I was at a program a little over a week ago that was dealing with the "standard" of beauty and where that standard came from. The discussion included what people personally considered beauty, what the media portrayed as beauty, how similar these viewpoints, etc. Along with these themes, we watched a video of a very pretty black lady from the UK that was planning on undergoing surgery in order to make her features resemble Barbie's features as much as possible. Barbie was always the epitome of beauty for her she now wanted to make these extreme changes to make here appearance "perfect." Among these features were things that are more linked the European features, such as thin lips, a pointy nose, etc.

After watching this, I thought about this Barbie movement that has started within hip hop, headed by Nicki Minaj. As the first woman to gain widespread recognition in a while, and considered to be the one to re-surge the female presence in hip hop, which we definitely need and is long overdue. However, does this movement represent hip hop's feeling of minimal self-worth? Why is it that we need a Barbie movement in order for the women in our community to feel attractive and of importance? Instead of comparing themselves to Barbie, a made up image that all of society has been told is perfect, we should be push a message of self-love and show everybody that they are beautiful and perfect just the way they are. It is everybody's desire to want to be attractive to others, but it is difficult to do that when we have images in the media and mainstream that tell us that only certain features are considered beautiful. We need to break this mentality, especially in the hip hop community where to often these same images are shown in videos (also controlled by the media), and realize that all women are beautiful just the way they are. And this is not the fault of Nicki Minaj or anybody else. This is what society has brainwashed everybody into believing for so long that we take it for fact.

It is not only the women that have fallen victim to this mind state, though.  Men also try to cover up their own insecurities by buying as much jewelry as possible, sleeping with as many women as they can (and bragging about it), buying all of the latest cars, and all other material things that make them feel important. While the focus of this insecurity may not be appearance (although it is sometimes that as well), it is more about self-worth as a whole and the want to make something of himself (which is what a man is taught to do). Often times, the men that come from impoverished neighborhoods are told that they can never amount to anything and are often misguided as to what being successful is truly about. Because of this, they base their success more on the amount of money they have made, the things they can buy, and the women they can sleep with as opposed to how they use that money to help someone else, raising a family, and becoming a better person as a whole, not just their financial situation.

I think that we have seen a little bit of maturity and growth within the hip hop community in certain areas and that as the artists, fans, and culture continue to grow, expand, and be exposed to new things, this feeling of not being beautiful or never being able to amount to anything will continue to subside. However, with every new wave of artists, this feeling reemerges because they are told the same thing that those before them were told. If the hip hop community can come to understand that these feelings and beliefs are an unconscious problem that people for generations have had to deal with and find some way shake this mentality, we will be so much better off; leading better lives. Ultimately, the music will reflect that as well.

Let's hear from the people. Is the Barbie movement empowering or is it in fact a showing of self-consciousness? Has hip hop grown and started to shake this mentality? Let me know what you think. Comment and as usual you can also email at straightouttahiphop@gmail.com.


Peace.


P.S. The first video blog is and the second one will be coming shortly. I just want to get some more views before we keep it moving. If you haven't seen it yet, check it out below.