I just read this and it infuriated me. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad people, especially young women, are speaking out against what has come to be the norm. But it's so frustrating that there are still so many guys out there who believe that women are only exploited by themselves. I know that the sexist rap videos would not be made if every woman refused to be in them, but does that mean the guys should just keep telling women to degrade themselves until the women "catch on"? Please. And Nelly has shown his true colors too. Not only will he not show up to answer allegations of sexism and misogyny, but all he had to say was "everyone else is doing it!" Yeah, Nelly, did you ever hear that saying about the fucking Brooklyn Bridge? There are so many things about this type of thing that bother me, I don't even know where to start.

First of all, I don't think Nelly (or most other rappers) are necessarily misogynistic. I think they are deeply sexist because that's how they were brought up but I think that most of them don't hate women. I think you have to give it a lot of thought and time and energy to hate women. I think Nelly, and a lot of other rappers, are lazy and don't think a whole lot about it at all. I'm not saying they aren't intelligent, I'm just saying that deciding to pay homage to Hugh Hefner in a rap video? Doesn't take a whole lot of energy or creativity. If anyone wanted to be really cutting edge and creative and new and different, they wouldn't need near naked girls in their video. Not that anyone does anything new at all anymore in any genre of music, but that's a whole different rant.

Pointing out that no one made the girls do it and that they are to blame is also flawed. The idea that everyone in this country, especially black women, have limitless choices and only have to decide what to do with their lives and it shall pass is a load of shit. The "American Dream" we've been force fed for over 200 years doesn't exist and shouldn't. There are a million reasons a woman will do something that I, as a middle class white girl, would find degrading, from dancing provocatively for Nelly to prostitution. Every day I am thankful that I don't have to make that kind of choice. I was lucky enough to be able to afford to go to college. And I am far too lazy to be concerned about going after something as difficult to achieve as a career in the entertainment industry. Black women need money. Black women like to be wanted and seen as attractive. Black women want to be involved in the music or entertainment industry. These kinds of things are probably the only gigs most black female entertainers, especially dancers or models, can get. I mean, not everyone can be Beyonce. And how many really popular women rappers are there? Can you even name five? I could name a slew of male rappers and my knowledge of rap is limited, to say the least. Missy Elliott, Eve, and Lil Kim are the only ones I can think of who still rap. Salt n' Pepa, MC Lyte, and Queen Latifah don't rap anymore. Well, as far as I know. Being a rapper isn't going to get you in nearly as easily as being a hot girl is.

I mean, female actresses (even white ones) have had to put up with having to decide between wife/girlfriend or hooker roles since Hollywood was Hollywoodland. Is it really that surprising that black female entertainers are still having to pay their 'ho dues? Even the character Charlize Theron just won an Oscar for portraying was a prostitute. The point is that men still run things, especially the rap industry. And if we can't count on them to take it upon themselves to take a little time to reflect and STOP exploiting and degrading women, then we are going to have to do whatever we can to force them to do it - including shaming them into it. Women are trying to gain equality for ourselves everywhere. But until we get it, we have to make guys give it to us. Because, of course, it's still theirs to give.

I mean, I've clearly made my point about how annoyed I am that not everyone thinks like me, but in what way can you defend these videos? Not that anyone has defended them; the most we've gotten is "Every one is doing it" and "They're popular." None of that means anything. Stupid asses.