The Blow: The woman you want her to be, video

Concept, creative direction, artwork, editing

“The woman you want her to be” was released in 2017 as the second video in the promotion of the album Brand New Abyss. We knew all along that we wanted to make a video for our rap about making one’s way in the patriarchy, but it posed a challenge. We wanted our representation of “a woman” to be as expansive and inclusive as possible— how could this be done without using imagery of specific individuals? The idea of a hand had been in my mind for a while, and once it occurred to me that it could be walking, like the 1980’s commercials for the phone book, and that walking in public is one of the universal femme experiences, I knew I had it.

“She’ll be smart enough to know if you want her to not be smart, or just not to show it.”

The video was shot in one take using a jogger’s conveyor belt and a crew of people rotating panels of artwork in the background. The “woman” is performed by Melissa Dyne, who grew up playing the cello and has fit fingers.