Alternative Representations in Hip Hop

Christina Aguilera - Can't Hold Us Down



This music video is very contraversial in the way that women are represented in the Hip Hop genre.

Christina Aguilera has often been critisiced of her revealing dress sense, before she changed her look completely for the music video "Beautiful". In this text, her image is that of someone stereotypically nicknamed "white trash". She is shown in shorts, wearing all pink, which suggests there is still supposed to be an element of innocence in her character in this music video.

Even the title gives indications of a rebellious and revolutionary-style music video. "Can't Hold Us Down" tells the viewers, even before they view the text, that this is something to repell those who create pressure; in this case, men. The text also features mainly black males, who are stereotypically seen as the most dominant, dangerous and violent men who create the most problems. Even though Christina Aguilera is white and middle-classed, she chose to dress like an ethnic minority figure to express her view that it is not important what race they are, but that they are fighting together against equality.

Clearly this text shows an alternative representation of women in the Hip Hop genre, compared to stereotypical ones we often see in rap songs, featuring women hardly dressed, dancing around dominant males and phallic symbols. This text contains connotations that are more deeply rooted around feminism and post-feminism rather than morality. The lyrics "when a female fires back, suddenly big-talker don't know how to act" shapes the meaning of the music video to the viewer. The singer questions this idea of feminism that is supposed to have created equality in everyday life, yet considerable differences still exist within the two genres that don't allow equality to prevail.

Mainly in the Hip Hop genre, the dominant representation of men are that they seem quite relaxed and don't have to move much to be pleasured by his women. Usually using phallic symbols to express his power and control over these women, dominant males would show off their power with the most expensive cars, clothing and jewellery. Whereas in this music video, we see the alternative representation of men:

Here is a screenshot of the scene where the males are breakdancing. This whole idea of dancing to show themselves off almost seems a desperation to re-gain power. The text reflects the rise in female power against males who, according to this music video, really and truly don't have any power but refuse to admit so. Therefore, it supports the idea that we are still living in a patriarchal society, even though male mysogyny has decreased.

However, in a way, the text is trying to change the views of the viewer by showing them that it is the representation of men that creates the patriarchal society, and not the men themselves. The scene where Lil Kim enters the scene in her tight revealing outfit, is where it becomes clear what the main focus of the clip is:

Even though she is dressed in the stereotypically subordinate female image, her words explain, using examples, the inequality that still exists today. Yet she makes it clear that it is not the men's actions that lead to this being the case, but the way they are still represented as angels/heroes. "When a guy have 3 girls, then he's the man. He can either give her some head of sex her off, but if the girl do the same then she's a whore" - the text connotes that the only reason equality still exists today is because men are still given this freedom of being able to sexually please many women and be promiscuous without consequence, but women are seen to be "whores" if they do the same, because of this never-ending mysogynistic view towards women in society.

"But the table's about to turn" and "You can't hold me down, i got to keep on moving" - give indications of feminist behaviour on the rapper's part. These lyrics signify that we have not yet reached total feminism and that the viewers should bear in mind that women's power is still rising today. In a way, Christina Aguilera tries to promote women's power and allow women to become more rebellious and violent towards men in society, because of the idea of feminism being so revolutionary.

Even the lyrics "you must talk so big to make up for smaller things":

The singer's hand gestures as she says this line are very sexual. Yet she is using this phallic symbol as a way to express the meaning behind what she is saying. She is trying to say that males try to be dominant by pretending they have big penises, but talk in a mysogynistic manner to women in order to make up for a size that they haven't achieved.

Therefore, alternative representations do exist of females and males in the Hip Hop genre. However, to be an alternative representation, the stereotypical roles must be switched from the males being dominant to subordinate, and from the females being subordinate to dominant. Although this is an unusual change, it seems normal for the general public as we are used to the rise in female power over the years. But to go as far as suggesting that society naturally subordinates men would be incorrect. The text signifies the hatred some women have for mysogynistic men in particular, therefore creating an alternate mysogyny coming from the female point-of-view. This has slowly began to shape society, that instead of equality, we are slowly beginnning to accept the fact that males should be subordinated and females dominant.