Video girls bare all on music industry

She waits on the set of the latest Cash Money video shoot. Fully aware of what is expected of her, this so called "video girl" does her job, then receives her payment. On the way home, she contemplates whether females are exploited.

In many of today's rap videos, there is a market for female sexuality. "Sex sells. Females are being used for their sexuality to sell records, as well as other products," Dr. Alfred White, a licensed professional counselor with Dillard's Student Support Services, said.

"The exploitation comes in when these rappers demean and take advantage of them," he said. The females are being used, however, they are also being paid. According to Zandria Pinkney, a DU psychology major, who has appeared in some videos, "The girl knows how she will be treated; she knows how she'll be classified."

With a clear understanding of how the shoot will go, the female performs in the video. "There are a variety of reasons why we dance in the videos," Pinkney said. "Many girls dance for the exposure or a glamorous lifestyle. I use it as a stepping stone to dancing for major artists" Lakaii Wilson, 20, a computer science major at DU, also performs in local videos. "I would not make it into a career, but it is something extra to do. It is definitely a positive thing."

Some viewers and other dancers, however, see treatment of the females as anything but positive. "The dancers are not considered females; they are referred to as sluts or whores. The rappers have no respect for the females," said Pinkney. Wilson said that the amount of respect a female receives is based on how professionally she behaves. "It all depends on how she carries herself," she said.

"The men may demean the girls, but the women are responsible for how the men treat them," Fallon Jackson, 21, a Xavier University mass communications major said. Marcus Gill, 24, a local production assistant and mass communications major at Xavier agrees. "Ultimately, it lies in the female's own hands. Accepting certain behavior says that she is okay with it."

Along with this viewpoint, Dr. White suggests other variables that contribute to the females being treated this way. "Multiple factors contribute to the negative treatment of the girls, including the pursuit of financial gain, a glamorous lifestyle, and a lack of family accountability. The men pursue money and as a result, they degrade the females. They know many of these women need the money, so they end up demeaning and exploiting them."

For some females, including Jackson, the depiction of women as solely sexual beings has a negative effect on how she and other females will be treated by men. "As black people, we do not have many positive figures. A young black man will see how the rappers treat a female, then gets her, and he will think that is how he should approach a female," she said. "Most times, their only method of approach is to degrade a female." According to DU biology major, Bichene Okorn, Jr., the videos heavily impact a male's treatment toward a female. "Learned behavior from those negative influences soon turn into compulsive behavior."

Young males' disrespectful behavior toward women forces females to accept the behavior or denounce it. "Some females act as if there is nothing wrong with men disrespecting them, and that is why men continue to treat all of us so badly," said Pinkney, who opts to perform fully dressed. Jackson agrees. "Women have definitely become desensitized; the negative behavior has become so common that sometimes females do not realize the depth to which they are being mistreated."

In regards to entertainment, what may have once been considered to be totally unacceptable is not only allowed, but possibly embraced. "The tolerance level is higher, whereas the level of demand for respect is lowered," said Okorn.

As the level of demand for respect is lowered, so is the level of respect, said Dwayne Redd, a mass communications senior and rapper, producer and engineer. "I wouldn't want my girlfriend in a video." Despite the reason the females perform in the videos, they may possibly be perceived negatively. "The girl might evaluate how she wants herself to be perceived," said Dr. White. Though the female may value herself, not many people inquire about why she dances in the videos. "I do not see anything but her body. I do not see her face or a story behind her performance," said Dr. Kevin Bastian, Student Support Services director.

Some feel the women are exploited, whereas others do not. According to Dr. Bastian, "There is a trade-off. The female gets paid; the rapper gets a video. Where's the exploitation? DeJuan Carter, 20, DU criminal justice major supports this viewpoint. "Those women are capable of making choices. She chooses to be treated how she is treated." However, some females, outside of the music video industry, complain that they do not choose to be randomly demeaned.

"Today, women are viewed as props. It will take some strong voices to stop this onslaught of degradation toward females," said Dr. Bastian. "Until females, as a whole, decide they want to be treated as ladies, they will continue to be treated as nothing more than an object designed for the sole purpose of a man's use."