Showing Cleavage...not anymore

*I'm aware that there's a lot of controversy over this subject, as to whether it's acceptable or not, but here's just my opinion. I respect other sides of the debate.

Face it; our society's obsessed with breasts. Women's breasts, that is.

Recently, I've been seeing several music videos that have bared it all.

Literally,
Full nudity.

Remember the not-so-distant days when we restricted thongs and G-strings from getting uploaded to Youtube? That bikinis and Duke shorts were considered "scandalous" during the 1940s and 1970s? Yeah, I don't remember that time, either.

Here are the music videos that have displayed the full package:

http://youtu.be/zwT6DZCQi9k

The first one that I saw was of Robin Thicke's "Blurred Lines," featuring Pharrell and T.I. Don't get me wrong: the song's groovy, the song's classy, and I found myself bobbing to the beat. However, my initial reaction to the video was...surprised. I've seen my share of full-frontal nudity in television shows, art, and films, but I was surprised that Youtube, with its policies on "Nudity and Sexual Content," would still accept the video as a form of "educational...artistic" expression. I get that this is the entertainment industry, but objectifying women (while the men are clothed) and dancing to lyrics dehumanizing them as "animals" that the men have "tried to domesticate," implies misogyny. If you want to take it further, the lines "Shake the vibe, get up, get down/Do it like it hurt, like it hurt/What you don't like work?" hints at non-consensual sex, aka rape. According to the FBI's Preliminary Annual Uniform Crime Report in 2012, in the number of rape in U.S. cities, metropolitan and non-metropolitan alike, has increased over 3%. Furthermore, the Bureau of Justice Statistics analyzed that an overwhelming majority of the victims- 91%- are women and a staggering percentage of perpetrators- 99%- are men. This is not an issue to take lightly or even glorify in the entertainment industry, especially when people's lives and bodies are at risk. One last thing: the lyrics "what do they make dreams for/When you got them jeans on," acknowledges superficial beauty, instead of the personality and will of the individual. In a society which prizes physique over psyche, it is a shame that many women choose to follow "them jeans" rather than "dreams." 

Robin, honey, your voice is chocolate silk bourbon to my ears, but please be respectful. What would your wife say about this hot mess?

http://youtu.be/07FYdnEawAQ

Next video that caught me by surprised was Justin Timberlake's "Tunnel Vision." Love Justin, love the song. Still, the nudity: is it necessary? Oh, and the comments are lovely. Some samples:

Gosh, we can't get enough of nipples, can we?

Remember "Nipplegate," Justin? That little accident in 2004 during the Super Bowl halftime show? I know that you didn't mean to do that on live television, but I couldn't help but be reminded of that when I watched "Tunnel Vision."

...and the lyrics. Depending on how you read them, the message can come off as "Aw, that's so sweet, Justin!," or simply, "Creeper." Using cameras, zooming, and the eponymous-titled tunnel vision to relay one's affections for someone is kind of cool, but it's also voyeuristic. And it's illegal to perform voyeurism, considered a second-degree offense in many states. Serenading lines like "my camera lenses only been set to zoom/And it all becomes so clear.../Just like a movie shoot, I'm zooming in on you" sounds endearing, but once backed with the repetitive phrase "I know you like it" makes me pause a bit. "Like" what? Being nude? Being stared at solely for men's pleasure? I'd rather not.

Justin, baby, you're sexy as hell, but that music video was unnecessary. For my eyes and the public's.

I am not disturbed by the fact that the women are showing 100% skin, I am disturbed by the fact that they are being shown on the popular public website known as Youtube, where anyone, from ages 5 to 95, can watch. I know that Internet entertainment has little formal educational value, but to the many young users who access it on a frequent basis, it appears to have a tremendous influence on them. We aren't teaching them math or the ability to think for themselves; we're teaching them that it's okay for women to get naked from time to time for men's gratification. On the other side of the spectrum, I bet that the seniors are facepalming at the sight of what "this generation" (Generation Y) has done to the world. 

Well, what's it going to be next on the horizon for the entertainment industry then? Showing penises? You decide, media.

For those defending these videos as "art" and a "natural" representation of women's beauty, I recommend taking a step back to reflect. Are those bodies full, curvy, multiethnic, athletic, or trim, instead of emaciated and waif-like? Do they represent the "natural" shapes of all different body types of womankind, or are they the stuff of supermodels, an idealism that is rare in achievement? Do they appear to be satisfying the male gaze with their lithe and flirty dancing, or are they honestly just having a good time regardless? Anyway you want it, man.

Final word: bodies are beautiful things, but having a bit of modesty wouldn't hurt.