The Rise Of The “Video Girl” In The UK [Feature - HHNLive]

There has been a phenomenal rise in demand for ‘video girls’ in the UK’s ” black music” industry, with the rise of Channel U encouraging more wannabe rappers to whip out their home recorder and knock up a video. Cue crop tops, batty riders and quivering un-toned flesh bulging through tight-fitting micro-dresses, convulsing, winding and popping with untrained urgency, while hungry, smirking boys with tilted caps stare and gesture leeringly in-between exaggerated displays of bravado…

There is a thin line between video girls, and girls in videos. The above description, firmly illustrates the latter. I felt disillusioned after a day of watching Channel U alternated with random no-budget UK hip-hop documentaries I’ve accumulated from the flyering masses after raves around London. In the middle of a one such video, the camera zooms in on a seated girl as she gyrates, her ample bosoms spilling out of a white bra clumsily poking above a strapless black top that looks like it might disappear at any minute. The word “whoring” springs to mind in trying to describe her expression, along with the twenty other girls doing much the same around her.

Young men pursue careers with the (unbeknown to them) unmarketable, showcasing their lusty female companions from up the road, ‘round the corner, and all over the neighbourhood, in a bid to be the guy men want to be and women want to be with. Instead, they come across as juvenile, sleazy and inexperienced. They exploit girls’ insecurity, briefly making them feel hot and desirable enough to feature in their video, when in reality they look… well, cheap. I’m not claiming that professional video models necessarily have low self-esteem (however masked it may be) – but it is certainly a widespread theory.

Full feature on HHNLive.