X-Factor producers forcing girls into sexualised dress?

[Eurostar]

I haven't watched X-factor for a few years but thought I'd youtube Gamu today as I was wondering who this person is who is all over the news.

I saw her first audition - looking like a teen, quite modestly dressed, you could concentrate on her voice and her presentation

Saw her boot camp audition (later in the process I presume) - horrible short, tight skirt, patterned tights, heels you could break your ankle on, tiny very low cut top. Hair hardened into a style that looked old for her age.

Would this change happen without pressure from the producers to dress in a sexualised way? I'd be interested to know from TV people posting here, I believe there are some on the site?

[huddspur]

Thats the music indusrty for you

[onimolap]

I don't watch the show, but am interested along the general lines of "let girls be girls".

What age is she? 16? 14? Younger?

[CheeseandGherkins]

I think she's 17/18

[Eurostar]

She's 18.

Video 1

Video 2

[HerBeatitude]

I think that this year, it has actually toned down slightly in terms of porny outfits for the female singers. The female dancers are still all porned up though, it's horrible and now DD (8) points out that the male dancers are all covered up and are allowed to wear proper clothes, while the girls are all half nekkid (except in Viva Diva's set, where nearly everyone was nekkid )

I think they learned a lesson from last year where the girl band got thrown out immediately and were heavily criticised for looking like they worked in a brothel - not their fault, presumably that is what they were told to wear, but the judges had the cheek to tell them off about it.

It's v. interesting taht Simon keeps on going on about girl power, which makes me go all twitchy, because girl power in the music industry means a bunch of extremely young, powerless women being told what to do by old very powerful men. He's obviously realised that at least half the audience are women, that most of that audience is middle aged and watching with their kids and so he'd better not send his girl band out looking all porned up, as we're in control of the phone lines.

And I'm possibly feeling a complaint to Ofcom coming on about the dancing in Wagner's set, where it looked as though the dance ended with the women dancers having their breasts groped by the male ones. Can't quite believe that happened though...

[UmYeahLikeTotally]

definitely did happen!!! I just screamed "What The Fuck" at the TV. So unneccessary and has majorly pissed me off......

[UmYeahLikeTotally]

video here: xfactor.itv.com/2010/videos/video/watch_live-show-2-wagner_item_201112.htm

skip the crap, go right to the end of the song. (around point of Time Remaining 2.20)

[claig]

Amazing. What will they do next?
They are taking the piss out of the audience. First there is the comedy routine of Wagner, and then the groping on prime time TV.

[LynetteScavo]

I think it was only one dancer (not part of the routine), and I suspect he may have got a slap when they left the stage.

[NoseyNooNoo]

I've just looked at the groping - really unnecessary. It's so sad for our children that it is all so sexualised.

[claig]

It's deliberate, the whole line of dancers do it. It's not just covering of the breasts in one movement, it's actually sustained deliberate groping. They'll only do more of it, it will only get worse, because it is a deliberate policy. It's classic Marxist policy, based on Dadaist epater la bougeoisie or epater le bourgeois

[EvilAntsAndMiasmas]

Can you elucidate that last sentence for me a bit, claig? Thanks :)

[claig]

epater la bourgeoisie was used by the decadent movement of artists and poets. It is where we get our shock art from now. Many of the artistic movements, such as surrealism, were based on shock tactics. The key to it is that they were all "revolutionary", they all wanted to overturn and upheave society, and epater la bourgeoisie means "to shock (frighten) the middle classes". The "middle classes" represented "conservative" society, and it is these bourgeois that are despised most by Marxist revolutionaries, much more than the aristocracy itself. They want to shock "polite" middle class society, the Daily Mail types that are so despised today, and undermine it, in order to destroy the morals and values and family structure of the bourgeoisie, so that they can achieve their revolution and create a new society based on Marxist principles, such as abolition of the family and abolition of private property and destruction of the hated bourgeoisie.

That is why all of these sexualisation and soft porn music videos and violent videos and shock tactics are portrayed to the middle classes and their children on prime time TV, to epater le bourgeois. They are laughing at us in our faces and they are doing it on prime time.

[EvilAntsAndMiasmas]

What the fucking fuck? Just seen the video.

That is horrible, especially the way that the girls were "acting" (who knows) being horrified, shocked and upset, and projection of the gropey hands to the big screen behind.

Because glamorising sexual assault is what we want in Saturday night family entertainment.

[herjazz]

I don't think Simon cowell is a marxist

[claig]

I don't know what he is, who knows? Not all Marxists are poor. But it's not even him. Many of these people just accept it as the norm, they don't know about epater le bourgeois. But there are others that do know about it. This is all pervasive, it is why MTV is full of sexualisation and soft porn music videos. There is a reason that it is aimed at family viewing.

[EvilAntsAndMiasmas]

I thought it was to soften us all, especially children, up so that nothing can shock us, intimacy and respect will go down the pan, and eventually everything will become completely commercialised. As we are seeing with the increasing "pay for sexual contact" culture (lapdancing, poledancing etc on the high st) etc.

Not sure there is any connection to marxism really, although thanks for explaining, it's an interesting perspective.

[claig]

you are right, it is to soften us up, to shock us and break our values of decency, so that intimacy and respect go down the pan, and all of the lapdancing etc. is all part of it. But I don't think it is ultimately done for commercialisation, it is done to epater le bourgeois. The Church and the Daily Mail etc. are all against it happening.

Serge Gainsbourg was classic epater le bourgeois. This is from a Guardian article about a film of his life

"chain-smoking, heavy-drinking Serge ? lover, composer, performer in an ever-changing variety of genres and rebel with a mission to épater les bourgeois."

he had a mission to epater le bourgeois. I don't know if you have ever heard his record with his daughter, but that really is epater le bourgeois.

[claig]

Don't know much about Simon Cowell. But it sounds like he is a good egg. He sounds very much like a Daily Mail reader, and says that
"we have to bring back some common sense and encourage family values, a proper sense of justice and make people believe they have a decent chance to build a business or career for themselves." He sounds like a bourgeois and an all round good egg. He probably has a subscription copy of the Daily Mail delivered to him, wherever he is in the world, and I am sure that he makes time to read it.

www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/election2010/2959573/Simon-Cowell-says-General-Election-MUST-bring-change-to-Britain.html

I think he can therefore be absolved of the groping incident in Wagner's act.

[LynetteScavo]

claig, I don't think that much thought was put into it.

Brian Friedman probably choreographed it with the words "help yourself" in mind.

[hackingandhewing]

I will admit that I normally stay away from this topic. However, my 12 yo DD is obsessed with x-factor and I am after watching this clip.

I don't get het up about much but this is outrageous on a Saturday night family show.

[Mumcentreplus]

WTF???...how did I not notice that???..probably because I always watch the crap under duress in the first place..

[ColdComfortFarm]

lolololol at 'I don't think Simon Cowell is a Marxist'.

[claig]

You have to remember that it was all choreographed and planned. They must have had rehearsals and loads of people were involved and knew what they had to do. The dancers must have been told to do it, and the director probably said "cut, you're not groping correctly, try it again". They intended it for prime time family viewing and they knew very well that it would outrage the public like hackingandhewing, who usually doesn't "get het up about much".
They are laughing at the public and taking the piss out of us.