When male singers treat female singers and dancers like sex props in their acts, there are usually loud howls of protest. But at this year’s MTV Video Music Awards, when the gender roles were flipped, the silence was pretty deafening.
Sunday’s show was thick with female-empowerment messaging, from Beyonce’s giant on-stage Venus Symbol to Ri Ri’s repeat performances. Apart from Kayne West, who managed to squeeze in his now-customary narcissistic award-ceremony ramble, the boys hardly got a look-in.
And when they did play a prominent role, they were basically there to be fondled. Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj’s performance was already humiliating enough for their male backup dancers, who were sporting pink spandex wrestling suits.
But events took an even more demeaning turn when the pop pair concluded a duet of “Side to Side” by beckoning two of the musclemen over and then pushing their heads downwards and pretending they were receiving oral sex.
The audience leaped to their feet to give the the pop stars a standing ovation, and the Twittersphere hailed their performance as ‘iconic.’
But would two male artists have received such a rapturous reception had they forced two scantily clad female backup dancers to their knees and had them simulate a sex act on stage?
It seems doubtful.
In fact, when Usher bounced his head off Nicki Minaj’s substantial bottom and then spanked it during a joint performance at the VMA’s in 2014, the gesture raised eyebrows in some quarters.
Another much-hyped segment of Sunday night’s show was Britney Spears’ first performance at the VMAs since her humiliatingly lackluster outing in 2007. Apart from her terrible lip-synching, perhaps the most cringeworthy moment came when the 34-year-old singer knelt behind rapper G-Eazy, who appeared with her on stage, and suggestively reached between his legs, firmly placing a perfectly French-manicured hand over his crotch.
Admittedly, some viewers may have missed the moment altogether as they desperately googled to see who G-Eazy actually was, but Britney seemed largely to get away with this gratuitous genital grope. Rather than being seen as pervy, her moves were hailed as ‘seductive.’
The veteran pop star wasn’t slammed for making inappropriate advances towards a younger, up-and-coming artist. Instead the internet was abuzz with chatter of their ‘sexual chemistry.’
Brit was even labelled ‘chaste’ for holding back and only giving the rapper a peck on the cheek at the end of the performance.
Contrast this with the blowback that Robin Thicke got after twerking with Miley Cyrus at the VMAs in 2013. In the months that followed he was raked over the coals for the affair. Oprah Winfrey asked in one interview: ‘You didn’t think it was sexual?’ But she was twerking up against your kahoonas.” The risque routine was even blamed for the failure of his marriage to his wife of 10 years, Paula Patton.
Somehow it seems unlikely that Spears, Grande or Minaj will endure such a post-mortem.