It’s rare to watch a pop video now without getting an eye full of female booty. Nor can you get away from hearing the word “pimp.” Even Madonna wanted MTV to “pimp her ride.” The word has well and truly entered the mainstream media but what affect is this new pimp and booty culture having on young women of today?
Some people are saying it’s the death of us. But are they over reacting?
Body shop founder, Dame Anita Roddick recently hit out at music stars such as Britney Spears and Beyonce for promoting what she called “pimp and ho chic”, saying: “all aspects of the sex industry are presented as hip and cool: pole dancing as exercise, lap dancing clubs as places to see celebrities, Pimp of the Year Award, pimp and ho fancy dress balls and websites promoting ‘pimp’ culture.”
I completely agree with her but isn’t she overreacting a little?
In 2005, a child was banned from bringing a pencil case into school because it had the playboy bunny on it. This seems a bit over the top to me. But then there was uproar when Argos started marketing thongs at children. And this I agree with as children should not be sexualised and Argos should have been more responsible. Pencil cases are one thing but encouraging little girls to wear g-strings is appalling.
It’s also really annoying when people say that popular artists dance too sexily, because how do you want them to dance? Could you really imagine The Pussycat Dolls performing “Beep” in granny gear? The fear is that all this sexy dancing and pimp chic is promoting the sex industry, but isn’t that just like saying that someone who fancies a pint is an alcoholic?
In response to Dame Anita’s criticism, Superdrug sent her a “Ho Yourself” kit. The starter kit consisted of: self tan, body shimmer, sunglasses, false eyelashes, false nails, lip plumping lip fix, and sets of copper and gold bangles, gold beaded hoop earrings and a selection of gold chains.
Gerry Murphy, Marketing Director of Superdrug argued: "It's a little simplistic to say that wearing bling and looking glamorous promotes the sex trade and wearing a nose ring and having spiky hair doesn't make you an anarchic punk.” According to Dame Anita Roddick stars like Britney and Beyonce are promoting the sex industry and the exploitation of women, but is she right?
It’s true that Britney Spears and Beyonce dance provocatively and wear very little, but they’re certainly not doing it naked with their legs akimbo. The simple truth is that their music sells to young females because they promote an image of female independence and they’re good dancers.
The problem I have is with the women who are brought out to do raunchy dancing around men in music videos and be seen and not heard. I understand that male artists probably don’t want to dance around other half-naked men but I don’t particularly want to watch a bunch of girls doing that either, especially when it’s probably to hide the fact that the men can’t dance.
So, let’s get a little bit of perspective on things – young women in bling aren’t prostitutes and men should think twice before using ‘pimp and ho chic’ to hide their own insecurities. And Anita I think you should grab a couple of gold bangles and get off your environmental high horse.
About the team
This story was written and edited by Annabel McLeod, 19. It was published by Reach for the Sky website.
