The topic of women in music has come up much in my everyday conversations lately. As a recording artist, I usually choose to stay out of media gossip when it comes to artists and celebrities, as I know the value of just wanting my personal life to be exactly that – personal. I’m all about Twitter and Facebook and social networking to an extent, but like to keep it my business where I’m going for lunch or coffee, what color toothbrush I brush with, or when I go to the bathroom, and would prefer my facebook status not to show.
“MARIKA checked into the starbucks bathroom on West 2nd Ave", Ok – so I’m exaggerating – but only a little! I don’t watch celebrity news shows, I don’t read gossip magazines, I don’t search the internet for the latest Hollywood break ups, and who’s gone crazy! I think it’s because when I meet these people, I want to be able to just know them for who they truly are, whether positive or negative, straight from their mouths, not by their stats on what the latest magazines are writing. I do understand that for some artists, wanting a career in entertainment means becoming as famous as you can, and therefore some choose to have their personal lives be open for all. Others just cannot get away from the eyes and ears of the paparazzi. Either way there are boundaries being broken that I think should never be socially allowed.
I want to touch on today’s topic very carefully, as I do not intend to negatively judge anyone, but I merely want to share an opinion to bring light to the influence of the entertainment industry - and I’d like to hear what readers have to say.
These two videos have been brought to my attention lately. ( Just for the record – I’m not endorsing watching them ) The first is Miley Cyrus’s newest single video Who owns my heart, and the second is Natasha Bedingfield’s Strip Me video. Now, in comparison to what’s going on in the big picture in music, these videos are light in content compared to most. But what saddens me, is the imagery that is being portrayed that is being socially accepted in our generation of young people. Being an artist, I know everything is made for entertainment and money – that’s the business of it, but I wonder if these artists are all aware of how much influence and impact they have on those watching. How come you have respectable artists who are talented and completely high profile – even expressing some kind of faith, feeling the need to push the envelope sexually. I wish I could sit down with Miley and Natasha and ask them – “ If I gave you 500, 000 dollars to make your video and you had two choices – to keep your clothes on or take them off – what would you choose? ” Just to give you a visual without going to google the video, the opening of Miley’s video includes her on a bed in her underwear and tank top blindfolded. In Natasha’s video Strip Me, she’s wearing a top hat, dancing behind a piano, only showing her shoulders, but my take, and others around me think it’s implying that she’s naked behind the piano.
Now I understand good art as well – and I do appreciate the art of Natasha’s video, and the lyrics are powerful, but I guess I just didn’t appreciate the implied nakedness from someone who I often admire and respect. My biggest question is why?
With Miley, to be really honest, this was the text that I sent to a friend “ Saw the miley video. Makes me angry. She’s freakin 17 years old. Not mad at her. She’s 17. I’m mad at the people who are raping her of her dignity. ”
Whether I’m right or not, that’s how I feel. On one hand, I work with freedom fighters that are rescuing girls from sex slaves and from the streets at as young as 5 years old, and I would wonder what their thoughts are on videos like this are, where directors, and producers, and artists have the power to choose. On the other hand, I can’t imagine or even know what these amazing artists like Miley and Natasha have going on behind the scenes with their labels, and accountants, and lawyers with the pressure and the need to stay relevant for their fans and continue bringing in the big dollars. An incredible man in my life also pointed out the fact, that when the young women popstars grow up and have this need to discover themselves, the fact remains it usually means in music videos they are wearing less clothes. When the boy popstars grow up and are discovering themselves it still means the women around them are now just wearing less clothes. The guys get to keep their dignity and keep their clothes on, and are cooler because of it. It truly is not fair for women.
To go to a complete extreme, I would say what would be the difference between the people who rape and rob the innocent girls on the streets involved in human trafficking, and the people that allow people like 17 year old Miley to portray herself like she did on her video. I’d say not much. Just one is more socially acceptable that another, because one is art, and one is rape. Im struggling with the questions of whether there is a difference or not.
For myself who I continue to see girls dealing with suicide, low self esteem, their innocence stolen, and stripped of their lives, I still contend for and believe that you can have great art with great talented beautiful women who’s lives in and out of the music still inspire, without all the other negative imagery that truly impacts an entire generation of easily influenced young women.
I know what it’s like to walk away from a music video that I know isn’t me – I was even expected to pay for it myself. I know what it’s like to watch others become way more famous than me because they do have that sexual image. It’s one of the hardest things in my career. But I still live with the hope that there are people out there that believe in what I do. That you can have talent beauty, life, great music, and a great image and win fans that catapult you in to a platform to create positive change. Still discovering if it can happen, but I’m all about believing in the journey. There are people who believe in what Unlock Magazine is all about, and I believe there is room for people like us and the amazing women on this team in our culture.
Sometimes it all just comes down to the people that have the money and the power. So I’d say, bring on the money and the power, cause we are going to take over and make some greatness happen!