Representation Of Women In Music Videos Essay

513 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: How music impacts society

Since MTV debuted in the early 1980’s, music videos have become a major part of our popular culture. Music videos are used for the artist to express a story. One very common narrative is the portrayal of women and sexuality. This narrative is showed in a variety of music genres such as country, rock and roll, rap, alternative, etc. One way this is done is by depicting women as strippers and hookers who hang around male artistes. in music videos is that women are nymphomaniacs that constantly crave sex and attention. Due to this femininity is shown as nothing more than a woman's sexuality and their bodies. Women’s identities are based on how desirable they are to men.

The fantaises potryaed are for the hetrosexual male. Some examples of this is shown by group sex with multiple women In addition, women play the roles of cheerleaders, airline stewardesses, hotel maids, naughty nurses, repressed librarians, lustful …show more content…

I am a female and my ethnicity is Albanian. I come from a middle class family. These are some of the categorizes I belong to. Personally I can’t say I relate to all the representations, values and stories. I have come across times where I have been treated as inferior gender. I used to play many sports such as soccer, football and competitive swimming. In our society, sports are a “male” activity. When I would play sports I often got called a “tom boy” and treated with less respect for my achievements because of my gender. However, there are times where I have represented shown in music videos. For example, on Halloween there is this pressure that women need to dress sexier in order to feel socially accepted, and I have given in to it. But I do think that there is a disjunction is there a disjunction between the proper self portrayed and the ability/desire to conform. I am my own person and will do what makes me happy. I do not need to conform into society's normal for me to be the “best

Show More
Related

  • What Role Does Gender Play In Music In The 80s And 90s

    611 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Sociology Of Leopard Man Essay

    462 Words  | 1 Pages

    Another point I agree with is that it's a lot easier to just fit in and not lead the train and being yourself. I personally know from experience. Growing up I always tried to conform just to fit in with the people that surrounded me. It's not just me that i've seen conform to fit in, i've seen many of my friends conform to fit in with the crowd. All around me, everyday people are conforming and changing to fit in with the society.

    Read More

  • Gender Subversion in Annie Lennox Videos

    944 Words  | 2 Pages

    Annie Lenox through her performances and music videos evoked the use of “gender-bending”. Lennox was one of the first performers who employed this strategy. By doing this Lennox showed that we could view women in different ways unlike the identity assigned for them by the media and society. The Eurythmics used their videos as a tool for performing gender roles, stereotypes by evoking the use of drag through camp.

    Read More

  • Gender Inequality In Sport Essay

    865 Words  | 2 Pages

    Girls are told to stay indoors and play with their dolls or bake, while boys are encouraged to go outdoors, get dirty, and be adventurous. Wade and Ferree also state “sports are squarely on the masculine side of the gender binary” (Wade and Ferree, 174). Hence, we are brought up with the understanding that playing and talking about sports is a boy’s thing, which further promotes the notion that sports are a very masculine thing. Furthermore, as playing sports is competitive and is a way to show excellence, young boys are considered as “real boys” and “real men” later on. However, when boys do not talk about or play sports, they are considered feminine or “not real men.” The same rule applies for young girls. If young girls are too into sports, they are considered to be “too masculine.” This is true for me too. When I was younger, I was told to not play too much outdoors and to behave “like a girl.” The stigma that only boys should be allowed to play sports and it is not a feminine thing needs to be erased for us to welcome a more gender-equal

    Read More

  • Sociology Essay On Gender Norms

    544 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the documentary Dreamworlds 3, popular music videos are examined. The documentary includes multiple videos portraying women in little clothing, stripping, and dancing on other men or the main singer. There is nothing wrong with a woman controlling her sexuality and expressing herself however she chooses, but these videos create a different narrative. The documentary shows an attack on women in Central Park, NYC in 2000 who were sexually assaulted, dosed in water and stripped of their clothes. This imagery is shocking, but it has been seen time and time again in music videos. It isn’t hard to make a connection between the men’s actions in Central Park and the actions of the people in music videos. Women aren’t respected in the videos so it gives the impression that men don’t need to respect women in real

    Read More

  • Essay On Women In Popular Music

    479 Words  | 1 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Dream Worlds 3: Desire, Sex, And Power In Music Video

    776 Words  | 2 Pages

    In society today, media such as movies and music share huge roles in the dynamics of culture especially concerning communication. In Dream Worlds 3: Desire, Sex, and Power in Music Video we see how famous singers and producers in the making of their music videos have the power of illustrating our language and beliefs. From the music we listen to and things we watch, we are constantly gaining new knowledge by the message that is being presented to us. The main focus of this specific documentary was how women in the music or media industry all together are treated. From this documentary and lectures in class we see that media objectifies, stereotypes, and degrades women and their bodies as advertisements and money makers. Themes in the film discussed

    Read More

  • Gender Roles In Popular Music

    1227 Words  | 3 Pages

    Popular music in the United States throughout the decades have always consisted of different genres of music and during the late 70’s and early 80’s, many of the popular bands consisted of only male artists and members. In an era dominated by male artists, Fleetwood Mac featured their lead female singer Stevie Nicks, who went on to transcend the gender expectations of the time and pursue a solo career in the midst of heavy adversity. Fleetwood Mac’s lead singer, Stevie Nicks, is a prime example of the evolution female artists have endured as they struggled to gain equal footing in this male dominated industry. This essay will examine the different factors contributing to Stevie Nicks’s popularity, along with her breaking these normative masculine roles and the way she combined different genres and personal

    Read More

  • Sociology: Sexual Objectification of Women in Music Videos Today

    924 Words  | 2 Pages

    Since the explosion of music videos in 1981, a large portion of their popularity has been due to the objectification of women and their sexuality. “Early content analyses showed that anywhere from 40% to 75% of music videos contained sexual imagery”(Arnett, 2002). Hip-hop music videos especially have a reputation of degrading women. In these videos “women are often depicted in positions of submission to men” (Sommers-Flanagan, 1993).On the flip-side Country music videos are “known for [their] socially conservative themes”(Frisby & Aubrey, 2012).

    Read More

  • Portrayal of Women in Rap and Music Videos

    1724 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Objectification Of Women In Music Videos

    1834 Words  | 4 Pages

    Most generations have been influenced by a trend of music that inspires them to dress, behave, and talk in a certain way. There are people who have the special talent of making others relate to their emotions, thoughts, or ideas by creating music. In current society most artists decide to create videos to make their lyrics visual for their listeners and to earn more profit. The negative thing about the creation of music videos is the way in which females are stereotyped. In a lot of music videos, especially hip-hop/rap, females are portrayed in a negative way, which causes a harmful influence on the people who view them.

    Read More

  • Gender Representations in Music Videos:

    1649 Words  | 4 Pages

    Music videos originally served the purpose of creating an outlet through which artists could generate publicity for their work, broaden their popular appeal, and reach wider audiences with interesting audio-visual content (Berry & Shelton, 1999). Over the years, the visual imagery in music videos has increasingly become as significant as the music it represents, as music videos have now become major outlets for propagating views and stereotypes that influence popular culture.

    Read More

  • Sexism in Music

    878 Words  | 2 Pages

    How do we choose the music that we listen to? We could be affected by the music itself, the lyrics could touch us on a personal level, or we may have a predisposition to a certain genre of music due to the geographic area we live in. Our background and upbringing can even play a role in our musical choices. However we come to that ultimate decision, how many of us actually pay close attention to the language used in the songs that we like? Could it be that some of our favorite artists or compositions actually contain language that can be considered sexist or harmful?

    Read More

  • Women In Media Essay

    2105 Words  | 5 Pages

    When people imagine women in the media we often imagine women playing a negative role. As our media sources grow women continue to establish a negative stigma to them. Research shows that women in the media should either have bodies that may not be attainable and play a role where they have to find a man to obtain success and happiness. Although, women have extensively roles in every characteristic of life, the extended list of in human behavior given seems to never end. Sources such as the government and social action groups are taking helpful actions to supply women true pride in economic, social and personal areas. In attempt the mass media have a critical role reporting misleading actions, using public opinions, bringing social change and emphasizing positive improvement.

    Read More

  • Sexism in Dancehall Music

    1534 Words  | 4 Pages

    In today’s society, dancehall music is one of the most popular forms of music, however, the themes and lyrics of many songs that fall in this genre tend to be vulgar, offensive, violent and sexist. Sexism in dancehall music is one of the main topics of this paper and is apparent through the negative portrayal of women found in both the lyrics and music videos of such songs. This is an important issue because since dancehall music is so popularized today these negative representation of women, are being popularized to a huge majority of people, potentially giving them the idea that it is acceptable to treat women in such demeaning ways.

    Read More

More about Representation Of Women In Music Videos Essay

Open Document