Ayu not portrayed as most women in the music industry?

[Crims0n]

So during my sociology class we watched a documentary on how women are portrayed in the music industry, specifically music videos. They said that it's impossible to find women who aren't portrayed sexually in the music industry. When they said this I thought of Ayu, Ayu has never really been portrayed in a sexual way without reasoning. She's not randomly touching herself (like her body, not her.. yeah.) seductively or posing seductively just because in her music videos. She doesn't sing about sex in a raw fashion or at all. She may refer to it, but it's purely in a non-lustful way. Okay there's my name's WOMEN, but that song is about the way men look at women, so there's a reason. She also sings about her emotions or deep emotions in general, which you don't find much in Western music without some kind of sexual undertone. What do you guys think?

Edit: I forgot about the Startin' PV... but I still believe that was done in a tongue-in-cheek way. lol

[Aditmi Krisnasaki ~II~]

^ what? Ayu didn't kiss anyone in Startin' PV... LOL

[Raiu-Ayu]

I do think that ayu is one of the industry's great exceptions. She isn't based on any image or gimmick, she just writes and sings her own songs. Its rare to find an artist (even a man these days) who can just get by on that.

[Crims0n]

Originally Posted by Raiu-Ayu

I do think that ayu is one of the industry's great exceptions. She isn't based on any image or gimmick, she just writes and sings her own songs. Its rare to find an artist (even a man these days) who can just get by on that.

Yes I agree, I think it's attributed to how valuable she is to her record label. So she's able to control her own image. (At least, as far as I know.) She brings like 40% percent (This number might be off..) of the profits Avex makes... or at one point she did.

[*Petit*]

CUltural contexts are very different. Ayu always came out high on lists of "Most desired girlfriend" etc. Of course sex appela is super important for both men and women in the entertainment industry no matter which part of it you're looking at.

[aura~]

Originally Posted by Crims0n

Yes I agree, I think it's attributed to how valuable she is to her record label. So she's able to control her own image. (At least, as far as I know.) She brings like 40% percent (This number might be off..) of the profits Avex makes... or at one point she did.

^this was in 2003/2004 I think... but yeah, sure Ayu gives a lot of profit to avex nowadays too...

but yeah ayu does what she wants.. and if she wanted to do sth more provocative I'm sure it would be her own choice...

[alternarist]

this is what i like about ayu.. ayu doesnt do anything too sexy most of the time.. and majority of her works are of high quality. Most importantly, she enjoys performing for her fans. which means that she will put in her heart and soul to present an excellent concert.

[Andrenekoi]

When people says Ayu doesn't use sex to sell and that her career isn't hugely based on image, I always feel like I'm in Twilight Zone or something...

[C+R+E+AYUMI]

she isn't a symbol of sexyness. But I believe she's able to be sexy in a very elegant and polite way, so she's attractive but cannot be considered as a sex symbol like most of popstars are. She has found her own dimension that permits to be loved by both girls and boys remaining cute and fine.

[Andrenekoi]

People tends to forget that in Japan, being a sex symbol is more like being Seiko Matsuda and Ai Otsuka than Madonna or Britney Spears... Kawaii is their sexy

[Crims0n]

Originally Posted by Andrenekoi

People tends to forget that in Japan, being a sex symbol is more like being Seiko Matsuda and Ai Otsuka than Madonna or Britney Spears... Kawaii is their sexy

I'm not challenging what you said because I agree with you, but what does Japan view Koda Kumi as?

[Andrenekoi]

^Most of Koda fans are women who get inspired by her image of a women that controls her own life and children who finds her funny...

[JackieRos]

simpe she doesn't need to act sexual to get cd sales
I'm just sayin'

[Coelacanth]

I've said this for years, but the majority of the time I don't think Ayu's image matches her music, at all.

Her PV's, for the most part, don't strengthen her songs for me. I'm more likely to associate her music with the visuals in her live performances, rather than her PV's.

I kinda disagree though. Sexy is still sexy, whether it has reason or not. When people first see videos like Startin', Real me, my name's WOMEN, INSPIRE, Sparkle, Lady Dynamite, etc., some people are still gonna think to themselves "****," especially people who don't understand the message behind the song.

She's definitely used sex appeal in her videos without having any reason to though. Though her sexiness is relatively tame, I wouldn't say she's classy about it. I don't think you can ever be "classy" about it. Relative to other females, yes, she's classy about it. But I don't think she's in another league at all.

[SunshineSlayer]

Originally Posted by Andrenekoi

When people says Ayu doesn't use sex to sell and that her career isn't hugely based on image, I always feel like I'm in Twilight Zone or something...

lol. Me too. Ayu has certainly used sex to sell, many times and she has had sexualized moments that have no meaning behind them. Most recent example would be parts of the Lady Dynamite PV. Or the "bouncing" scenes in Sparkle.

[JackieRos]

of course I'm not saying that ayu is a saint
but she doesn't have a career because she acts sexy and whatnot

[Andrenekoi]

^I don't think there is a way of mantaining a long career using only sex... Even if people tends to ignore it, most of the time, the long run "sex based" acts sells very well produced music (not discussing quality, as it would be only opinion)

[Crims0n]

Originally Posted by Coelacanth

I've said this for years, but the majority of the time I don't think Ayu's image matches her music, at all.

Her PV's, for the most part, don't strengthen her songs for me. I'm more likely to associate her music with the visuals in her live performances, rather than her PV's.

I kinda disagree though. Sexy is still sexy, whether it has reason or not. When people first see videos like Startin', Real me, my name's WOMEN, INSPIRE, Sparkle, Lady Dynamite, etc., some people are still gonna think to themselves "****," especially people who don't understand the message behind the song.

She's definitely used sex appeal in her videos without having any reason to though. Though her sexiness is relatively tame, I wouldn't say she's classy about it. I don't think you can ever be "classy" about it. Relative to other females, yes, she's classy about it. But I don't think she's in another league at all.

I stand corrected but do they ever zoom in on random body parts?

Edit: Nevermind, in Sparkle they zoom in on her pelvic area and her breasts. She's also rubbing her butt lol. Maybe Ayu isn't as sexless as I thought... lol.

[mmaibff]

There are very few artists that do no use sex appeal of some sort. However Ayu always seem to have a good reason for using it in a PV to get the point across. Even when she was modeling for Wacoal her ads seemed more classy then other underwear ads I've seen in the past. Honestly on the top of my head the only singer I can really think of that I've never really seen use sex appeal is ayaka, unless I've missed something.

[Crystal_Ageha]

Originally Posted by Crims0n

I stand corrected but do they ever zoom in on random body parts?

Edit: Nevermind, in Sparkle they zoom in on her pelvic area and her breasts. She's also rubbing her butt lol. Maybe Ayu isn't as sexless as I thought... lol.

To me, Sparkle doesn't count at all. It's a parody of how sexual pop stars have become, lol. So no ****, it's gonna include some crazy sexual pelvic thrusts. XD


About the topic in general, I think every big star will use a sexual image, even if just slightly, at least once in their career. Hell, even Hikaru went for a subtle sexual concept during both of her English album eras (more-so in the last one, of course). So we can't base who sells sex off of whether or not they've ever done something "sexy"; it's whether or not they use it as a main tool.
Somebody like Kumi, for example, uses sex heavily (obviously). Nearly every PV of hers has at least a decent amount of skin showing, and she's often dancing questionably, lol. But somebody like Ayumi? Definitely not. She's used something risque to grab attention a few times, or to do something different, certainly, but for the most part, she's a very classy, mature artist. Plus, she's never needed to use sex to sell, and she's never done anything sexual for the sole purpose of selling because of it. Her most controversial "sexual" thing would probably be the LOVEppears cover.......and that's just the cover.
Also, take all the sexual things she's ever done (LOVEppears cover, 1 LOVE video, different live performances--hell, even include Sparkle in there, if you'd like), and they aren't even half as bad as most of the other things artists do to sell sex.
Combine that with the fact that Ayumi became famous before she ever did anything slightly sexual (well.....unless you count her idol days XD), and I don't think anybody has the right to say she's based off of sex, or even that she's sold because of it.