Nicki Minaj - Stupid Hoe

This is the video for Singer Nicki Minaj's newest single, Stupid Hoe. It's hard to know where to begin with this female representation, but the use of the derogatory term 'hoe' in the title might give viewers a clue about the level of sexism in this video. The fact that it is used by a woman, as well, is possibly even worse than if it were used by a man as it shows conflict between women (in terms of the conflict vs. unity theory). The song is about Nicki's 'rap nemesis' L'il Kim, which again shows a childish and slightly pathetic attack on a fellow female with probably equal levels of talent, money and fame. The director, Hype Williams, is well known for being the director for videos such as Beyonce's 'Videophone' and Kanye West's 'Gold Digger', both examples of videos that very much focus on the male gaze, and feature women in skimpy outfits. Hype also has connections to the porn industry, having photographed Kim Kardashian for Playboy magazine.

One of the first shots of Nicki herself is her holding a seemingly impossible pose, that looks a bit like a dancer in a musical box. This links to the previous shot of her dancers playing with a skipping rope, showing there are a lot of childish references in the video. Other examples include her holding a 'barbie' logo, wearing a pink party dress and holding a lollipop, and the constant focus on her eyes. This shows her as 'innocent' despite her provocative dancing, and shows her as easy to manipulate, and the focus on her eyes makes her seem doll-like, again as innocent. Many of her poses are also held very still, which again make her seem like a doll. This shows her as having not much of a mind for herself, and instead complying to male's fantasies and desires, going against her obvious talent in rapping, and making it overshadowed by her representation. This could conform to the idea that men don't like a talented woman, as they feel threatened, so they promote her sexuality to make them feel more comfortable.

Another theme in the video is Nicki being 'caged', and transforming into an animal. This is again derogatory and shows her as merely a pet, and not a human with her own mind. The dancing on all fours in the cage also shows her as some kind of slave to men, again conforming to the submissive role females often take in videos of this genre.

Finally, the use of editing is very successful in portraying Minaj as some kind of unhinged schizophrenic, for example the very fast-paced shots that almost look as if they're showing two shots at once, as well as the incredibly creepy enlargement of  her eyes when she is standing on the oversized chair. This again adds to her image of submission, and shows males that she is easy to manipulate, adding a perverted side to this image of childlike innocence.

Overall, the video is a good example of how negatively women are portrayed in the media, and how, under the pretence of post-feminism, artists like Nicki Minaj are used in this way to sell records and increase video views on Vevo and YouTube.