NOTE: Use caution when watching these videos. Some are NSFW.

You're gonna have to cough up for a TIDAL membership if you want to see the 'Famous' music video in all its glory, but honestly with all of the pictures doing the rounds on social media, haven't we already seen it all? Kanye has again gained notoriety, this time with celebrity lookalikes all naked in the same bed as him. We see the likes of 'Taylor Swift', 'Caitlyn Jenner' and 'George W Bush' amongst the famous faces, but of course all is not as it seems.

Credit: TIDAL

Credit: TIDAL

Kanye West - 'Famous'

Actor Lena Dunham has hit out at the video, surmounting it to 'rape culture' and writing on her social media: "Now I have to see the prone, unconscious, waxy bodies of famous women, twisted like they've been drugged and chucked aside at a rager? It gives me such a sickening sense of dis-ease."

Miley Cyrus - 'Wrecking Ball'

Miley naked upon a wrecking ball. What's not to love? Well, a lot of people think that Miley selling her sexuality in such a way sets feminism back hundreds of years, whilst others say her embracing her femininity and not being afraid to show off her body - as men freely do - actually makes her one of the leaders of feminism. Whatever you may think, the video at the time became the most-watched in 24 hours and has to-date racked up almost 850 million views on YouTube alone.

Though Miley said her video was inspired by Sinead O'Connor's 'Nothing Compares 2 U', Sinead herself wasn't happy with the comparisons, writing an open letter to Cyrus and warning her that she is being "pimped" by the pop music industry.

Nicki Minaj - 'Anaconda'

Named one of the sexiest videos of 2014 by VH1, it wasn't all praise for Nicki Minaj, who stole Miley's record on Vevo by accumulating 19.6 million views for the music video on its first day on Vevo. Showing off plenty of female backsides, there were a lot of 'Anaconda' fans, but haters also came out of the woodwork.

NBC's Al Roker called it a "vile" display, adding: "It almost seems like Minaj has gotten desperate and needs to do something to get her crown back." However, Molly Lambert defended her and wrote: "the video is about Nicki asserting her power, not as a sexual object but a sexual subject."

Madonna - 'Like A Prayer'

The Queen of Pop has done many a controversial thing throughout her career, but none have quite had the impact of her 1989 music video for 'Like A Prayer'.

The Catholic Church were quick to voice their disgust at the video, which featured burning crosses, statues that were crying blood and a seductive Madonna luring in a black Jesus. Pepsi went on to use the song in an ad campaign, but when families and religious groups protested by boycotting the soft drink manufacturer, Madonna's contract with the company was cancelled. She was however still allowed to keep her initial fee.

The Prodigy - 'Smack My B**** Up'

Clearly misogynistic just from the title, The Prodigy didn't leave many feeling happy when they released the visuals for this track, despite the video's protagonist being revealed to be a female.

In this unedited version, there are scenes including drinking and driving, snorting cocaine, vomiting, vandalism, sex, nudity, a scene of heroin use, a hit and run incident, a full sex scene, fights with men and the abuse of women. It's a rough watch.

Robin Thicke & Pharrell Williams - 'Blurred Lines'

Another one that was slammed for being misogynistic, some protesters who hated this song and video claimed that it did in fact promote date rape. Clearly trivialising sex and in the unedited version, featuring fully naked women next to finely clothed men, it was another case of reducing the female gender down to nothing more than a sexual object. In essence, it was objectification of the female form in its most obvious form.

Thicke however defended the song and said: "It's actually a feminist movement within itself. It's saying that women and men are equals as animals and as power." We're not convinced.

Lady Gaga feat. R. Kelly - 'Do What U Want'

The Gaga video that never saw the light of day. In fact, we wouldn't even have this short clip if TMZ hadn't leaked it, showing R Kelly playing the role of a doctor that puts Gaga to sleep, telling her she will wake up pregnant. With the content of the song - 'Do what you want with my body' - and this odd promise from the fictional doctor, it's probably for the best that the visuals were never seen by the general public in full.

MIA - 'Born Free'

Taking place in a world we're unfamiliar with, this video sees ginger members of the community treated like an ethnic minority, with them being visibly punished for their hair colour throughout. Executed and bombed for fun and games, here MIA is likely making a statement on the disgusting treatment of minorities that still takes place all the around the world.

By using people that aren't persecuted in their masses in real life past maybe being teased in a school - gingers - the video allows the viewer to really relate and sympathise with what they're watching. Maybe through this, we can begin to slightly understand what others are going through.


by for www.femalefirst.co.uk
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