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Sexism in the music industry essay
Essays on the portrayal of women in the music industry
Gender roles in music
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Important findings Most notably found in the content analysis of 75 songs was the disparity between the number of references per song and gender as they vary in genre (see figure 14). In all genres studied, the number of male references outnumbered that of female references. These results support the idea that songs that are recorded by men have more references to sexual topics. Despite seeming mildly varied when divided into the coding genders, (shown in figure 14) when shown broken down by simply male or female artist, there is a ginormous disparity (see figure 15). The mean difference between the number of references between male and female artists is 82. Considering the total number of references is only 525, a difference of 82 references …show more content…
By presenting these negative themes, such as drugs, violence, or sex, in high volume, the public quickly becomes desensitized. The findings of this study show that in popular music, sexually-charged themes are being presented at high rates, which can lead to desensitization in the future if it has not already happened. The culmination of this study may lead to potential positive social change on the societal level by opening the eyes of musicians and producers to cut back the number of sexual themes that are being shown to the public through such a widely-enjoyed type of media.
Further Research In addition to this study, further research would be beneficial in accurately discussing the abundance of sexual themes in all genres of music. Having more than one coder would be advised as to limit the probability of human error in miscoding or simply overlooking certain phrases. Further research would also need to be done in other genres and subgenres to ensure a truly representative sample of music. Finally, further research into the writers of the songs would be advantageous because the gender of these people could vary from the gender of the artist which would change the outcome.
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
... it brought in sultry rhythms and made some adults worried about over-sexualizing music. However, today it is very common to hear something sexual in a song or verse. In today’s music industry, many women are just as successful as the men.
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
In the lyrics of male R&B/Hip-Hop artists in the early 1980’s, there is a noticeable shift in the language used to portray women and then themselves. The language shift is in choosing words that are filled with love and emotion to overbearing words that aim to separate men and women by social status. During the 1980’s, many of the popular songs by male hip-hop artist tend to focus on the relationship aspect of male and female interactions. This observation is similar to Frith’s (1986) finding, where most successful pop songs centers around being “happy in love”, “frustrated in love” as well as having sex interests. The “happy in love” factor that Frith notices in pop songs is seen in early R&B/Hip-Hop music. Instead of using derogatory terms
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
Within the booming business that has become the rap world, certain musical themes and issues are more prevalent than most. In addition to such topics as drugs, alcohol and police brutality, a dominant theme within rap music is the denigration and derision of women. Indeed, as the above lyrics to Akinyele's song “Put It in your Mouth” illustrate, many male rappers use violent and misogynistic lyrics to create an image of women that is both degrading and disgusting. The graphic and shocking nature of this particular type of rap causes it to be widely publicized, and thus it serves as a definition of rap for a majority of people today. However, there are a number of female artists within the rap music genre spreading messages of female empowerment and respect, not denigration. These female artists, often ignored due to the hype surrounding their male counterparts, use their lyrics to create raps which focus on life as women; dealing with issues of love, power, and discrimination. The face of women in rap culture is both multi-faceted and contradictory.
Frisby, C.M., Stevens, J.A. (2012) Race and Genre in the Use of Sexual Objectification in Female Artists’ Music Video. Howard Journal of Communications (Vol. 23, Is. 1, p. 66-87)
The oppressive picture displaying the sexual objectification of women that most hip-hop artists paint while rapping can only be described as appalling. Many artists imply that a woman?s sole purpose is to gratify a man?s every sexual desire. For instance, ?Nelly?s ?Tip Drill? goes as far to portray scantily clad women as sexual appliances? (Weisstuch). Though Nelly is relatively mild when contrasted to other hip-hop artists, his actualization of women cannot be ignored. By calling women ?sexual appliances,? Nelly essentially promotes the idea that it is customary to view all women solely as sexual objects. Moreover, the generic ?sex appe...
Misogyny and degradation of women is present in almost every genre of music, yet the one genre that completely revolves around demeaning women is rap. Over the years rap and rap music videos have continually become more sexual and degrading towards women. Rap has been criticized numerous times for this reason, and that is because rap is one of the most popular genres of music for the younger generations. It is more than a genre of music, it is a complete industry filled with clothing and other merchandise. The reason this constant demeaning of women exists is because rap as a genre that rewards the objectification of women. The excuses used to justify the misogyny in rap are incomplete and lack accurate support. The most effective way for this continuous cycle ends, is if the fight and protest comes from the women themselves. Men are the problem in the objectification of women but in order for it to stop, women need to step up and take control of the situation.
The effects of objectifying women in music videos are entirely negative. Women grow up with the idea that they should always seek to attain a men’s attention. Hip-hop music videos do not represent females as the human beings that they really are. This creates an inequality o...
“The Tell-Tale Heart,” published in 1843, and “The Cask of Amontillado,” published in 1846, are two literary works of Gothic fiction written by Edgar Allan Poe. Both of these compelling stories have many prominent similarities and differences. Poe has developed unstable narrators in both “The Tell-Tale Heart” and “The Cask of Amontillado,” but the circumstances in each story are distinctively different. While an old man’s hideous eye drives the narrator to madness in “The Tell-Tale Heart,” the thirst for revenge influences the narrator in “The Cask of Amontillado.” Although both stories contain a disturbed narrator, the narrator’s personality, the narrator’s motive for murder, and how the narrator displays their guilt is drastically different.
There is a direct relationship between what is portrayed in music and the effect it has on its audience. Generally speaking, in modern music, woman have been placed in a certain mold. The molds portrayed in music have caused women to have negative self-perception. Through the lyrics presented in the songs and the images portrayed in the music videos, certain hip-hop songs may cause women to view themselves in the same light portrayed in the songs. The tone, lyrics, and images presented in the songs effect the intended audiences immensely. Hip hop music that objectifies black women negatively affects their self-perception because they view themselves as commodities.
It is no secret that gender inequality is still prevalent in modern society. With women earning about 79 percent of men’s wages in the United States due to a number of factors, it is obvious that our historically patriarchal society has yet to completely evolve (Hill, 2016). It is no wonder that so many people of the dominant class feel threatened by empowering women such as Oprah or Beyoncé, who have made substantial earnings for themselves. Not only does gender inequality persist as a social problem in America today, but it is also reflected in and influenced by hip-hop culture.
As one moves past the initial onslaught of rhythmic beats that calypso has to offer, it is difficult to miss the way in which it reverberates with negative and demoralizing images of women to their male counterparts. Whether it is within the lyrics of Sparrow’s “Drunk and Disorderly” or Square One’s “My Ding-a Ling”, an ample number of verses are often dedicated to making lewd comments about the female body and the suggestive body language described through thinly veiled rhymes and puns, can be offensive depending on the listener. The half naked models being displayed on the various album covers of calypso, soca and rap mix tapes further reinforces these negative connotations. This bandwagon has been jumped upon by many, including the rap genre in the last two decades, wanting to capitalize on a marketing strategy that generally purports to flag consumer attention, playing on their sense of eroticism. The sections titled “Music, Sex, Sexism” and “Woman Rising” within Peter Manuel’s text: Caribbean Currents, dive into the many issues surrounding gender within music as well as female portrayal specifically in calypso. Observations can be made simply by reading through the textual comparisons. Many aspects of this subject area allude to the fact that the issue of gender portrayal in music can be construed differently depending on who the critical listener happens to be. With the increased awareness and heightened sensitivity to the way in which females are portrayed in popular media, it is important to reflect on the impact these lyrics have on male-female relationships within the communities who most often enjoy this music genre.
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...