More handpicked essays just for you.
Equality in today's society
Misrepresentation of gender in the media
Misrepresentation of gender in the media
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Equality in today's society
America has reached a point in their government system where they are giving women the same treatment and opportunities as men but in music, we often don’t see that equality. In music today, we see a lot of half-naked women who are being abused by male artists and this affects the perceptions of younger generations who will believe that is the way a woman is supposed to act and/or be treated. Many artists such as Christina Aguilera with her song “Can’t hold us down,” Queen Latifah with “U.N.I.T.Y,” use their powers as music idols to instill ethics and strength in their audiences. Both of these songs are in different music genres but both speak about the social issues of the inequalities between genders and the degrading of women.
This essay will
…show more content…
More specifically, these two songs will be analyzed using masculine hegemony, the male gaze, third-wave feminism, and radical feminism elements of the feminist perspective. Masculine hegemony “describes gender and power inequalities that account for multiple masculinities and how hegemonic structures oppress all other forms other than heterosexual masculinity,” (Sellnow, 2015, p. 140). We see masculine hegemonic structures in music when a male artist flaunts an abundant amount of cash in their videos while claiming they are “the man” as well as using words like “bitch” and “Hoe” when speaking about women. Moreover, we also see male gaze which “describes the way in which viewers (both males and females) look at the people presented and represented in visual images by identifying with the male actors” in music videos, (Sellnow, 2015, p. 145). The male gaze is present when the viewers have a need to identify with or as the people they see in music videos for example girls would imitate the half-naked women dancing on the men in the video if they believe that is what males like. Next, in regard to
I. Introduction Gender plays a big role in music, I became aware of gender role in music when noticing how most songs talks about women and how they are being either exploited or empowered. Most music videos even in the 80s either objectified women or respect sexuality. Women are usually sexually alluring in music videos, stage performances and even in the song lyrics. Most music video uses video vixens or video girls that are usually dressed or performing sexually. For example, “Siouxsie Sioux frequently performed wearing black leather and rubber bondage attire, as well as heavy eye make-up, making overt statements about her sexuality.
Objectification of women and misogyny is a common trend in song lyrics, but it is often socially accepted and further perpetuated. Finding a song in which the roles are reversed and a woman depicts a man as a sex object is incredibly difficult because when women try to break norms in the music industry, they are often criticized. In “Blah Blah Blah” by Kesha, she reverses the typical gender roles in song lyrics by objectifying men. Kesha has her own struggles within the male-dominated music industry because her producer sexually abused her and trapped her into a record deal. However, Kesha lost her court case, which illuminates gender issues within the music industry and the larger society. In 2010 when Kesha’s songs were popular, people weren’t aware of her battle with her producer. Instead, her lyrics classified her as more of a party figure and people even saw her as “trashy.” This song
Throughout our society, gender essentialism has manifested itself in many ways, one of which is through music. Risman (1988:2) writes, “Essentialism is the assumption that basic differences in orientation and personality between men and women are rooted in biology and nature.” Gender essentialism has four key parts: 1) sex differences are based in biology and nature, 2) sex differences are fixed/innate, 3) men have deep unseen properties in common because they look alike, and vice versa with women, and 4) categorization is exclusive (Taylor 2017: Week 1 Day 2). Beyonce’s
Among the 10 songs that were analyzed in 2016, some of the most common terms that were used to refer to women were “baby”, “broads”, “bitches”, “side bitch”, “lil mama”, “baby mama”, “wifey”, “hoe”, “girl”, “lady”, “woman” and “PYT” (Pretty Young Thing). Each individual song used either two or three of the listed terms when referring women. Furthermore, each song analyzed during this period contains lyrics that were directed towards women in positive ways (labeling them as “Queens”) and negative ways (viewing them as sexual objects). In addition, there were also song lyrics that referred to the way the male character perceives himself. One contradictory example is when artists make character comparisons with men who are stronger or more successful than them, while other artists dictate that their character is original and cannot be mirrored. Specifically, in his song “Panda”, Desiigner makes a hypermasculine reference towards himself in the line: “Man I’m the macho like Randy”. Randy Mario Poffo, also known as “Macho Man”, is an American professional wrestler who has been labeled as one of the greatest pro wrestlers in history. In the song “Broccoli” by D.R.A.M., the male artist’s lexicon perpetuates hegemonic masculinity through his demonstration of competitiveness, dominance, assertion of power
There are many instances of degrading and misogynistic lyrics in country music, both historically and contemporarily. There are differences in the lyrics of this genre based on the gender of the artist: gender roles, hypersexuality, and in the resistance or conformity to rigid gender-based stereotypes. The main points of my argument will include how country music lyrics have historically and contemporarily conformed to and defied gender roles and misogynistic stereotypes. This paper will then examine how men are portrayed as sexual oppressors and exploiters to women. As well, I will discuss the lyrical differences between men and women in this genre, including the limiting role of women as objects as opposed to subjects. Next, this essay will address in my paper the unhealthy environment country music lyrics creates for women. Country music lyrics currently and historically portray stereotypical gender roles, and women have limited roles within country music songs as subjects and objects.
Women in popular music have created a tremendous history in the wake of feminism. They have made their presence visible by identifying themselves as feminists. Being a woman was hard during that stage. Women were not allowed to do many things due to gender inequality such as the right to vote and to own a property. Therefore, from that moment onwards, women decided to stand up and make some changes. During the early stage of feminism, women developed their skills in popular music to create awareness. They associate popular music with feminism. Although there were racial issues between the black and white during that time, both sides continued to establish in different ways, through different genres of music. Black women focused on ‘black genres’ such as blues, jazz, and gospel, whereas white women performed in musical theatres. Female artists such as Lilian Hardin, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, and Nina Simone were among the notable exceptions of female instrumentalists during feminism. In this essay, I will assess feminism focusing on the second-wave.
Leonard, Marion. Gender in the Music Industry: Rock, Discourse, and Girl Power. Aldershot, Hampshire, England: Ashgate, 2007. Print.
Traditionally, an image of Honky tonk girls permeate the collective unconscious of the American country music (Wilson, 2000). Honkey tonk are referred to bars that play country music and women in country music are represented as corrupted temptresses who sit in honky tonks with painted lips and tinted hair to seduce men or as innocent virgins who are loving and patient (Wilson, 2000). However, contemporary female country musicians reject this traditional view on women because such simplistic dichotomy fails to recognise diverse identities that are adopted by women in a contemporary world (Wilson, 2000). In other words, country music provides a space for female musicians to challenge normative gender roles that dominant culture embraces and
The song “Q.U.E.E.N” by Janelle Monáe provides a concrete example of intersectionality. Janelle Monáe expertly blends the discrimination felt by women and African Americans in her upbeat song from 2013. She sings, “She who writes the movie owns the script and the sequel/ So why ain't the stealing of my rights made illegal?/ They keep us underground working hard for the greedy But when it's time pay they turn around and call us needy/ My crown too heavy like the Queen Nefertiti/ Gimme back my pyramid, I'm trying to free Kansas City” (Monáe, 2013). In this verse, Monáe is able to address the sexism she faces in the music industry when she asks “So why ain’t stealing of my rights made illegal?” right after she addresses the fact that she is self made (“he who writes the movie owns the script and the sequel”).
Additionally, I will look at fan feedback of the band and see if even the people who are buying the albums and going to the concerts are even acknowledging the successes of the band as something of merit, or are viewing their music in terms of how the patriarchy tells them to (i.e as a guilty pleasure). This is where I will apply the idea of discourses (whole systems of thought, speech, and knowledge production that structure institutional and social practices, (O’Brien & Szeman, 2014), ISAs, and feminist ideas of patriarchy spurring off Gill’s challenges of postfeminist assumptions of power that “women have not overthrown but rather internalized the disciplinary regime that dictates particular and compulsory ways of looking and acting” (O’Brien & Szeman, 2014), the idea that not only is the band not given respect musically, but perhaps these young women themselves become convinced that their music is more of a “guilty pleasure” than it is “quality
Another form of art where women have faced various challenges and barriers is in the music industry. In popular music, women have often faced pressure to conform to certain stereotypes or have been pigeonholed into specific roles. Maisie Peters’ song “History Of Man” explores themes of love, loss, resilience, and the perpetual quest for meaning as a woman. The title of the song criticizes how historical accounts exclude female perspectives and experiences and the major gaps this practice has left as a result. The majority of history is told through the perception of men, but the narrator aims to emphasize how history and shared experiences encompass everyone.
Common expectations seem to indicate gender roles on every individual. The males will play their part in being masculine while the females act an as object. There are several ways one can see how gender roles are played. A way is through hip-hop and rap music in the black community. Joan Morgan, an African American feminist and hip-hop and rap music fan, shows us how gender roles are being played in her community through music. Since Morgan is a feminist, she voices her opinion on the way black men treat black women in her article, “From Fly-Girls to Bitches and Hos.” Morgan states her argument that black men write lyrics ranting about black women to give a self-reflection. The males feel oppressed and express it through music. There are many reasons a male can feel oppressed, whereas one reason is becoming masculine. Michael Kimmel, a sociologist professor at Stony Brook University and the author of “‘Bros Before Hos’: The Guy Code” states that guys tries their best to show that they are manly. To clarify on how the men portray their oppression is to sing of misogyny and self-hatred in disguised hatred toward women. Men expressing their oppression through music tie the guy code of acting masculine and Morgan’s view of men feeling oppressed. Morgan describes black men express their oppression by objectifying black women sexually in music. Jean Kilbourne, the author of “‘Two Ways a Woman Can Get Hurt’: Advertising and Violence” and an activist on advertisement based on public health problems and violence against women agrees with Morgan on women being sexually identified. Kilbourne and Morgan connect to Kimmel by showing how males are seen to be masculine and females are soft and emotional. Morgan’s claims, in “From Fly-Girls to Bi...
Many people associate sexist language with the music genre of rap and hip/hop, but the truth is that sexist language invades every style of music. While it is true that the lyrics to rap songs contain the most obvious derogatory terms towards women, research has found that popular pop music also includes language that can demoralize women or make women seem inferior to men. Women are often referred to as objects and even as possessions by artists, implying that even in this day and age females are still second-class compared to males. Some artists compare women to cars, others use their words to enforce their male dominance. Regardless of how popular an artist or song is promoting sexist lyrics shows that as a whole the public does not have a problem with demoralizing women. Numerous male musicians even use this sort of language as a marketing tactic, knowing that their lyrics will cause a controversy that could inevitably boost album sales.
The lyrics of music play an important part of interpreting the meaning of the song. The roles which women have been allowed by the society to embody have changed drastically. Women may question their roles because of what they see portrayed by popular culture or media. Change in female’s identity can be seen in how women are viewed or how they portray themselves in popular culture specifically through music. In general, music continues to...
To begin, gender theory is extremely prevalent in the song. At the beginning of the song you can see a woman saying, “I’m beyond the archetype”. How this relates to gender theory is that women are often shown according to their stereotypes, which is that they are feminine and weak. Feminist are constantly trying to abolish the idea of women being delicate and the woman in the video is trying to communicate the same message. The woman in the song is communicating that she is not weak and that she will get rid of the notion of the archetype representing her. Furthermore, the video also states, “I won’t just