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Maroon 5's "Girls Like You"

Badass Women and Diversity in the Media

By Hanin NajjarPublished 6 years ago 3 min read
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Maroon 5 released its new music video for the song "Girls Like You" showed the media industry what true diversity is while addressing many current social issues through 26 badass women.

The empowering video featuring Cardi B brings a mix of athletes, celebrities, and activists together for a show of strength.

Adam Levine sings about how he needs "a girl like you" as the camera moves around him to show different women. It starts with Cuban-American singer Camilla Cabello, then comedian Phoebe Robinson, two-time Olympic gymnast Aly Raisman, comedian Sarah Silverman, Wonder Woman actress Gal Gadot, YouTuber Lilly Singh, author and entrepreneur Amani Al-Khatahtbeh, actress Trace Lysette, Comedian Tiffany Haddish, immigrant activist Angy Rivera, activist and YouTuber Franchesca Ramsey, stranger things actress Millie Bobby Brown, Ellen DeGeneres, Cardi B, Jennifer Lopez, Olympic snowboarder Chloe Kim, soccer player Alex Morgan, singer and actress Mary J. Blige, actress Beanie Feldstein, activist Jackie Fielder, professional race car driver Danica Patrick, member of the Minnesota house of representatives, Somali-American Ilhan Omar, actress Elizabeth Banks, supermodel Ashley Graham, and British singer and actress Rita Ora.

The video ends with Levine turning around to hug his wife Behati Prinsloo and his daughter Dusty Rose.

Aly Raisman is depicted wearing a shirt that says "Always speak you truth," alluding to the #MeToo movement and her speaking out against Doctor Larry Nassar and his sexual assaults on young women.

Amani Al-Khatahtbeh is a Muslim-American author and entrepreneur who is the founder and editor of Muslimgirl.com, founder of the Muslim Women magazine, and author of the book Muslim Women Coming of Age. She was the first hijabi women on Forbes 30 under 30. She was also the founder of Muslim Women’s Day. On her website, Muslimgirl.com, she wrote an article about Maroon's five music video and the reactions from people about her appearance.

Angy Rivera was wearing a shirt that said "Undocumented Unafraid Unapologetic"

Ellen DeGeneres has been a big voice for the representation and rights of the LGBTQ community. As a married lesbian woman on national television, she has changed how the world sees gay people.

Chloe Kim, the daughter of South Korean immigrants, became the youngest female snowboarder to receive a gold medal in the Olympics.

Jackie Fielder, who played a large role in the resistance against the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL), wore a shirt that said "Divest. Water is Life." The protesters against the DAPL were called water protectors and one of their slogans was "Water is life."

Ilhan Omar is the first Somali-American legislator to be elected into office in the United States of America. A proud Muslim, Omar wears the Hijab.

Ashley Graham is a supermodel pushing the standards of beauty to be more inclusive than tall skinny and blond.

Hollywood and the media industry in general has a problem with accurate and diverse representation. Minorities and marginalized communities are often misrepresented and underrepresented in mainstream media. African Americans are often depicted as thugs and criminals. They are celebrated because of their culture but ignored when it comes to their issues such as police violence and racial profiling. Muslims are depicted as dumb, savage and violent and are talked about rather than talked to. Latinxs are portrayed as dumb and criminal. The list goes on and on.

Maroon 5's music video showcases a true diversity by inviting women on different backgrounds to come, be themselves, and accurately represent their communities and their issues.

Meanwhile, this year's music video for the Soccer World Cup song "Colors" sung by Jason Derulo also portrays different cultures. However, this music video whitewashes the cultures from around the world and objectifies the cultural outfits and the women wearing them.

The video portrays the European cultures with both men and women in traditional outfits and folk dances. However, when it comes to Middle-Eastern, Asian, or African culture there are only women wearing revealing outfits and dancing provocatively. The women of the different cultures are objectified rather than celebrated which is what often happens in music videos.

Maroon 5's music video for the song "Girl's Like You" is a victory for women and especially for women of color.

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About the Creator

Hanin Najjar

Arab American

Journalist, Filmmaker, Activist

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