Hello everyone,

My name is Mohaddisa and I am a devoted mother, currently living in Saudi Arabia.  My daughter, Alli is seventeen years old and aspires to attend university in the United States.  I am extremely skeptical of this idea, as I do not approve of the accepted lifestyles in North America, specifically regarding the portrayal of women and gender inequality.  My daughter recently presented me with Christina Aguilera’s new music video titled, Dirrty.  Subsequent to listening to the lyrics and watching the video, I was in arrant disgust.  I will outline the various problems with this video as they relate to the misrepresentation of women in society.  It provoked me to express my opinion as to why the behavior exhibited in the music video is deplorable and would never be sanctioned in Saudi Arabia.

Gender is a trait that individuals are born with and cannot control; however, people are continuously disrespected and looked down upon as a result of their masculinity or femininity.  Women are constantly degraded in society today and treated as if they are of a lower social standing than men.  The representation of women in the music video, by Christina Aguilera is demeaning and undignified.  I would like to discuss the convention of dismemberment, which may also be recognized as objectification.  This is when the primary focus is directed to a particular part of the body, which separates it from the rest of the female figure and sparks interest.  Dismemberment is prominent at the beginning of the music video, when Christina Aguilera makes her initial appearance.  The first body part that the audience is exposed to is her buttocks, which represents how women are constantly viewed as if they are valueless sex symbols.  Furthermore, the strong emphasis on body image portrays the message that females are in need of male approval in society.  This idea is detrimental to the values that we live by, as many young individuals will regard the message as true. 

-Mohaddisa