I feel a little uncomfortable posting about The Pussycat Dolls given that I've mysteriously been getting some traffic from a full blown porn site. I am hyper sensitive to using vaguely erotic words and phrases now. Like, can I even say things like "full blown" anymore? If you're here from the hardcore porn site, why? I genuinely want to know what mutual interests I have in common with you, because I can promise you right now that there is significantly less female genitalia involved in this blog than where you have just come from. That being said, lets talk about suggestive music videos.
Ok. So, yesterday I was walking home, listening to my ipod on shuffle, and The Pussycat Dolls started playing. Remember them? Just barely? Yeah, same. They surfaced in that weird year when there were a number of female pop groups born over night, and only one girl in the whole group ever really sung, and you had to wonder whether these ladies were formerly mid-class prostitutes.
I mean, more power to you, going from streetwalker to musical phenomenon; it is a great rags to riches story. Rock on, sisters. I support being forthcoming with your past and sharing your story of overcoming the odds. However, I cannot get behind former-prostitutes turned musical ensembles who maintain their former wardrobes. Using your success story to inspire others who might feel similarly oppressed is one thing, but using your body to sell music is more selling sex than it is songs. It should also be mentioned that The Pussycat Dolls were probably not formerly prostitutes, but more likely former backup dancers and/or daughters of people with money. I heard a rumour that the lead singer used to be a stripper, but thats as close as it gets to identifying them as sex workers prior to their short-lived musical careers. Their songs are catchy, and some even had a decent moral message if you dig deep enough ("I Don't Need a Man" is necessary for all independent woman playlist), and god knows I listen to enough pop music, so I'm not trying to play it like I am above the Top Forty. This is just one example of the age old question of how women are portrayed by the music/film industry.
I'm going to run with the example of "I Don't Need a Man". The lyrics are all about not needing a man to feel good and complete. However, the music video would suggest otherwise. While there are no actual men in the video, it is mainly comprised of The Pussycat Dolls strutting around in their underwear, showering, stripping down behind backlit magenta screens (you know, the kind every woman has in her bathroom), and painting their toenails in the most suggestive manner possible. The video could just as easily have been a girls night out (or in) type thing, the kind of things that actually make me feel like I don't need a man to validate my confidence. But I can tell you right now that nobody (no matter how sexy they feel) paints their toenails with their asses at a ninety degree angle to the rest of their body (does that make sense? Whatever, you know what I mean). Its simply not efficient.
I know this isn't a new debate. It just gets me riled up because I have a few Pussycat Dolls songs on my ipod and I like them. I listen to them while I am sweating profusely at the gym or while I walk down the street pretending I am the sassiest girl in the world. But I don't listen to them while I'm whipping my hair about in my open concept shower or dancing around in my lace-spandex bodysuits, because being the fabulous, independent woman that I am, I simply do not have the time or desire to do those things.
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