Over the past seven years, the girl band Little Mix had become immensely successful and popular. They released two hit songs and garnered attention from around the world. The attention the girls received prompted Sharaya J to collaborate with Little Mix to compose a song for their new album, LM5, about being confident in who you are and also confronting the issues on body shaming in today’s world. This single was called “Strip.” On Nov. 16, the official music video for “Strip” was released.

The British girl group who made this groundbreaking single formed back in 2011 during the eighth season of the British X Factor. Their hit songs “Wings” and “Power” encouraged women to embrace their body and be themselves. Little Mix is known to empower women through their music. Leigh-Anne Pinnock, one of the members of the group, said in an interview with Wonderland Magazine, “Girl power is what we’re about. It’s what we stand for as a group. We want to do everything we can to make women feel better about themselves.”

The featured singer on their single, Sharaya J, is an American female rapper, best known for her singles “BANJI” and “Smash up the place.” She has a very similar values to Little Mix, making music to promote female power. She participated in season two of FOX’s television series, The Four, in which she ended up as the runner-up in the show. Sharaya J is also one of the many females to beat breast cancer. The loss of her hair due to cancer never stopped her from being confident in how she looks and who she is.

The music video for “Strip” is very different and very abstract, but underneath the symbolism it contains a very powerful message. It starts with the five group members looking repulsed by their makeup-covered faces while Jade Thirlwall, one of the girls, sings, “Take off all my make-up ’cause I love what’s under it.”This inspirational line calls women to love how they look instead of covering up their insecurities with makeup.

Towards the middle of the music video, viewers are introduced to many different women in all sizes and races. Each one is dancing and showing their confidence and their body shape. “Love who you wanna,” sings Leigh-Anne Pinnock. “Don’t give a damn if it’s a man or a woman. Wanna talk about colour? It’s the skin that I’m in, yeah, I get from my mama.” These lines call attention to topics of race and the  LGBTQ+ community. Today’s society believes it’s a good idea to judge people based on the gender they are dating and their skin tone, all of which in Little Mix’s eyes is unjust to do.

Not to be forgotten are Sharaya J’s fantastic lyrics. “First of all, you got to love who you are. Don’t let social media tear you apart,” she preaches. Usually when people post on social media, it gives an opportunity to all the negative people to comment and say hurtful things about other people. These lyrics are meant to encourage women to stay strong and to not let these rude comments affect them.

During the last scenes, the five group members sit on the floor covered with disgusting and hateful messages that represent the rude comments that they are told all the time. These messages are combated by unity, shown when all the girls who are part of the music video come together and stand together and help each other grow past the hate.

Soon after the release, Little Mix’s fan base, also known as the Mixers, started sharing their thoughts on the music video. “I’ve always liked how Little Mix uses their platform to encourage women to stay strong,” said freshman Sabrina Splatny. “After watching the video, I loved the message behind the video. It was empowering to women of all shapes and sizes.”