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First Person Account From a Video Vixen

In the Confessions Of A Video Vixen by Karrine Steffans, Unnamed was a part of a modeling agency that presented her the opportunity to be in a music video. The day of the music video she nearly was dressed half naked amongst the other video girls and immediately felt uncomfortable. After being relocated to set, the video girls were subjected to sexually derogatory lyrics. The video girl made it a mission to shy away to the back as much as possible, which she states was usually not what Video Vixens tried to do; they usually try to be seen and be in the front of the shot. After hours of performing on set she felt violated and less than, even after authorities thought to treat her the same way instead of assessing the situation.

“Portrayals of Black women as stereotypical matriarchs, welfare recipients, mammies, and jezebels have been essential to maintaining hegemonic systems of power and domination over Black women’s bodies.” Performing as a video vixen has its perks and all but the behind the scenes disrespect is what most video women fear. Most people assume that since the music video industry is really flashy that Video Vixens must make bank. However recently video girls tend to only make around $500 a video, though that amount varies depending on the artist.

Video Vixens Through Black Feminism

Black feminism brought into the context of what it means to be a video vixen explores more of an activist standpoint. For instance, video vixens are seen as only sex workers and prostitutes however looking at video vixens from a black feminist lens allows the viewer to see video vixens as contributions to the cause.  For example, quoting Gwendolyn Pough’s, ‘Check it While I Wreck it: My Cipher Keeps Movin’, “Black women have participated in the black public sphere in numerous ways simultaneously helping to shape that sphere an making sure that their own voices were heard and their own knees were addressed.”  Most video vixens are comprised of black women and or women of color. So one of the aspects of having a video vixen present in a song for a video is to draw attention and create an aesthetic of the viewers and for the viewers. This example can be shown through hip-hop feminism and hip-hop music videos as a source.

Breaking Down The Term Video Vixen

Let's break down the word vixen. A vixen according to a fixation of the old English language means a female fox. Now the use of vixen in video vixen can draw from the term or slang phrase foxy. Foxy lady can be described as an attractive woman. So, with the breakdown of term video vixen and foxy lady goes back to the notion that video vixens are meant to attract viewers to a video. Now that doesn't mean that is all they are there for, video vixens have a life outside of performing for a video.

Revisiting Pough’s “My Cipher Keeps Moving”, the thought that evolutions come in waves gives voice to what video vixens were in the 1900s to presently the 2000s. For example music is a universal language that has brought many individuals to fame. Tina Turner initially during the 1960s was known for her soul moving hit records. When observing her videos and performances during that era Tina was the attraction, and along with her musicality that brought the viewers. Same can be said about Michael Jackson, his videos either involved a vixen he was trying to serenade and attract such as Naomi Campbell or Iman just to name a few.

Breaking down what it means to be a video vixen and applying it to multiple music videos you then realize that there are more examples of them than the ones that were popularized or brought to the forefront.

Speaking presently to the 2000s vixens such as Blac Chyna and Kylie Jenner were used in multiple videos such as

• PARTYNEXTDOOR, “Come and See Me”
• Tyga’s, “Rack City”
• Meg Thee Stallion & Cardi B’s, “WAP”
• Yo Gotti ft Nicki Minaj's, “Rake it up”

Using Respectability Politics as a Lens

Respectability politics are often brought into discussion when trying to police video vixens in their nature. Demeaning remarks given to video vixens leave its viewers left to place judgment on them or discredit their abilities. there is often an intersection between video vixens being comfortable in their body, bringing sex appeal to a story, all while defending themselves on the basis of feminism when attacked by outside viewers. The media's response to rap music videos labels them as vulgar and something that should not be put out there like that. However, when there is a misunderstanding between the lines of culture, viewers will comment negative things on female rap videos while praising the latter.

More so than often video vixens try to shut down the dense derogatory terms placed on them as a way to humanize themselves. Viewers tend to either envy or hyper sexualize vixens to the point where they don't respect them.

From the African American policy forum “a primer on intersectionality”, serves as a lens for how video vixens can be comprised of more than just their attractive nature. For example “intersectionality is a concept that enables us to recognize the fact that perceived group membership can make people vulnerable to various forms of bias”. Speaking to vixens experiencing different forms of aggressions such as sexism and racism can crossover to them also wanting to fight and speak up against those ism’s. For example, the hit song Anaconda by Nicki Minaj involved artistic dance styles however some viewers labeled ‘twerking’ as intolerable. Now most of Minaj’s songs were of this nature and as you can guess many replies were of a demeaning context. The viewers projecting these aggressions fail to recognize Nicki Minaj for her powerful lyrics, business ventures and style. But due to their lack of knowledge of tied to what it means to be intersectional leaves many others placing the intolerable stamp onto other vixens.

Famous Video Vixens

In 2016 The Richest entertainment blog published a list of the top 15 video vixens. This list called the women, video girls and eye candy that has demanded people’s attention in music videos since the 1990s. This list included many famous video models that still has careers today including Lisa Raye Mccoy who turn into a famous actress, Draya Michele who is best known for being a reality star on the hit show Basketball Wives, Teyana Taylor who became an actress and now famous music artist, and Tokyo Jetz who is now also famous music artist.

One of the most famous video vixens is Melyssa Ford. Also on the list at number 13 but known as the women who started it all.  A video model that was discovered while working as a bartender in Toronto by  the video director Little X. She is most known for her appearance in the Jay-Z video for “Big Pimpin” but also starred in many other high-profile hip hop videos over the course of her career. Later on, she became a radio host on Sirius XM satellite radio and was also a reality star in Bravo’s Blood Sweat and Heels.  She also starred in many hit movies like Think Like a Man, Three can play that game and many many more.

Television and Film

In 2011, a movie directed by Ty Hodges was released called Video Girl starring award winning actress Meagan Good. The movie highlights the life of a former dancer who suffered a knee injury and is trying to figure out what to do next with her life. She lands a job in the video-modeling world where she discovers the dark world of being a video girl. The movie explores drug addiction, hip hop music and the truth of what happens when you get caught up in the limelight.

In July 2018, BET Digital produced a three part mini documentary series called Vixen. This documentary explored the rise of video vixens in the 1990s and ups and downs in the 2000s. Four well-known video vixens were interviewed and commentary from prominent music video directors. Vixen explored the effects of saying “yes” to starring in music videos and how extravagant these videos were.

Mr. & Mrs. Smith starring Angelina Jolie & Brad Pitt follows two characters through a series of spy like events to bring an action/romance feel to the film. Angelina’s character Jane Smith is known for her assassin skills and looks. This movie brought in 487.3 million after its release date.

More Vixen Actor’s in Film

• Kate Upton
• Megan Fox
• Kate Hudson
• Denise Richards
• Mila Kunis
• Halle Berry
• Priyanka Chopra
• Gal Gadot
• Pamela Anderson

Female Sexuality

In majority of the music videos that video vixen star in are by male rappers who want to use women’s bodies and sexuality to sell records which most of the time works. People but more importantly are more likely to watch a music video and any type of entertainment when they have some “eye candy” to look at. The problem with this is that when Women are the ones expressing their sexuality in the media it's looked down upon. Female music artists get put in blogs and scandals frequency because of how they expressed themselves in their lyrics, how they treated men in the music video and just the way they present themselves in the music industry. As explained previously, the original definition of a video vixen was a woman that made music about their sexualilty but a woman that starred in male music artist video with no clothes as a prop. While proboaby being sexualitied, talked about in the lyrics and being used as an inanimate object. If men are able to sexualize women then women should be about to express and embrace their own sexuality without waiting on a man to do it for them or to them.

Sex Sales

The famous qoute, “sex slaes” is a commonly used phrase used in promotional adveetising. It all started in the 1870s when a tobacco compact used sexual entendres on a package cover. Advertisers use sexual imagery to attract sales of products from perfume to cheeseburgers. According to a article on the Business News Daily Editor in 2020, sex attracts attention. Most people won’t remember everything about a company but they will remember what got their attention but what they didn’t  talk about in the article, is how it is the majority of the time women used the sexual component in advertising. Even if the product has nothing to do with a woman or sexuality, advisers will find a way to fit a woman in the concept to help sell the product or service. This is the same way that sexuality is used in music. Sex sales records, sex sales products, SEX SALES, or what should be said is that Women Sale,

This is a problem that goes beyond the advertising world and music industry. It’s a societal defect in the way that women are perceived and thought about. Women are supposed to be submissive and timid unless they are catering to the needs of a man. This is especially true of women of color because was are already seen a an “angry black women” when we stand up for our sales and if we try to express ourelves sexualiy instend of a man sexualitizing us, we go from a vixen to a whore, slut, and nasty.