Sexy Chicks

In class this week, Sir Mix-a-Lot's classic hit "Baby Got Back" was used to showcase the stereotype of black female sexuality as hypersexual. Has anything changed since this song was released in 1992, almost twenty years ago? The evidence is scarce. Consider this video for rapper Young Money's "Bed Rock":

The women in the video are either sexual objects, seen to remain in bed all day at the behest of the men, or are serving food, again in order to please men. These men, on the other hand, can be seen counting enormous amounts of money, and it is understood that they are in control of the mansion that serves as the setting for the video. It is not just black women that are relegated to this fate; Asian and white women are also clearly displayed as subservient. Another example, in the form of Pitbull's video for I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho):

In this video, a plot or story was deemed unnecessary, and the women just dance around Pitbull in barely-there clothing while he sings his song. This video has almost 111 million views on YouTube, so perhaps there is something of value that I am personally missing in this piece of...art.

Perhaps the lewdest example of all, David Guetta and Akon's "Sexy Chick"

A humorous counterpoint to this portrayal of females is female rapper Riskay's "Smell Yo Dick", which can be seen as an attack on male promiscuity and club culture. Here is the video. Interestingly, the female stripper that the man is seen with is white, a reversal of the role of the black woman as hussy or trollop. Riskay combats the idea of men as "players" and equates it with referring to a woman as a "ho".