Controversy over Rihanna's Video "We Found Love"

Rihanna’s latest video, “We Found Love,” has recently garnered controversy for its frank depiction of drug usage and abuse. The video stars Rihanna and Chris Brown-look-alike Calvin Harris in a chaotic, dysfunctional relationship. Eileen Kelly of the Rape Crisis Center said "Rihanna's new video is a disgrace. It sends the message that she is an object to be possessed by men, which is disturbingly what we see in real violence cases." Critics were particularly bothered by a scene where her boyfriend tattoos the word ‘Mine’ on her backside while she’s screaming in pain. The video also intercuts between scenes of the couple arguing and having sex, although they aren’t physically violent as the heated scenes between Meagan Fox and Lost star Dominic Monaghan in “Love the Way You Lie” are. But I have to say that the video doesn’t bother me much: “Love the Way You Lie” is far more disturbing to me, because the lyrics express that the abuser is lying about being sorry for hurting her, the female says she ‘likes the way it hurts,’ not to mention during the actual video we only see her being violent towards him. Even more important than the fact that there are other, far more controversial music videos, “We Found Love” is just one of the many images in our society that works to ‘normalize’ hypersexuality. Thus, we can’t blame just Rihanna, because she is simply a product of our larger, image-centered society.

As one blogger pointed out, the central problem with many of these criticisms is that they give different expectations for prominent women in the media than for men. Why is it that female celebrities, especially pop stars, have to be ‘role models’ when males are not expected to meet such high expectations? And critics seem to be forgetting that double-standards work both ways: although many feminists fight against oppressive images of women, only showcasing positive images of women won’t help us achieve equality either. And besides, I do believe Rihanna has the right to write about her own experiences. I actually appreciate Rihanna’s candid lyricism – even if the message that she wants to get back all of the bad stuff just to get back the good stuff isn’t politically correct, it reflects what many women experience in real life. And in the end, Rihanna’s character does walk out on her boyfriend, suggesting that the video may instead be trying to show how unhealthy dysfunctional relationships are. So maybe the video really isn’t sending such a controversial message – or at least not one that’s so black-and-white.