Looking for the Girls

A few years ago some of my students asked me if I liked Chris Brown. This was in February 2009, right after He had been arrested for beating Rihanna to a pulp. I told them that even if I did like his music I would never listen to him again. They were surprised at my response. I told them that I could never listen or support someone who beat women. This opened up a rather alarming conversation. First of all it was the girls that were coming to his defense, the boys were pretty quiet. A few of the girls said that they knew what he did was wrong but that he was so cute and so hot they would still be fans and listen to his music and watch his videos. Some of them said that it probably only happened that one time and he was sorry and he would never hit Rihanna again. The most disturbing remark came from one girl who said that we didn't know what Rihanna had done to provoke the beating. Some of it might be her fault. I asked her if she was saying that Rihanna deserved the beating; she shrugged her shoulders and replied that we didn't know Chris Brown's side. We had a pretty intense conversation about respect and how women should be treated. We talked about how women are portrayed in most of the songs and music videos that they watch. Sadly, I really didn't change their minds.

When I read Looking  for the Girls by Andrea Brown Thirston, I thought of that conversation with mt students. I looked up some of Chris Brown's videos on Youtube and even after the Rihanna incident and even doing some jail time, Chris Brown is still the same. Much of what he is singing about is still demeaning to women. This is a dangerous message we are sending to our youth.

                                                                    

In the article Thurston, an African American women herself spent a day watching music videos to get an idea of what young people are watching on a daily basis. What were the messages and images being conveyed? She was particularly interested in the way that African American women were being portrayed. Thurston makes some rather disturbing discoveries. She writes about the potential effects that these videos are having on black youth and the African American community as a whole.
The videos are promoting a lifestyle of extreme material wealth and with that comes power, respect and beautiful women. Healthy respectful relationships between men and women are not evident. Thurston writes "Young black women are present more as ornaments and objects than human beings. They are often in the background and virtually never have anything to contribute besides big breasts and butts." These images were consistently portrayed though out every video that Thurston watched. I also spent a few hours watching the videos last night and found the same thing. 
She writes that this is sending a message to black males that money can buy you sexy black females. The reason that these women were attracted to these men was not because of their intelligence and humor, but because of their wealth. If you have money you can take whatever and whomever you want.
The videos are teaching young women that it is acceptable to be thought of as sex objects, trophies of wealthy men. They show women who are willing to anything for money. They are not showing healthy relationships with men where there is mutual respect.
Thurston warns that these messages are especially dangerous to the black culture. She writes about the "racist, classist, and sexist" nature of our society. As a result it is a strong possibility that black youth will try to achieve the goal of material wealth by ant means necessary even illegally.  
It is up to all of us to rectify this problem. First of all we need to accept how powerful these images are. I think about my students who were willing to overlook the beating that Rihanna took because of the strong appeal of Chris Brown and the acceptance of that lifestyle. It is up to us as parents and educators, society as a whole to show that the good life is not about achieving material wealth and the collection of things. True power comes from within.