Project 5

Synopsis

The music video produced by Fifth Harmony, “Work From Home,” consists of all the members of Fifth Harmony dancing and singing on a construction site. Around the construction site are fit and large men, dressed in work clothes and hard hats. The video shows each member singing whilst wearing provocative clothing and inappropriately dancing with construction tools. For example, Camila Cabello is pictured pouring concrete while bending over(Figure 1) and Normani is shown climbing on a bulldozer and twerking on the ledge(Figure 2). Throughout the video, the girls sing lyrics such as, “We can work from home,” and “Let my body do the work,” insinuating the dominant men in the video should do their job from home (that job being having sex, rather than actually doing work). Throughout the video, the videographer shows scenes of the men working and staring at the girls in awe.​ This shows that the members of the girl group are convincing the construction men to fantasize about them at home.

Sexualizing Women

At the start of the video, the audience is drawn to the first girl pictured, Camila Cabello. She is immediately shown in a one piece bodysuit with cut-outs around her hips(Figure 3). This outfit accentuates her assets as she inappropriately dances around the construction site. Along with this, the other girls are seen wearing short jean shorts and shirts that expose their breasts. In addition to their outfits, they are each seen bending over and pushing their bottoms out whilst assisting the men in building the house(Figure 5). However, this doesn’t make the women seem any more dominant than the men. This is because the videographer fails to capture the women actually working. Instead, the focus is on the women staring into the worker’s eyes as they grope the tools and vehicles they are using(Figure 4 and 5).

This demoralizes women and conveys the stereotypical message of women only belonging in the kitchen and house (Killing Us Softly 4) rather than a construction site. The inappropriate dancing around the men and the lyrics, “Let my body do the work,” reinforces society’s view on women and their purpose. Popular videos and ads like this one, objectifies women and uses a pornographic approach to attracting different audiences (Kilbourne, Beauty… and the Beast of Advertising) These images are considered pornographic because of the objectifying that takes place (Kilbourne, "Two Ways a Woman Can Get Hurt"). Many believe, due to media like this, that women are only good for sexual acts and the male view (Killing Us Softly 4). Fifth Harmony sings “I’m sitting pretty and patient,” further reinforcing this claim. This leads to a very big problem in future generations and the current society of young girls. Many young teens listen to this catchy music and look up to their favorite bands/artists. Therefore, because of poor celebrity role models, many young girls are exposed to the romanticization of sex and are further under the impression that engaging in sexual acts will lead to acceptance in society and men. In Killing Us Softly 4, Kilbourne mentions that during a time of high prevalence of sexualization of women in ads and visual media (2004), society experienced the highest rates of teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. By sexualizing women and making them appeal to male standards, it becomes more and more normal to lose your virginity at a young age.

Sexualizing Men

The video pictures all of the males actors with sweat and dirt dripping down their tan bodies(Figure 6), along with the absence of shirts in some scenes. Throughout the video, they are shown as more dominant and tough as they perform different jobs around the work site. For example, they pour concrete, saw wood, and draw blueprints. This romanticizes society’s idea of a “perfect man.” Killing Us Softly 4 emphasizes societal norms and how they generally lean toward a working powerful man who deserves to receive pleasure from women rather than give women the pleasure they deserve. Building on this idea, the video shows the working men sitting back and watching whilst the women dance for them. As seen in the beginning scene, the man helps the woman up the bulldozer and proceeds to sit back whilst she dances over him(Figure 2). This furthers the idea of men using women for pleasure, whilst they remain dominant and successful.

Subtle Racism

As seen in many of the dancing scenes of this video, the African American women are situated in front, whilst the only white woman is barely seen in the back(Figure 7). This proves Kilbourne’s theory, mentioned in Killing us Softly 4, of African American women being portrayed in an untamed way along with being seen dancing in vulgar ways. This subtle racism enhances society’s existing view on Black women. It is believed that they are more wild and vulgar, whilst White women are seen as classy and looked up to as the “perfect” image. The producer of this video builds on these norms and focuses attention on everyone but the white woman in the dancing scene. Doing this and focusing on African American women, allows for the contribution to marketing women’s bodies (Kilbourne, Beauty… and the Beast of Advertising).