song that this girl did anything he told her to and that she did not have a mind of her own. He implies that since he has left her, she is going to find a new boyfriend to do the exact same thing for instead of doing things for herself.
This song expresses messages of slut shaming and male dependency in that Drake is saying his ex-girlfriend has turned into a slut because of the fact that she goes out wearing minimal clothing and drinks a lot. He also questions her morality and states that she is likely going to be obeying a new boyfriend and doing whatever he says. Listeners who are hearing this song are therefore led to believe that anyone going out and wearing skimpy clothing is a slut and is only looking for male attention. This is a common stereotypical view held in modern society as women are continually objectified for the clothing that they wear. Drake is enforcing the theme to his listeners that women are only good girls if they stay at home and obey their boyfriends, or pine over the boyfriends who have left them.
Drake, “Hotline Bling”
You used to call me on my, you used to, you used to
You used to call me on my cell phone
Late night when you need my love
Call me on my cell phone
Late night when you need my love
I know when that hotline bling
That can only mean one thing
I know when that hotline bling
That can only mean one thing
Ever since I left the city you
Got a reputation for yourself now
Everybody knows and I feel left out
Girl you got me down, you got me stressed out
Cause ever since I left the city, you
Started wearing less and goin' out more
Glasses of champagne out on the dance floor
Hangin' with some girls I've never seen before
You used to call me on my cell phone,
Late night when you need my love,
Call me on my cell phone
Late night when you need my love
I know when that hotline bling
That can only mean one thing
I know when that hotline bling
That can only mean one thing
Ever since I left the city, you, you, you
You and me we just don't get along,
You make me feel like I did you wrong,
Going places where you don't belong,
Ever since I left the city, you,
You got exactly what you asked for,
Running out of pages in your passport,
Hanging with some girls I've never seen before
You used to call me on my cell phone,
Late night when you need my love,
Call me on my cell phone,
Late night when you need my love,
And I know when that hotline bling,
That can only mean one thing,
I know when that hotline bling,
That can only mean one thing
These days, all I do is
Wonder if you're bendin' over backwards for someone else,
Wonder if you're rolling up a backwoods for someone else,
Doing things I taught you gettin' nasty for someone else
You don't need no one else,
You don't need nobody else, no,
Why you never alone,
Why you always touching road.
Used to always stay at home, be a good girl.
You was in the zone, yeah.
You should just be yourself.
Right now, you're someone else
You used to call me on my cell phone
Late night when you need my love
Call me on my cell phone
Late night when you need my love
And I know when that hotline bling
That can only mean one thing
I know when that hotline bling
That can only mean one thing
Ever since I left the city
Objectifying Commercial: Doritos Ultrasound 2016 Superbowl Commercial
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNK1_Yop6oo
This Doritos commercial first aired during the 2016 Superbowl. It begins by showing a pregnant woman receiving an ultrasound by a female technician. She is happily gazing at the sonogram, admiring her child, when suddenly a crunch interrupts her mood. The camera turns to her husband, who is eating a bag of Doritos beside the bed. She asks him if he is really eating Doritos right now, and turns to the technician and tells her, “do you see what I have to deal with?” (Doritos Ultrasound commercial, 2016). The man shrugs and moves his hand, when he notices that the baby is moving according to the Dorito, which he finds entertaining, and he begins to control the baby’s movements until the woman suddenly gives birth.
This commercial objectifies men because it makes the male appear to be stupid and uncaring about his unborn child, while the woman appears to be doing all the work by caring about the child via the ultrasound. The woman has a serious expression on her face, and is obviously deeply happy about the birth of her child. She sighs and gently speaks to the technician, until they are interrupted by the crunch of the husband’s Doritos. This interruption implies that men are rude and selfish, and only care about themselves. The man is simply sitting around eating Doritos while his wife scolds him and mocks him. When the women glare at him for being so inconsiderate and uncaring, he simply says nothing and stares blankly at them. He does not even have any brain power to say anything back to the women, who are clearly judging him. This idea is meant to indicate the running stereotype that men are stupid and only women have a maternal, domestic instinct to be a parent.
Traditionally, males were responsible for bringing home money and being the strong paternal figure, and women were the nurturing ones who had more emotions and cared more for the children. According to this view, women were only valued by men for their reproductive capabilities and not for their value as an individual person. Therefore, it was a male dominated world wherein they did not care about children as much as women. It was also left entirely to the woman to care for and raise the children. This view translates to this commercial because the woman is left to do all of the work carrying the child, while the man is just sitting around not contributing anything of value. He has also shown disrespect for the entire procedure, as bringing food into an ultrasound room is not allowed in a real hospital scenario. This is also exemplified at the end of the commercial when the wife gives birth at the man’s control, when he is moving the baby around via the Dorito chip. The woman, whose body the child is growing in, suddenly loses all of her control and the man is suddenly in charge, even though he has done nothing in the beginning of the commercial. This symbolises the balance of power within a heterosexual relationship in regards to childbirth, in a traditional and objectifying sense of the stereotype.
This objectification of men helps to sell the product because it reinforces a stereotype that is often used to create jokes and poke fun at men. It is a common stereotype that men are stupid and do not care about children in the same way that women do. Commercials that are funny are often used to sell products more effectively than commercials that take a more serious tone, because they resonate with audiences more often. Females are often found to be making jokes about males, and vice versa. However, the majority of commercials objectify women. Therefore, by taking the lesser-seen route of male objectification, Doritos is attempting to stand out and be memorable. It is also possible that Doritos knows that they are exploiting women through this commercial and wants to increase their attention through shock value. By raising concern about objectification and exploitation of men, they can generate a conversation about the commercial, and even if people are discussing the negative aspects of it, they are still generating publicity for this brand.
Magazine Cover: Women’s Health February 2016
Women’s Health is a magazine that is regarded as a source of advice, information, and news about trends in health and nutrition for women. It also features articles about clothing, relationships, and sex. This magazine cover from the February 2016 issue of Women’s Health features Ashley Hart, who is, as the cover states, an “instagram fitness star” (Women’s Health, 2016). This cover is objectifying to women and promotes negative body images.
The most obvious objectification on this magazine cover is the image of Ashley Hart in a bikini. She is wearing minimal clothing in order to show off her ideal body type, which consists of a flat stomach, perky breasts, and lean arms. This is objectifying Hart because it is showing the readers of the magazine, as well as the people who simply glance at the cover, that this woman should be valued based upon her ideal body type and her good looks. This is implying that this type of body is what society has accepted as attractive and perfect, and all women should value their own bodies based on this image. They are also exploiting Hart by using a woman in a bikini to grab attention from people who might otherwise glance over the magazine on a newsstand. If she were wearing conservative clothing, and was not showing off this ideal body type, she would likely not attract as many people. This is even more evident in the fact that she is on the cover of a February issue wearing a bikini, when most people are not wearing bikinis at this time of year unless they live in specific Southern states. Hart is also on the cover of the magazine because she has become famous on the social media application Instagram, which is a picture-sharing tool. This means that Hart has become famous through images of her and only through her visual appearance. This does not set a healthy example for women to follow because Hart has not done anything using any other talents in order to achieve magazine-cover status. This is telling women that as long as they look perfect in pictures they can have the same amount of admiration and attention from male viewers and other females who wish to become as attractive as her.
One of the main headlines of the cover says, “Your Perfect Weight!” (Women’s Health, 2016). This sends a negative message to women because it implies that there is a specific weight that women must be in order to be considered perfect in society. Women are lead to believe through headlines such as this one that their attractiveness and their value are based on the number on the scale instead of their intelligence or personality. Underneath this headline, there is a sub-heading that states, “flatten your tummy” (Women’s Health, 2016). This is implying that women must have a flat stomach in order to appear attractive and in order to feel like they are worth something in the eyes of society.
There is a negative correlation between the headlines that praise losing weight and discuss sex. A headline at the bottom of the image states, “Great Sex Every Time!” (Women’s Health, 2016). This headline is positioned among all of the articles about losing weight and achieving a perfect body type. Therefore, while it does not outright state that these two topics are related, the magazine is subliminally implying that in order to have great sex, one must have an ideal body type that is dictated by the standards of society. This is also an underlying implication that women are meant to be objects for men to admire. The whole reason that women must perfect their appearance, according to this magazine and many others aimed toward women, is so that men will find them attractive and they can keep a boyfriend or a husband in their life.
In conclusion, this magazine cover objectifies women because it implies that it is okay for people to admire women as objects of attraction instead of human beings who have brains and talents. Men are supposed to admire these women and want to have sex with them because they have these ideal body types, which for some women are unrealistic and not attainable by any natural means, leading to warped perceptions of beauty and body image.
Print Ad: Calvin Klein Spring 2015
This advertisement is from the Calvin Klein Spring 2015 collection. It depicts Justin Bieber exerting dominance over a woman who is subsequently being objectified. The woman is topless and has her arms up in a position of helplessness, which dehumanizes her because she has given up control of her body. She is also topless while the male in the image remains fully clothed, showing that she is meant in the image to be a symbolic toy for him to play around with. By being the one wearing barely any clothing, this advertisement shows the woman being submissive and dominated by him. The fact that she is topless implies that she is meant only to be viewed as an object of affection for Bieber as well as any viewers seeing the advertisement. She is lying in a position where she is balanced on one of his legs, which is not a realistic position that anyone would possibly choose to take. Therefore, this showcases an example of the way that women are positioned within print advertisements, showing their separation from reality. The expression on her face is one that implies that she is in pleasure, allowing herself to be used as an object for male affection.
This advertisement is trying to evoke the idea that women are sexual playthings that men can easily take advantage of, and that women can be submissive to men. These advertisements make me feel uncomfortable because this woman in this image is clearly giving herself up in order to please the male. It makes me question why he is not in his underwear as well, and why only one of them has to be half naked. After watching the assigned video clips, I have come to realize that this is a blatant example of the ways that women are subtly objectified in the media. I do not enjoy seeing this image of this woman who is clearly letting herself be dominated by Justin Bieber in order to sell clothing for a million dollar brand. Before watching the videos, I would probably never have glanced twice at this ad, but now that I have come to understand the specific way that women are positioned alongside men in these advertisements, I realize how sexist these types of images really are.
Portrayal of Gender Equality: Oscars 2016 “We all Dream in Gold”
A good example of gender equality in print advertising is the 2016 Oscars advertisement that states “We all dream in gold” (Oscars, 2016, “We all Dream in Gold”). This advertisement features two female actresses and two male actors all holding Academy Awards and smiling. This is a good example of gender equality because there is an equal ratio of males to females, and everyone is standing in the same position. There is nothing sexual within the advertisement, and everyone is wearing a conservative amount of clothing. One of the actresses has short hair and the other has long hair, showing a difference in the incorporation of traditional beauty standards for women. The men also do not represent the ideal type of male featured in sexist advertisements because they are not young and shirtless. The message this advertisement is conveying is that everyone, female or male, can achieve their dreams and win an Oscar. This is further showcased by the fact that the men and women are in black and white, but the caption is written in gold. This downplays the emphasis on the gender of the people in the image and focuses on the message that remains gender-neutral.
This advertisement makes me feel good because it is not discriminating against anyone, and is in fact trying to portray the opposite message. It makes me feel motivated because it is really trying to give everyone the message that it is possible to achieve their dreams and accomplish their goals. These are not conventional advertisements, and I feel that part of this is because the Academy always tries to keep a classic image and they are trying to keep up with the times. I personally feel that this advertisement represents the Academy trying to do damage control in light of the controversy surrounding this year’s awards ceremony when many were angered because there were no African American nominees. This does not necessarily have to be a bad thing, because this represents an excellent portrayal about the need for more gender equal advertisements in the media. Since the Oscars are watched annually by millions of people around the world, it is important for them to set this type of example.
Summary
This assignment has opened my eyes to the amount of sexism and objectification that appears in the media on a daily basis, on every platform. Watching the video clips and then doing the research in popular culture has helped me to see the different ways that people use subtle images to convey these negative messages, and the untrained eye might not detect any of it. The media is everywhere, from bus stops to television and magazines. It is unavoidable to escape the daily bombardment of advertisements and images that are thrown at society in this way, and these messages can have serious repercussions to people of all ages, genders, and sexualities. There is a reason that so many people suffer eating disorders and body dysmorphia, and there is also a reason that rape culture is still a problem in society. I do not think that I will be able to view advertisements in the same way after taking this course, because of all the different types of imagery that I have learned about.
The fact that it is so easy to find these types of examples showcases the need for improvement in the way that both genders are represented within the media. One of the big surprises that came from doing this assignment was the fact that so many men are objectified, and it happens almost as often as women. The only reason that this is not as common as objectification of women is because many people have accepted these types of messages as something that simply happens within society. Men are just as sensitive to the depictions of their gender as women. One only has to open any issue of Men’s Health magazine to find the many parallels between body image for both men and women. I am glad that I have completed this assignment because I have been made more privy to the messages of the media, and I believe that everyone needs to understand that these are not acceptable images to be showing people in today’s world. Images need to become more progressive, and there certainly are examples of this as well. However, there are not enough images to change the objectification that women and men are faced with every day.
References
(2016, Feb.). Cover. Women’s Health, 30(1).
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (Owner). (2016). We all dream in gold [Print
Advertisement]. Retrieved from
http://oscar.go.com/photos/2016/2016-oscar-posters/oscars_dream
Calvin Klein Jeans [Print Advertisement]. (2015, Spring/Summer). Retrieved from
http://mic.com/articles/108118/calvin-klein-s-photoshop-of-justin-bieber-is-what-s-
wrong-with-male-beauty-standards
Clark, Bruce. (2016, Jan. 6). Doritos ultrasound commercial [Video File]. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNK1_Yop6oo
Graham, Aubrey, Jeffries, Paul, & Thomas, Timmy. (2015, July 31). Hotline bling [Recorded by
Drake]. On Views [CD]. United States: OVO Sound.
