G G A N G
NOT YOUR BARBIE GIRL
G GANG
Welcome to the first ever issue of ” G GANG ” publication. I grew up in the world where I was used to seeing halfnaked women in all the mass media: advertising, films and especially music videos. Few years later, since social media became our daily routine, provoking photos of the girls I used to know, don’t surprise me anymore. I started to think about the representation of women in the media and what influence it has on the society and women themselves. When scrolling Instagram you can see all these girls styled for Kylie Jenner with unnatural lips size and shining noses posing sticking out their bums to have „the perfect body”. Why do they do this? What are they representing? In fact their views and expectations concerning how a woman should be like are often influenced by the mass media, which definitely gives
too much attention to women’s appearance and body. Then, a woman becomes a sexual object of male gaze, as she is not presented as an equal partner to them, but rather is brought down to her butt and boobs. Music videos in which women appear mainly in lingreine shaking their butts don’t improve the situation. The worst thing is that we, women, are also guilty of it. Do we really believe that by releasing music videos like ”Body” by Megan Thee Stallion or Cardi B’s ”Up” and posting half-naked photos we fight against sexism and will get the 50/50 in the parliament? I would rather say this is the mainstream porno. I do not think women should be covered head to toe, but the media maybe should promote a little bit more intelligence and power instead of the female ass.
ANTI-SEXISM
ANTI-SEXISM
look at minds
ANTI-SEXISM
ANTI-SEXISM
ANTI-SEXISM
not at pants
ANTI-
Women do not come to the world to appeal. They come to change the world. To love, to laugh, to fight for their dreams, to desire, to cry, to feel, to achieve. They must appeal to themselves, but not to anyone else.
Not there to compete with men
I just wanna be myself
FED I
I’m fed up. I’m really fed up of being called “hoe”, “bitch”, “gold digger” and being reduced down simply because of what I have between my legs. Savage Mode II (2020), an album recorded by popular rapper and producer duo, 21 Savage and Metro Boomin, exposes listeners in just 15 of their songs to hear the words “pussy” 83 times, “bitch” 33 times and “hoe” 6 times. Of these profanities, almost all examples are either directed at women or attempts to poorly describe women. Rap is one of my favourite musical genres, but as a feminist I ask myself, should I listen to this type of music that does not respect me? It is unbelievable that we talk so much about movements such as #MeToo or more generally female empowerment and the fight against sexism, while at the same time Tyler The Creator, one of the world’s most popular, grammy award winning musical artists sings, “Goddamn Ilove bitches, especially when they only suck dick and wash dishes, cooking, cleaning, grant my wishes.” (Transylvania, 2011).
I cannot understand how oversexualization and dehumanisation of women became an accepted norm. This is maybe due to the fact that rap has always been strongly dominated by men. The lack of women in all the major roles in the music industry does not help this. In the songs included on the list of 700 popular songs on the Billboard Hot 100 year-end charts between years 2012 – 2018, women represented only 2.3% of songwriters, 21.7% of artists and only 2% of producers. (Professor Stacy L. Smith and the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative report). On the lists of the best rappers of all the time, women appear very rarely. It was a remarkable moment for all women when the 2019 Grammy for best Rap Album was awarded to Cardi B. This was the first time in grammy history that a woman was awarded in this category. I am very happy to see the successes of female rappers. But do the most famous female rappers like Cardi B, Nicky Minaj or Megan Thee Stallion help to move away from sexualization and objectification
AM
D
of women? By singing, “Lay on my stomach, toot it up, do the crybaby (crybaby), look back, hold it open, now he annihilated (yeah), moaning like a bitch when he hit this pussy.” (Cry Baby – Megan Thee Stallion, 2020). Such a representation of female rappers only reinforces a perception that if a woman wants to be successful in rap music, she must use her sexuality as her main asset. Cardi B in her interview for i-D magazine claims that, “Being a feminist is real simple; it’s that a woman can do things the same as a man.” If that were true, why can’t she be a top of the charts rapper like male rapper Kendrick Lamar without becoming an object of male gaze? This leading female rapper is quoted as saying, “First of all, I rap about my pussy because she’s my best friend, and second of all it’s because it seems like that’s what people want to hear.” Unfortunately in most cases, this is what men want to hear and see. Even globally renowned rapper, Asap Rocky, said that when he listens to female
rappers he mainly thinks about having sex with them. These are just two telling examples of many that promote impressionable young men and women to be misguided by their idols, of whom are likely misguided themselves, albeit successful professionals. I had a chance to grow up with not only solid values, but also core and clear beliefs on what is right and what is not, but there is a lot of people that are shaped to a greater extent by what music they listen to and what videos they watch. rap culture by which these types of demographics are surrounded by forms their beliefs. It should be clearly represented that women are not men’s toys and their value is not determined by their bodies. Music has the potential to be a powerful tool to fight for important causes. It is a great shame and tragedy that it is often wasted.
not your barbiE girl I’M livin’ IN MY OWN WORLD I AIN’T PLASTIC I’M FANTASTIC
N
NOT FOR SALE
COME
FEEL THE FEMALE GAZE
--No need to show my tits ---
hell , yes.
S A V A G E
OB NO LD YY
N O B O D Y
“i want to apologize to all the women i have called pretty. before i’ve called them intelligent or brave. i am sorry i made it sound as though something as simple as what you’re born with is the most you have to be proud of when your spirit has crushed mountains from now on i will say things like, you are resilient or, you are extraordinary. not because i don’t think you’re pretty. but because you are so much more than that” by rupi kaur
L O S T
I D E N T I T Y
She is more than a body... Why aren’t you even interested in what she’s to offer?
WOMEN PAY OFF
I am not the type of girl that cannot close her toiletry bag and spend a lot of money on the latest trends and beauty novelties. But still, I spend much more on cosmetics and clothing than my brother. Why? Basically, there are two main factors that cause this. Typically women spend much more money on products and services that aim to enhance their attractiveness and also women have a unique approach to beauty ideals. Firstly, this is due to what’s referred to as the “pink tax” – which is simply higher priced women’s items of the same type of products that men also use. Secondly, because of the beauty standards created by media and advertising. An example of “pink tax” is the higher price of a white female T-shirt, even though a male version of the same T-shirt should be more expensive as it demands more material to be produced. There is many examples of this type. Women must spend more on creams, deodorants, clothing, shoes and
so on. But why does the freemarket also sell female products at higher prices? It’s because there is so much pressure imposed on women across various types of media to have the perfect body and perfect skin, of which creates an unhealthy urgency to spend fortunes to meet these expectations, which in reality are unattainable. Smooth skin, big hips, pouty lips, skinny waist, long legs, little nose and shining hair. This beauty propaganda is influenced by years of sexism and over-sexualisation of women in the media. Of course, there are also some expectations imposed on men in this way, but this is nothing in comparison with what women must face. Most importantly, they are not told by society to cover their face with makeup! Does this mean that women are too ugly to show their natural face? Through films, music videos, magazines, women are bombarded by images of unreal beauty all day long. This clearly affects women and would
be strange and an anomaly if it didn’t. University of Nebraska Omaha states that, “Physical attractiveness is an important component in women’s lives since this is linked with higher popularity, better relationships, and more career prospects.” Furthermore, the way the media reinforces this ideal is what leads to the vicious cycle continuing. Women tempted by these many advantages based solely from their appearance, do anything and everything they can to be beautiful. In the past, women used minimal and entirely natural home-made ingredients for beauty care, yet the cosmetics industry emerged as a huge player at the beginning of 20th century. In 2007, it was estimated to be worth 63 billion Euros. How did the beauty industry become so successful? It’s simple. Beauty industry corporations have quickly realised similarly to Naomi Wolf, a leading women’s author, “Beauty is a currency system like the gold standard.” No one really
fundamentally needs a mascara. Yet the question becomes, how can we make a woman buy a mascara that she does not need? It’s necessary to make her believe she does truly need this. It is commonplace to present in the media and in advertisements that a woman with unnaturally long lashes can attribute the success or a compliment from a friend or a prospective partner to her newly found products or enhancements. Products that use this type of marketing or similar versions, contribute to an evergrowing and rising new beauty standard and in majority of cases women will be willing to spend money to buy what is ultimately a useless item. Giants of beauty industry convince us that if we use their product or another, we will gain more in confidence, power, respect, seductiveness, and in the other words – we’ll become a better version of ourselves. These are the traits that we are often searching for, hence it is is not surprising that research indicates
a strong correlation established between cosmetic usage and “anxiety, self-consciousness, introversion, conformity, and self-presentation”, and that less correlation was found between cosmetic usage and “extroversion, social confidence, emotional stability, self-esteem, physical attractiveness, and intellectual complexity” (Robertson, Fieldman, & Hussey, 2008, p. 41).” We should also not forget to mention other industries that are basing their products and marketing on women’s strive for perfection. The fashion industry along with beauty services like plastic surgeries, beauty treatments, hairdressers and nail salons operate in the same way as cosmetic corporations. In collaboration with the media, these industries create a demand for what their businesses offer. The main point of this collaboration is to promote the showcasing of perfect bodies, perfect faces and to reassure people that their implied lack of beauty is, if you
will buy a particular product or service, fixable. It also comes with the added bonus that you will be like your favourite singer or actress. These sorts of unrealistic beauty standards created by media sources lead to unhealthy personality complexes and even depression with research showing, one in four people are depressed about their body. (YMCA, 2016). As a result of this unhealthy system, women feel unhappy about themselves and have lower self-esteem. They spend a lot of money, time and importantly they suffer in their attempts just to meet the expectations dictated by an increasingly unethical modern world. It sounds horrible, but are women constructs just to be used for the profits of the beauty and fashion giants? I am motivated in saying that the answer is almost certainly yes, and I am here to say that you’re beautiful without makeup dressed in a basic white T-shirt.
You are beautiful...
but not as you are
MAKEUP.your Appearance. Let’s get what you lost. e Forever Young.Enhanc your Look.Makeup beyond Imagination.Shine like a pearl.Same soul new MAKEUP look.Providing est because you dESErv he best.Wonderful makeu for a beautiful face. Magical hands on your facefor a mesmerizing esult.Make your face th center of attention.Get hat you deserve.Refres your outlook.Get cheesy by look.Do yourself a favor and get renewed. Authorize your beauty. our glow is our success
. . ce d e
ve up
he t sh y
. . s.
YOU ARE W0RTH IT
G OW L F W O LO L ?
ju d g
e
em
t n a
? l
!
Don’t judge me the way I’m DRESSED
kn ow
It
ta k e s
t i
W
e
m
a n na
m
e?
I don’t dress for a man, i dress for myself
BREAK FREE