The video above is part of an advertisement campaign to promote the 3AM fragrance by Sean John. The uncensored video which was not allowed to officially air on cable features the couple playing cat and mouse. At succeeding to catch his prey, we witness a lot of grabbing, slapping, choking and other sexually aggressive behaviour. This is showcased through a series of different locations most of which display damaged furniture depicting a very “wild and intense” encounter. For most of this clip Cassie is but naked while Sean jean is fully dressed. There is a lot of crabbing, slamming and choking that takes place in a sexy ‘I desperately want you’ kind of fashion. In an interview with vogue the Sean Jean shares his intentions and opinion about the video saying:
“My concept is that love is the new sexy…. I think if people hear about the video, they’re going to hear that it’s racy and provocative, but I also think they’re going to hear people say that it’s beautiful. That whole interaction has nothing to do with sex as much as it has to do with love… I want a lot of people to get laid to it! [the perfume]”
I find this perception to be problematic because celebrities have a position in our society that make them powerful and influential. They use the media which I feel the media has succeeded in distorting several issues making them less of a problem and more of an appeal. In this video, two celebrities pass on the message that sexualizing and objectifying women is sexy, that violent aggressive sex is ‘racy, thrilling, exciting’. That these are the kind of goals we should be working towards, when in fact these are issues which need to be addressed. It is dangerous not only because of the physical harm it can cause, but also because of the unrealistic sexual expectations it presents.
jam-pic (this is the picture jam to this articles)
For years now we have witnessed advertisements using this ‘sexiness’ theme to cover up the objectification of women. The ‘progression’ has been women wearing less and less clothes to appear more desirable. The media has become more sassy. With their ability to track what users are searching online it’s become easier to manipulate us. For example, the in the video, notice the way both celebrities are dressed, and the vehicles used. If not your love for fashion, then your love for cars and bikes is bound to catch your attention consequently leading you to watch and notice all the other aspects of the advertisement. I call these kinds of distractions away from the real issues noise. It has the effect of diluting the naked girl who is being choked in the video to something trivial, and justifiable as just a small part of a whole video. The problem with that is many small parts add up but we do not notice as we have adopted and become normalised.
It is my opinion that the worst of it is the more daring, shocking and edgy theme of sexualized violence. I chose to Jam a part in the video where the woman is being chocked while her boobs are violently squeezed. I do not know how comfortable that is, it looks uncomfortable to me, but more seriously chocking is very dangerous as it could literally kill you. The average person “can survive without oxygen for up to 15 mins” (transweb.com). What is alarming being most of these encounters are written in a humorous, boastful or proud manner.
This is an issue because like I mentioned before, continuous exposure to this type of content leads to men forming unrealistic opinions about what women want. In this commercial for instance, the woman is hunted down. After perusing her he finally gets her to submit. This communicates the false message that when a woman play hard to get, when the man is more persistent and aggressive, the women gives in. It gives the false message that women secretly want to be assaulted but they will play hard to make the encounter last longer or make it more exciting. Research shows that “one out of every six women in the united states has been sexually assaulted” (business insider). These kinds of message are contributing to the growing numbers of sexual violence towards women.
hope you enjoyed!