This past week Future released a video for his song "Used to This." The overarching theme seems to be that his incredibly lavish lifestyle does not surprise him anymore since he is, as the title states, used to it. In the song, Future also mentions that he works like a Mexicano. This shout out to Mexico seems to have influenced the concept of the music video. The music video is set in a large soccer stadium and as the video plays you can see a large group of women playing soccer while wearing booty shorts and jerseys that say Mexico. Browsing through social media, I picked up on two main reactions to the music video. Some enjoy the huge shout out Future gives to Mexico, while others see the whole thing as being problematic. Those that oppose the video feel that the video is only adding to the issue of the media oversexualizing Mexican women and Latinas as a whole.
After watching the video, I can see why people are criticizing it, but I am definitely not surprised. Hip-Hop and Rap are two music genres that are notoriously known for exploiting women. Status and material possessions play a large role in the culture that has been created by these music genres. Just as cars, gold chains, and mansions are used to denote dominance and success, so are women. Now, by no means am I saying that every single rap and hip-hop song degrades women. I am simply stating that many times when women are brought into the picture they are used as a status symbol. So while the outrage over the music video is justifiable, we should not just be up in arms about the over-sexualization of Mexican women, but of women in general.
While music videos like this one showcase women flaunting their bodies proudly while men look on in admiration and lust, in real-world scenarios these same women become the targets of slut shaming. This creates a strange dynamic. Women are praised for their bodies and physical appearance when it is purely for the male gaze. When women want to embrace their bodies and sexuality for themselves then is becomes unacceptable and obscene. So while rappers and hip-hop artists boast about sleeping with all the women they feature in their videos, at the end of the day they don't respect them nor deem them as worthy of being a wife. Women who want to get married must fall under the category of "good girls." This means no playing soccer in booty shorts while Future and Drake watch on.
Women have been consistently vocal about the negative role that rap and hip-hop plays in the portrayal of women. The conversations revolving around this issue need to continue to take place. It's time that we stop getting used to it and move past it.
