Throughout this video, there are several scenes associated with "sexualized" dancing, "female empowerment" and "control" over the opposite gender.
Within the first 4 seconds we are presented with the group Fifth Harmony. They are seen, but only as their silhouettes in a long shot. This highlights their individual figures and curves, not giving away their entire appearance straight the way, but to potentially leave the viewer intrigued as to what they actually look like. This makes them more attractive towards the male eye, because their appearances are a mystery, and they want to know more about what they look like, which keeps them watching the video.
About 10 seconds in we see that Fifth Harmony begins to reveal their appearances, walking in from the side of the camera past a group of well dressed men. This shows a sign of women empowerment, as they walk along with strong independent facial expressions/body language (focus on the way that they move their arms and their large strides), and are wearing very professional business outfits, which could potentially be seen as a positive for both men and women watching. The camera starts off close up on the girls' shoes however, still leaving the audience wondering of their appearances, keeping the mystery alive. Their full appearances are finally revealed a few seconds afterwards, alongside the men in the video. This may make the men stare at the females on the screen, as they are taking control, which some men like about women, plus their outfits are clearly well thought out and match well, whilst showing a lot of skin at the same time. Each individual girl in the group clearly has their own sense of style, and this is extravagantly shown within the video, as they all highlight different colours and outfit shapes/styles e.g. Lauren Jauregui is dressed in an all black women's suit, whereas Dinah Jane Hansen is dressed in a slim black short sleeved leather vest, going alongside a slim white and red striped skirt. This may bring in a bigger male audience, as men with different pleasurable styles may take interest in the different girls due to how they are presented within their own styles. The female audience may look at this as a sign of body appreciation, rather than a sexual view, because they may want to look like the girls in the music video, and so watch with attitudes of inspiration, due to its aesthetically pleasing features.
We are presented with a mid shot of the featuring rapper, Kid Ink, after being around 30 seconds into the video. His scene shows a slight twist in roles of who is in charge within the video, and this keeps in with the theme of the male gaze, because even though the ladies of Fifth Harmony are no longer being highlighted as the main roles, it shows a sign of strength within the male role around women, as he is being assisted by two well dressed attractive ladies that are introduced within his scene only. The male viewers may like to see this type of control, as through their eyes and through patriarchy, this would seem to be expected anyway, and so continue watching as a sign for strong, expected manhood being placed within the video. Plus they also have the bonus of the attractive women to look at on the side.
Again we are given a long shot of Fifth Harmony after Kid Ink's section of the video ends. Here they are presented with dance moves that are inspired by Beyonce, another key lady in the music industry who features within the male gaze. They were inspired by Beyonce, as she is a major feminist in not just the music industry, but in the entire media industry as a whole, and she embraces her sexuality, rather than hiding from it or being ashamed of it, and this is the exact message that Fifth Harmony wanted to interpret for their female viewers. These dance moves are just typical routine moves, however from the view of the male gaze, the male may intepret these moves sexually, and be attracted to them. The girls are also "breaking the fourth wall" to show that it is all about them, averting back within the theme of women empowerment, and also keeping in direct view of the person watching the video. The girls can't see the viewer at the time of the music video being made, so to them it is more of a fantasy, staring at the camera, however in the male gaze, the intense stares at the camera male become sexualized, because it comes off attractive to a male viewer that they are being given a "look".
Throughout the remainder of the video, we encounter the members of Fifth Harmony individually being portrayed as "bossing around" their male companions in the video. They are presented constantly as very flirtatious through a males eyes, yet powerful over these companions overall, getting them to do their work, whilst distracting them at the same time with their body language, which again a man may interpret sexually. This interpretation that males may see through the video is emphasized a lot through long shots and mid shots, focusing mainly on the girls' arms and legs, as these parts of the body to them are being used most sexually throughout the music video's scenes, dancing and bossing around the males by pushing/kicking them about. They also see that the male characters are displayed a lot, showing intense sexual eye contact with the individual girls in their scenes, checking them out as they do these "sexual actions". However, a female may look at all of this again as a sign of inspiration and body appreciation, because these different camera shots show off the many features of each Fifth Harmony member, and viewers may find it aesthetically pleasing, as they strive to look like these girls in the video.
Finally, at the end of the music video, we are left with the girls of Fifth Harmony again "breaking the fourth wall", emphasizing once again that the video is all about themselves and women empowerment, leaving the viewer thinking of them in an empowering "women only" state as the video finishes with no men in sight. The last few seconds, switches from close ups to long shots, broadcasting a mixture of sexualized eye contact from a males perspective, with the girls and the viewer (as they are breaking the fourth wall during these moments close up, smirking at the camera), and a finishing male interpreted "sexualized" dance section, leaving us to connote what we see with sex, but also women in control of their own actions.
Overall, I would say that this music video could be interpreted as both "empowering" and "degrading" for women in the male gaze.
The music video can be interpreted as "empowering" as it's all about being a female boss in the workplace, whilst still being able to look good at the same time. It may also be seen as empowering, as the girls of Fifth Harmony are reversing the "typical roles of males and females" within music videos. Usually a male in a music video would be the one to stare at the camera "seductively" for a female viewer and take "complete dominance" within the video and with whoever may be watching the video, but Fifth Harmony have took this role and have completely switched it around, providing this for not just their male viewers, but their female viewers as well. Because of this "seductive technique" and their appearances, you would expect the target audience to be completely male, however, because they're "confident" and are "promoting their sexuality" in a positive light, they attract a large female audience too.
The music video can also be interpreted as "degrading" however, because even though the ladies of Fifth Harmony are presenting themselves as taking control and being in charge over the men, in the male gaze, the male viewers may say that they still have to use "sexual matters" like dancing and "flirtatious actions" around the men to do this successfully and gain full awareness, whereas a woman may simply say that it's just female characters being "confident" within their own bodies, and are doing whatever they like within the video, because they just want to promote the idea of "women empowerment" to their audience.
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