Jennifer Lopez recently released the music video for “I Luh Ya Papi,” the leading single of her upcoming eighth studio album. The music video effectively engages in a reverse role parody of the objectification of women by objectifying men, ultimately illustrating just how ludicrous the normalized phenomenon of hyper-sexualizing and objectifying women is in today’s society.
The video begins with the director presenting JLo with several concepts for her new music video, including a water park, carnival and zoo themes. JLo’s friends criticize all of these ideas, stating that if JLo were a man, they wouldn’t be having that conversation at all. Rather, the music video would include the male singer in a mansion or a yacht surrounded by half-naked girls. The women then envision a parallel music video in which JLo is the dominant woman surrounded by passive, scantily clothed men.
The parallels between JLo’s music video of “I Luh Ya Papi” and standard pop music videos can be seen throughout the film. For example, the ratio between the number of men and women is extremely high, with a throng of men surrounding JLo, exemplifying the imbalanced power dynamic between JLo and the men. The age difference of the men and JLo is also significant, with the men being much younger than the singer. In addition, the men only wear speedos and are often presented in passive or submissive situations, such as reclining on beds or washing cars. There are also several scenes in which JLo and her friends explicitly objectify and degrade the men: JLo pours her drink down a man’s underwear; her female friend pulls down a man’s speedo; and JLo takes photos with the men like they are her trophies or accessories.
By portraying these men as women are often presented in pop music videos, JLo’s music video of “I Luh Ya Papi” makes a strong statement against the misogyny prevalent in pop. The video successfully depicts the ridiculous nature of the hyper-sexualization and objectification of women, calling into question modern society’s normalization of egregiously unacceptable displays of sexism and dehumanization. This utilization of role reversal parody has proven effective in other efforts to combat social injustices, such as the French film “Majorité Opprimée”, which depicts a parallel universe in which males are the oppressed sex, and the film “Love Is All You Need,” which depicts a world in which heterosexual, not homosexual, people are victimized.
There are also other various commendable aspects to the music video. First, it is refreshing to see JLo as a strong, autonomous woman who is in control. Specifically, it is empowering to see JLo confidently displaying her sensual self, showing that women should be able to freely express their sexuality, rather than being repressed with ideals of conservatism.
Second, the music video laudably displays the power of female camaraderie, showing the support JLo’s female friends provide her at the beginning of the music video. This sense of community among women is important in the effort to foster discussion about and to combat patriarchy. Without such solidarity, it will be impossible to progress the feminist movement.
Third, in a society in which minority women, including Latino women, are often hyper-sexualized, the music video does an excellent job portraying JLo as a dominant Latino woman. Moreover, JLo’s non-white female friends sharply oppose the suggestions of the director, a white man, and speak truth to power.
Lastly, the unique way the music video is framed, beginning and ending with JLo and her friends envisioning a music video in which men are objectified, proves very powerful. Not only does this framework clearly outline the intentions of the music video—to fight against the phenomenon of the objectification of women in the media—and thereby gain sociopolitical significance, but by portraying the parody music video as a suggestion rather than stand-alone reality, the framework implies JLo’s refusal to objectify humans at all. The depiction of the parody music video as a possibility, not reality, shows that the objectification of neither women nor men is acceptable.
My only criticism would be to say that the music video does not go far enough. Compared to many music videos in pop, JLo’s music video of “I Luh Ya Papi” is relatively tame. This can be demonstrated by other pop music videos, such as Enrique Iglesias’ “I’m a Freak,” in which Iglesias is surrounded by a crowd of women clad in only lingerie. In fact, Iglesias goes so far as to literally use a woman as a table by resting his arms and chin on her rear and then even rubs and hits her rear. With such outrageous demonstrations of sexism widespread in today’s media, JLo’s music video can be considered an understated parallel of reality.
Overall, JLo’s music video of “I Luh Ya Papi” strikingly counters the sexist portrayal of women in the media by demonstrating the absurdity of the hyper-sexualization and objectification of women through its parallel objectification of men. Hopefully, this music video will help awaken the media to end its practice of objectifying women, a practice that is clearly unacceptable yet one that has been widely normalized in society.