Video Vixen Argumentative Speech

Superior Essays
A woman in a music video is often referred to as a Video Vixen. The term vixen typically elicits the thought of a temptress, who is aesthetically stunning, with long luscious hair, thick thighs, toned limbs, large breasts, and equally fitting derriere. Stereotypically, she wears high stiletto shoes designed to accentuate her hourglass, half-naked figures, and voluptuous silhouette. She is the object of sex appeal for men in music videos and treated as a prized trophy for possession. To the male viewer on the other side of the screen, she is mesmerizing, with her deep and penetrating eyes and glossy pouty lips as if she were requesting a private encounter with him. Through these actions, she has convicted herself as an object of sexual gratification …show more content…
She is a young, attractive brown-haired woman who gratuitously cavorts with her breasts completely exposed, left only with a flesh-colored bikini bottom to adorn her lean and silky-smooth frame. She is the object of desire among Thicke, Pharrell and T.I., as they exchange jeers and glances of accordance praising her half-naked body as if she were a token of sexual pleasure for them. She becomes the center of attention, engaging in flirtatious behavior in the transaction to incite interest, and approval, through the physical contact she provides. At one point featured artist T.I. brushes her hair, and pulls on it while she submits to his actions gripping down on her nail with her perfect snow-white teeth giving him a look of helplessness in return. (Thicke. This misconstrued model of female sexuality mirrors perceptions of today’s cultural climate as those of the late 19the Century when Mary Wollstonecraft wrote “Of the Pernicious Effects Which Arise from the Unnatural Distinctions Established by Society”. In her essay, she explains, “…when a woman is admired for her beauty, and suffers herself to be so far intoxicated by the admiration she receives as to neglect discharge the indispensable duty....” (657). The interaction between the vixen and the males in the video reveals …show more content…
As the video demonstrates, she is young, slender with long auburn hair and bright red lipstick and high-heel shoes all symbolic characteristics associated with femininity. On the other hand, men are taught to be tough young boys, sterile from emotions and be successful and hold prestigious positions to produce a sustainable and comfortable lifestyle, including pleasure from the women. Margaret Mead, author of “Sex and Temperament” concluded how behaviors and roles are cultivated from an early age in society, “Ultimately, she realized that each culture begins shaping individuals at birth to fit the patterns that it has determined as most desirable” (Jacobus 708). Germaine Greer adds, “Masculinity is a system. It is the complex of learned behaviors and subtly coded interactions that form the connective tissue of corporate society.” (734). Women are thought of as attractive, soft, and fragile creatures whose beauty serves only to seduce acceptance in an otherwise male-dominated society Girls do not make clear of these distinct characteristics from the outset, to express their proper role in society, but instead imitate certain behaviors from early stages of childhood and cultivate specific behaviors they must perform. This illustrates the outcomes in behavior and characteristics of each sex that is performed in life

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Susan Minot's Lust

    • 341 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Written in 1984, Susan Minot’s short story “Lust” is a tale about a young teenager’s sexual encounters and its effects on her female psyche. In a clutter of unorganized paragraphs, the narrator expresses her sexual history and feelings towards these sexual encounters. She focuses on the gender roles that are the complete opposite of what would be expected during the feminist movement of the 1970’s and the 1980’s, implying Minot’s personal views on the effectiveness of the movement, as well as talking about the pressure and expectations of women by society and how those expectations show signs of lust, not love. Right out the start, Minot creates a very nonchalant tone for the narrator.…

    • 341 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Rhetorical Analysis of Miss Representation Miss Representation, a documentary film produced by Jennifer Siebel Newsom, premiered in 2011 and quickly received the concern of audience because of the controversial issue that it raised. Through the popular culture, women are told how to be femininity since they are young. In other words, the traditional feminine norms have caused many restrictions on feminine self-expression and development. When Newsom was pregnant with her daughter, she was inspired to make the film since she wanted her daughter live in a different world where women are valued.” The film reveals the negative side of popular culture and seeks a new perception of femininity.…

    • 701 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Make Me Proud Analysis

    • 1260 Words
    • 6 Pages

    By beginning the song with descriptions of the main character refraining from sex, as well as fighting for her rights, the lyrics empower women by supporting both the decision to abstain from sex, as well as the decision to indulge. Nikki Minaj’s verse reinforces the idea that sex may be used for power by vocalizing her sexual abilities in the lyrics. Dolly Parton is also introduces as a sex icon to establish that sexual freedom, although controversial, is empowering through the basic idea that it is just that- FREEDOM. Although the lyrics have the power to negatively influence future generations toward sexual exhibitionism, that is not the point that the song is trying to make.…

    • 1260 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    In “Female Chauvinist Pigs,” the author Ariel Levy writes on her point of view as to how she feels about women who abide by raunch culture. Levy believes women have to identify with several different gender stereotypes in order to participate in raunch culture. Gender stereotypes refer to simplistic generalizations of gender attributes and roles of individuals or groups. They may also be positive or negative but hardly disclose accurate information of others and reflect judgement. In addition, she categorizes the two different types of women which she considers participate in raunch culture, as one being the female chauvinist pig and the other being the “girly-girl” in order to support her arguments.…

    • 1651 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Stereotypes In Liz Prince

    • 688 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Liz Prince is not the average girl who follows the societal expectations. She, like any other person, is not an exception to the societal expectations for gender roles. Through her graphic memoir, she tells her experiences as a tomboy. Because of Liz’s boyish tendencies, she is not easily accepted in the society. She even has a hard time finding who she is and where she belongs.…

    • 688 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The attitude presented above can be related back to conformity to familial and societal expectations and ambivalent sexism wherein girls feel the need to adopt the behaviours and attitude of…

    • 1430 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Through this, the story shows the paragon that women put the sexual desires of men before their own, accentuating them as nothing more than their physical appearance. Although the men of the compound objectifies Mary Anne, only noticing her “cut-off blue jeans and a black swimsuit top” (68), she breaks barriers and the idealism that women are toys. Mary Anne Belle rises up to the men’s sexist epitomes and proves them wrong as she begins to evolve into a more independent…

    • 1406 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    When watching Mickey Mouse Monopoly it became clear to me how I’ve noticed these things in the past. Even just a few months ago I was watching a YouTube video about Disney conspiracies and the Siamese cats were brought up. After really paying attention to these clips that were brought up in the video it makes me wonder how much these Disney movies actually play into our understanding of the world. Throughout this paper, I will discuss some of my observations from Disney movies as well as the ones the video talks about.…

    • 955 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In feminist philosopher Judith Butler’s 1990 book Gender Trouble, she states “There is no gender identity behind the expressions of gender; identity is performatively constituted by the very “expressions” of gender that are said to be its results” (p. 25). This essay will explore how Lea Anderson’s Perfect Moment (1992) (a film adaption of the stage piece Birthday (1992), directed by Margaret Williams) reveals these expressions to show the social construct of gender within our hegemonic heterosexual society. Anderson began her studies at St Martin’s School of Art, before leaving to continue at Laban Centre for Movement and Dance (Hutera, 2011, p. 29) and her art school background is evident in her choreographic practice. Movement for her pieces…

    • 1091 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Tip Drill Poem Analysis

    • 973 Words
    • 4 Pages

    This theory explains how females are treated as instruments of sexual pleasure, disregarding the person’s dignity and personality. This quite apparent throughout the song whereby the girl is addressed only because of her body, Nelly in the song makes the girl seem like an object when he makes her aware that the only time engaging a female is worthwhile is when she offers sex at the end of the day. By saying this he singles out sexual gratification as the only purpose the opposite gender exist for, in the video he goes as far as swiping an ATM card in her backside depicting as a purchasable commodity. From a journal by clinical psychologists once a woman’s body or bod parts are separated from her as a person and she is viewed as object of desire this sums up sexual objectification (E. Carr, L. Moffit, D. Szymanksi, 2011). According to them this can cause negative effects to women creating a physical standard women feel they must attain or females diminishing their potential to only sexual…

    • 973 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    There are many differences between both males and females, from anatomy to the gender assigned roles of society. Through the decades, the gender roles have been put into play, in not only our society, but also the societies around the world. “Sex and Temperament” written by Margaret Mead, explores the cultural norms of societies around the globe and how they align with the norms we have become accustom to in our daily lives. “This study is not concerned with whether there are or are not actual and universal differences between the sexes, either quantitative or qualitative.” (Mead, 710)…

    • 1025 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Analysis Of Like A Girl

    • 1450 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Whether intentionally or not, especially as a male, we all have used the term “like a girl” without a shadow of concern about the ramifications of such words. Our obnoxious preface that girls may be inferior, as evident by the phrase, has sadly been apparent since youth and changes the schema in which both genders view the world at hand. The people over at Always have created a campaign centered on the rhetoric of counter-thinking societal clichéd views. Growing up as male within a predominately female family (both immediate and extended) allowed me to see the fault in this line of thinking. Seeing athletic, intellectual or artistic abilities being dependent on the person rather than their gender for which my family proves time after time.…

    • 1450 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Jason Derulo’s ‘Swalla’ takes sexual images too far in music video. The music video begins with a candy wonderland filled with lollipops, soft drinks, bright colours and girls in tiny bikinis that instantly lures people with innocent images although the innocence stops there. When the music begins, unrealistic woman at the mercy of Jason Derulo perform pelvic pushes on the floor and swarm around Derulo, attempting to awe him with their sexual dance moves and their thin bodies. Society spends a significant amount of time watching music videos that are purposely provocative.…

    • 1031 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Essay On The Mammy Image

    • 772 Words
    • 4 Pages

    As mentioned, Stuart Hall was a Jamaican born cultural theorist and sociologist who lived and worked in the United Kingdom that our decoding of media images are very much influenced by the guidance of “dominant” social ideologies. Throughout the research and studies i really came to realize how correct Mr Hall was on his idea on how he believes that videos are all encoded, keying on race, but also, gender and sexuality. Doing much research on the "Mammy" stereotype of black women and the "Greaser" stereotype of latino men i came to a conclusion on believing his views of masculinity and femininity. Throughout this paper i will talk more about the differences and describe the way the film subjects the main two topics and how it keys in on race, gender, and sexuality. Greasers, who were also known as, “Hood”,…

    • 772 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Objectifying Women

    • 430 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Terry Richardson, Tom Ford’s photographer, aimed to convey the nerve and sexiness of the newest men’s fragrance by producing a more explicit photo. Even though it is a product, which is being targeted at men, there are no men present in the image. Instead, the product is being sold by what men want, or are supposed want. (Unknown, 2016)…

    • 430 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays