Video Vixen Dreams and Young Black Girls

After seeing the short movie above, I was inspired to write my blog on the topic of video vixens. These plastic surgery women with carved figure eight physiques, grey or hazel contact colored eyes, are scantily clad in the latest Apple Bottom jeans and boots with the fur. They dis"grace" the covers King and Black Male magazine. Today, women are willing to sell their souls and self-respect for fifteen minutes of fame. Take Flavor of Love for example. The show, in its third season, brings together these women who everyone already knows are not looking for love, but will slander, verbally abuse, and embarrass themselves on national television with the hopes of getting their own spin-off of I Love New York. With all of this emphasis on physical beauty and one's ability to publicly display her sexual prowess, I have to think about how these images are effecting the dreams and aspirations of young black women.

Media depictions of Black women are negatively effecting the psychological minds of young Black girls. Black school girls are growing up with dreams and aspirations of being the next video vixen on the 106 and Park Top 10 countdown instead of inspiring to be pioneers like Harriet Tubman, Mary McLeod Bethune, and Shirley Chisholm. Instead of using their God-given intellect, they are focusing on their God-given physical assets. At school dances, young girls are emulating the bumping and grinding and eye candy demeanor of video vixens. What is happening is the entertainment world and reality are mixing to create a cloudy vision of morality. Young girls are not being taught what is acceptable behavior in society. Instead they are watching these videos and degrading shows daily. As a result, the mental images are being ingrained into their psyches and displayed in their every day lives.

Insecurities permeate the minds of these young Black women. The stress of trying to fit a white standard of beauty too often breaks their self-confidence. This emphasis on physical beauty and sexual exploration does not empower women, but constantly breaks them down leaving more room for a competitive nature to flourish. These young girls are comparing themselves to the likes of Angel Lola Love and Melissa Ford -all of whom have had plastic surgery-instead of embracing their inner and outer beauty. They should be aspiring to continue the legacy of Rosa Parks, Coretta Scott King, Maya Angelou, and other Black female powerhouses of the past and present. Yet while the media pushes video vixens to the forefront, simultaneously the legacies of Black women are pushed to the wayside. And Sara Barton's story is forgotten.

It frightens me to listen to young girls when they say they aspire to be video girls. What ever happened to aspirations to be doctors, lawyers, and teachers? In school, the video girls strutting the hallways are crowned the queens of the scene while those focusing on attending college are teased and mocked for their educational success. In school women are fighting each other now more than ever. Even more Black women are being incarcerated within the juvenile justice system. Additionally, abortion has become the number one killer of African Americans. An old saying goes, "Behind every Black man is a strong, Black woman." However, too many of our Black men are in jail and becoming victims of the system. What does that say about the video vixen ideology that has consumed many Black women?

Even if one observes the interactions of young Black girls and guys in elementary, middle, and high school, one can see the effect the music videos, songs lyrics, and media portrayals of African Americans are controlling their lifestyles. How artists interact with video girls in the videos is displayed at school parties, walking down the hallways, and in classrooms. The oversexualization of Black women in the media is having a negative effect on how guys approach girls and what they deem as appropriate means to get a ladies attention. I even notice this when I am out and a guy reacts negatively and proceeds to call me a "Bitch" or some other degradation because I refuse to give him the time of day when he approaches me like I'm a piece of meat.

Too often Black America discusses the problems facing Black males, but the struggles of both males and females are connected. If we do not begin to teach our youth about their history, the story of Sara Barton and others who paved the way so that we would not have to take our clothes off will be forgotten. Black women are the creators of Black families. The future depends on our enduring strength and resiliency.