Lily Allen's song "Hard Out Here" critiques the phenomenon of "raunch culture" described by Ariel Levy, where female sexuality is highly sexualized and objectified. Allen uses imagery from popular music videos by Rihanna, Beyonce, Miley Cyrus, and Robin Thicke in her own video to illustrate how women are portrayed in stereotypical and slutty ways. She suggests these artists are conforming to objectifying standards of female sexuality promoted by the music industry.

1. Ariel Levy
Katie McKenna

2. Ariel Levy
Ariel Levy critiques the highly sexualized American
Culture in which women are objectified, objectify
one another and are encouraged to objectify
themselves. Levy refers to this as “ranch culture”
Levy claims that the enjoyment of raunch, or
“kitschy, slutty stereotypes of female sexuality,: has
existed through the ages, but it was once a
phenomenon that existed primarily in the male
sphere and has since become mainstream and
highly visible. Raunch Culture has penetrated
“political life, the music industry, art, fashion and
taste.”

3. Lily Allen “Hard Out Here”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0CazRHB
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4. Lily Allen
Lily Allen recently released a new song called
“Hard out Here” where she begins with her having
liposuction and talking about how she has had
children and her manager is saying she has let
herself go and how could a women do this, then
while he is taking a music video is being shown on
television of a women half naked and raunchy
dancing. Then it goes on to her taking the mick out
of artists that come under the category that follows
Ariel Levys raunch culture. The next few pages are
the artists and still images of what Lilly Allen is
taking the mick off.

5. Rihanna
Here Lily Allen is taking the mick out of rihanna and
her song “Pour it up” where her dancers are dancing
in water. By doing this she is trying to say that raunch
culture is happening and here as examples of how it
is being portrayed in the music industry.
Here is another still from the music video to
show how the slutty stereotypes of female
sexuality is happening and Rihanna is one of
them. The picture underneath the artists name
is of a tree which is a natural symbol promoting
good values.
This is also taking the mick from the music
video “Pour it up” where Rihanna is dancing
and throwing around money.

6. Beyoncé
The use of this still image is showing
how beyonce in her music video will
dance in the middle and then have her
back up dancers around her to add to
her appearance and make her dancing
stand out to the others.
Here is another still of Lilly taking the
mick out of Beyonce music video, and
Lily uses this to show how women
are being objectified as cleaners and
how they have to stay in the kitchen.

7. Miley Cyrus and Robin
Thicke
This still image is Lily Allen taking the mick of Miley
Cyrus and how throughout her video she uses the
dance move that is „twerking‟. The use of this shows
how slutty these artists are becoming to follow and fit
in with the music video and out bit each artist.
Here is another still image of Lilly taking the
mick of Miley Cyrus in the music video of
“Wrecking Ball” and how she licks the hammer.
Here she is taking the mick out of “Robin
Thicke” where he has ballons saying „Robin
Thicke has a big dick‟

8. Raunch Culture
By having Lily Allen‟s music video it is bringing to
our attention that „ Raunch Culture‟ is happening
and we have to become aware of this and showing
what music videos are including by using other
artists to show this.
It is bringing attention and confirming that “Raunch
Culture” is around and happens and this is how.

9. “Hard Out Here”
The song “Hard Out Here” refers to the 2005 Three 6 Mafia
Sont “Its Hard our Here for a Pimp” however Lily Allen has
changed it to say “Its hard out here for a bitch” referring it to
females and that actually its not all that hard for men its
harder for women repeatedly using the quote” its hard, its
hard, its hard out here for a bitch.”
Lilly said to the papers:
Never one to hold her tongue, Allen has revealed the
meaning behind her official comeback single, which has
already attracted controversy for its video, which has
been accused of portraying racial stereotypes. Now,
Allen tells The Observer that when she sings 'it's hard
out here for a bitch' - she's using it in the most polite
way possible.
"Dolly Parton is a bitch. Adele's a bitch. Angela Merkel
is a bitch… Rihanna's an inspiring bitch, my mum,
Miley's a bitch, rising. She's my hero, Kate Middleton is
NOT a bitch," she told the Sunday newspaper.
"I've always been called 'mouthy', when, in fact, I'm just
talking. In the music industry, women have always been
controlled by male execs, told to do the Kate Moss
thing. Keep your mouth shut, or people will laugh at

10. Britany Spears “Work”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pt8VYOfr8
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11. Britany Spears
Britany Spears in her song “Work” also follows Ariel Levys
statement where she is half dressed and dancing as Levy
stated “slutty” by doing this she is objectifying herself to fit in
with the music industry and I agree with Levy that this artists
are conforming to “Raunch Culture” and that it is happening in
music videos. I agree that Levy‟s ideas are applicable to my
video as the artist „Britany Spears‟ is showing the stereotype
of slutty women and how they were nothing to appeal to men
by including the car she has used. I think that male see
women as this stereotype and use this with them in their
music videos to show off as an artists and women are going
to do this however I think women are being objectified more.