Sir-Disrespect-A-Lot

By Connor O'Neal

The music video by Sir-Mix-A-Lot “I Like Big Butts” is one that shows a couple of different gender representations. The video objectifies women and also is stereotypical of both black men and women. The music video and the anthology we have been reading in class Rereading America have some similar key topics such as objectification and dehumanization. The music video shows just how messed up the music industry is these days, that a song about demoralizing women can be so popular.

In the music video Sir-Mix-A-Lot says and shows that he likes African-American woman and their butts. In the video, before the song starts, there is a conversation between two white women criticizing an African-American woman and her curves. One of the white girls says, “Becky look at that but, its so big! She looks like one of those rap guys girlfriends.” This conversation shows how the white girls are bashing of the black girls for their looks, something that they cannot change even if they wanted to. Sir-Mix-A-Lot is saying in this video that he likes women with big butts and white women should be more like the black women he adores. He also is saying how the socially construed norm of beauty today is wrong, he is saying being skinny and featureless is a bad thing and that curvy and thick is true beauty.

Ironically in the video Sir-Mix-A-Lot also objectifies woman, in the way that he is saying how women are only good for their body parts. Today it seems that objectifying women has become a popular or trendy thing to do, and women should not have to put up with the men that treat them as if they are object. Evidence of this is shown in the video by the giant statues of just a woman's butt, of they were statues of a whole woman it wouldn't be as bad but just focusing on her bottom is saying that she is only good for her attributes. The most beautiful parts of women are not their butts or breast but
are their face, eyes, smile and personality to be a true man you have to appreciate those things about a woman. When you get men like Sir-Mix-A-Lot making music and being influential on other people thats when you have other men thinking at all women are objects just for sexual concurring.

Also, videos and songs like this should not be made let alone have millions of hits on YouTube because it makes our society look bad to other societies. Other countries with more strict rules about women and how dress and act most likely look at our country and see a bunch of corrupt people. I am not saying that other countries view on women is correct and we should be more like them, I think that it is great thing all the freedom women have in the USA, but if someone was just to judge our country by its music videos they would think that all of our women are sluts and all of our men are pigs. I think as a nation we should want to have better image of ourselves, and videos like “I Like Big Butts” is not helping this cause.

In conclusion Sir-Mix-A-Lot's music video “I like Big Butts” is degrading to both men and women and shows a lot about gender roles. He thinks he is defending woman by saying that its ok to be curvy, but what he is actually doing is objectifying women by treating them like pieces of meat. He also sends a bad message to our kids and also the world about how “free” , modern woman are treated in our supposedly free nation with gender equality. Sir-Mix-A-Lot should seriously consider changing his name to Sir-Disrespect-A-Lot, it would suit him better.