Gallery
Rapper Nicki Minaj released a new video called “Anaconda” (NSFW) which has already been viewed some 22 million times. The video features the amply bootied Minaj shaking it in a tiny thong, tiny denim shorts, a small bikini and tight tights. It is the latter she wears as she crawls on her hands and knees to and then lap dances a visibly shaken Drake. Some have called Minaj’s butt “fake” — I’m not up to speed on hip-hop lore to know if she had implants or not, but whatever, it’s quite a thing, and the video definitely puts Iggy Azalea in her place. And as mentioned, it’s been viewed 22 million times in one day so it’s a hit!
In contrast, Nicki Minaj is reclaiming a song (Baby Got Back) that was made by a Black male rapper who celebrated (but also objectified) Black female bodies. Throughout her song, Nicki raps like a man would, talking about her sexual conquests with men and the size of their dicks, almost as a way of doing to men what they have done to women (objectifying their dicks as Sir Mix A Lot objectified Black women’s asses and many other men objectify women’s vaginas). She also brags about her sexual prowess and stays in control and aggressive in the video (she goes as far as cutting a banana representing a dick and slapping Drake’s hand away—the video critiques the male gaze). The target of mockery and disparagement in Nicki’s video is men and the male gaze, and the video works to reclaim agency from it.
from the above article “In contrast, Nicki Minaj is reclaiming a song (Baby Got Back) that was made by a Black male rapper who celebrated (but also objectified) Black female bodies. ”
So, if a guy does it, its ‘objectifying’, but when Minaj does it, its ‘reclaiming’ something. The part you quoted states “The target of mockery and disparagement in Nicki’s video is men and the male gaze, and the video works to reclaim agency ”
Separated at birth: Milo Manara’s Spider-Woman and Nicki Minaj’s “Anaconda” — UPDATED
