sexism

Take a good look at that photo right above this sentence. Chris Brown and T-Pain are physically and sexually objectifying this young black woman, and thus, reduce her to eye candy and perpetuating stereotypes about black women. To prove everything is mutual, the video director even had this woman smiling like that is the sort of thing a woman wants. Step right up black ladies! You're going to be featured in a video where everyone is going to look at your ass. If you're black, then it's almost certain we'll stereotype you for having a big ol' butt!

The problem does not stop there. Over the course of pop music history black women have consistently been objectified. If there are women in a hip-hop video, and the lead singers are men, one can almost be certain that a display of the female anatomy will be just what the doctor ordered.

Even before hip-hop emerged, black women's bodies have been objectified. In The rebirth of the booty: America's obsession with my big black ass., student writer Amber Williams discusses mainstream America's obsession with big black ass:

Black women have been objectified as sex objects ever since their voluptuous bodies were seen as a welcome change to the bony figures of European women to whom the male settlers were accustomed. When African women arrived in America via a "free cruise" through the middle passage with their large posteriors, it was assumed that they were sex-craving, savage beasts. The view of black women as sexual predators is still seen today in both the entertainment industry and society at large.

There are several female characters in the hit series "Death Note". The most prevalent character was Misa Amane "Misa Misa". Misa's character was shy, physically weak, submissive, and written to be emotionally and physically dominated by the main character, Yagami Light. There was not a single episode in which Misa was not "willingly" at the mercy of Light. Misa was frequently animated in sexually submissive poses that were intended to be readily enjoyed as eye-candy for every male character of Death Note that was sexually interested in her. At no point in the series did Misa refuse any male that sexually harassed her. In fact, she was portrayed to not only be sexually submissive, but was also substantially less intelligent than her male counterparts.

The second most prevalent female character was the Shinigami Rem. Rem's whole purpose in the show was to protect Misa. The relationship between Rem and Misa was that of solidarity. Their solidarity lasted until the middle of the storyline. Like Misa's role, Rem was more than willing to be a martyr. Rem died to protect Misa because she was tricked by Light. Rem's good intentions to protect Misa were ill founded, because Misa committed suicide after the death of Light.

The rest of the significant female characters had limited roles in which they either died or almost died at the hands of Yagami Light or another death note owner.

Feminist Fix

How could this anime be feminist friendly and still maintain it’s pop appeal?

1. The writers could have written Misa's role as woman who was not constantly being physically objectified, intellectually incompetent, and emotionally submissive. Instead of writing her as the "weaker" character, Misa could have been a heroine.