It was in the intimate space of her kitchen, between the refrigerator and the oven, that a DJ set up her turntables to mix not in front of a cheering crowd, but in front of her camera lens. When she swapped her bulky hoodie for a slightly less revealing dress, the number of viewers increased dramatically. A sad reminder that women are valued more for their bodies than for their talent.
Views increased tenfold depending on the outfit worn on screen
When content creator @two.face222 launched her TikTok live stream, she didn't imagine her sonic performance would become such a social phenomenon. This DJ, who describes herself as an "experimental beatmaker," is more accustomed to improvising sets within the walls of her home than under disco balls. This young prodigy of the mixing console, a specialist in hybrid music and unusual mixes, has a small digital ritual. She shares her rhythmic compositions online through "live" videos that leave no room for staging.
While some rock or alternative music groups practice their art in the dusty atmosphere of a garage, this DJ sets her scene amidst the fruit bowl, the spice rack, and the coffee machine. Because her art is meant to be listened to more than watched. Yet, some listeners seem to have other intentions than simply moving their hips and entertaining their ears by clicking on the thumbnail and joining this 2.0 party.
This is the terrifying realization this DJ made simply by changing her clothes. When she mixes in an opaque gray sweatshirt, the audience barely reaches 60. However, as soon as she appears in a dress with a plunging neckline that opens to reveal her breasts, the audience flocks to the video. Even though the DJ remains static and does absolutely nothing, she manages to attract nearly 230 people. This video, initially intended to soften social norms, has become a prime example of the constant sexualization of women. "What just happened on my live stream today proves the whole problem with women in this society," the video's creator proclaims in the caption.
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The underlying problem of algorithms
“I usually get three viewers even when I’m wearing a sweatshirt, and all it takes is a glimpse of my breasts and the algorithm goes haywire,” the DJ points out, regretting having become a target for fantasies. According to her, there’s no doubt, no coincidence. If she managed to break the symbolic 200-view mark, it’s not thanks to her talent or her ambiguous artistic identity. It’s a setup by the algorithm, which only values women when they’re wearing very little. Because yes, social media platforms are sexist showcases where women are displayed like objects and where the slightest bit of female content quickly takes on an erotic or suggestive tone.
A phenomenon documented by teams from University College London and the University of Kent in a revealing, but above all, disturbing study . After five days of use, the researchers noticed that the TikTok algorithm promoted four times more videos with misogynistic content, including objectification, sexual harassment, and the denigration of women, increasing from 13% of recommended videos to 56%. And the DJ became an unwitting victim of these bots with their warped minds, when all she wanted was to do her job.
Female DJs reduced to their physical appearance
On the stages of nightclubs or on the bills of exclusive clubs, women are increasingly making their mark. They represent approximately 25% of festival lineups and 10% of artists booked by the most prestigious clubs. This nocturnal profession, practiced under neon lights or colored smoke, is slowly becoming more feminized .
If women were slow to take over the electronic music scene, it might be because this uninhibited world is hostile to them. In these venues where women have to cover their drinks as much as their silhouettes and feel like prey in a lion's cage, it's difficult to dance freely.
Female DJs, who work in the spotlight and create the atmosphere in the pit, constantly have to prove themselves and endure inappropriate behavior backstage. Between security guards who reject their DJ status outright, male customers who impose a veritable musical dictatorship, or those who assume the DJ is theirs because of a miniskirt worn in 35°C heat, these female figures of the night are often seen as either "go-go dancers" or amateurs.
Worse, they are the target of behaviors punishable by law. In 2023, they broke the silence behind a hashtag that sounds like a familiar refrain: #MeTooDJ. French DJ Paloma Colombe used Instagram as a megaphone. In a resounding post, she revealed the abuse she suffered at the hands of both the audience and the technicians during a concert in Paris.
Ultimately, what "Two Face" experiences in her video is just a brief glimpse of what women in her position endure at every performance. It also reflects a hypocritical society that condemns those who wear short outfits, yet doesn't hesitate to starve itself in front of them.
