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The media and gender roles
Why the media has an influence over sexuality
The media and gender roles
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Introduction: Nowadays, the media, advertising and the entertainment industry invade its contents daily with aspirations models of beauty and success that are very unrealistic and in many cases, reinforce discriminatory paradigms which seriously affect the lives of thousands of young people and his perception of the reality of life. However, the world of music does not stay behind. The musical genre has gained a lot of popularity among teenagers. Unfortunately, music today has been characterized mainly by its sexual content. Most of the time the music videos and their advertising show an aggressive and dominant image of men and women receive an image of submissiveness and sexual objects. This analysis focuses on the presentation of sexuality …show more content…
Nowadays, social media such as music videos has a big influence in the way modern values are being formed in the family, especially when dating. For the purpose of the analysis, there will be different sociological resources. According to the article "The Influence of Sexual Music Videos on Adolescents' Misogynistic Beliefs" the most frequent users of music videos are adolescents who see on average 10 hours a week and between 30 minutes and 3 hours a day (Oosten, Peter & Valkenburg, 2015). With the advancement of technology, music videos are available with more accessibility to teenagers through pages such as YouTube and multiple viewing platforms, including cell phones and computers. One of the negative messages of some music videos is the misogyny which incites the sexualization of women and the predominance of men over women. In accordance with Osten, Peter and Valkenburg (2015) seeing sexually objectified women and sexually dominant men in music videos may be related to sexually aggressive beliefs. So, that conveys the message that women are sexual objects which need to please men and that girls are always willing to have sex, even if they say no at the
Today, the media plays an essential role in the Western civilization. Considering this, entertainment, social media, and the news are all intrinsically valuable media literacy devices. In addition, the media “helps to maintain a status quo in which certain groups in our society routinely have access to power and privilege while others do not” (Mulvaney 2016). For instance, both in the music and pornographic industry the female body is perceived as a sexual object. In Dreamworlds 3: Desire, Sex & Power in Music Video, Sut Jhally mentions that “examining the stories that music videos tell us about both male and female sexuality, about what is considered normal, allows us to do more than just understand one aspect of our culture” (Jhally 2007).
For example, when the documentary showed the band members and how they were symbolizing women. The band members had the woman against the wall with either no clothes or just undergarments on and throwing slices of meat at her. A lot of films and music portray this message that women are just a piece of meat and that they are only good for sexual experiences. Another example was Snoop Dog’s lyrics in his film, Diary of a Pimp, “you gotta break these hoes for Snoop” learning the lifestyle of a rapper and a pimp illustrating prostitution of women. Dreamworlds documentary also mentioned this when talking about the lives of women when a man is not present in their life. It illustrated scenes of sadness and loneliness. Women are not creatures who desire sex all the time and the purpose of the film was to teach us that how women are presented in music videos is not right. Women are more than just their bodies and do not need to continue to be objectified. Every media production should follow the Bechdel Test in communication of women and their actions. Women in music and films should not always be talking about men or living their life under the control of a man. Media acts as if women can’t be independent. If media continues to show women getting treating as objects and knowing that media influences society, then in society people will continue to think as if treating a woman as such is acceptable. Treating women as objects is not acceptable at all. However, what we see from media shows
Doug E. Fresh, a popular beat-boxer in rap music today, has been quoted saying, “Hip-hop is supposed to uplift and create, to educate people on a larger level and to make a change.” Although this is the original intention of hip-hop music, public opinion currently holds the opposite view. Since the 1970’s musical artists have changed the face of hip-hop and rap and worldwide, people – mostly teens—have been striving to emulate certain artists and their lyrics, which has created negative stereotypes for hip-hop music and also for those who choose to listen to it. With vulgar lyrics referencing drugs, alcohol, sex, and aggression, it’s no wonder these stereotypes exist. However, is music really the direct cause of how teens act, or could their behavior possibly be the result of music that taps into the emotional feelings of those who listen to it? Could it be peer pressure and the fact that with technology today it has become harder to regulate what teens listen to? When analyzing these questions, it has become apparent, not only why people listen to music, but how it affects each and every person, possibly resulting in inappropriate lifestyle choices.
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).
The lyrical content of modern music has had a noticeable affect on the actions of all society. Few limitations have been applied to the availability of these horrid songs, so the ears of young children are still exposed to them. These children do not realize the affect it has upon them. ''People perceive media content to have a greater impact on others than on themselves (McLeod 1).'' Because the nation's youth is being subjected to these types of songs, children and teenagers are committing crimes, drinking alcohol, using drugs, and forming racist or sexist opinions. These actions are learned actions, and are based upon the words written for obscene music. Our country needs to evaluate this music carefully, which can protect our youth from further harm. ''Understanding the nature and extent of the influence of music violence may well be the first step for ensuring a more civil society (Crowley 2).''
Milstein, Susan A. Taking Sides Clashing Views in Human Sexuality. Ed. William J. Taverner and Ryan W. McKee. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2009. Print.
Often times throughout history and in today’s world, music along with lyrics of songs and musical artists are blamed for deviant behavior in adolescents and teenagers. Some argue that subcultures are created because of artists and their music which leads to groups of young adults taking part in deviant behavior, while others argue the opposite; that the behavior leads the person to listen to the music. There is also concern about the effect that music videos have on the behaviors of the listeners of music throughout all genres. Although there is not much extended research on music and the effect it has on its listeners there is plenty of speculation, theories, and minor studies.
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...
My object of analysis is going to be “boy bands” which I am defining as “a band of boys usually playing pop music that is marketed towards young women.” I am going to specifically look at the band 5 Seconds of Summer and I am going to look at how their music and success becomes undermined because their target audience is primarily young women. I am going to do this using feminist theory and this project will examine how ideologies regarding the connection between young women and the band itself being written off artistically are almost embedded within society, in that people say things such as “this band sucks” without ever really listening due to their classification as a boy band. This is primarily linked back to who they are marketed toward,
The beginning of this short research essay began with the author explaining what the essay will be about. This essay primarily focuses on the differences and similarities of sexuality between men, women, gays, and lesbians. It also focuses on time, because throughout time, human sexuality has changed. New scientific evidence has also helped give new insight to the human mind and their most basic needs.
A common trend in the entertainment industry today is the objectification of women in society. Sexualizing women are seen in media such as; movies, advertisement, television show and music video, where their main focus is providing the audience with an image of women as sexual objects rather than a human. This is detrimental to society since the media is producing social stereotypes for both genders, which can further result in corrupted social habits. Objectification in media are more focused on females than male, these false images of women leave individuals with the wrong idea of the opposite sex. As media continuously use sexual contents regarding women, the audience starts underestimating women. Specifically movies, it allows media to shape the culture’s idea of romance, sex and what seems
Teens and the human populous have been draw to music, and the relief it gives off. As recent as the 1990’s, we’ve seen an increase in explicit and violent lyrics and deviant behavior in the music industry surrounding such genres as heavy metal, rock, rap, and gangster rap. During this past decade, lyrics are becoming more violent and sexually explicit. It is approximated that teens listen to an average of 40 hours of music a week, and somewhere along the way, a child will hear something derogatory, or cruel. Along with this, teens don’t necessarily interpret what is said through lyrics in the right manner. In one study, only 30% of those somewhat questionable lyrics by popular bands were comprehended by the teen population.
...lly, Girlfriend and Cosmopolitan all of which discuss sex and sexuality. Through this type of media these young adults are trying to figure out who they are, what their sexuality is and what is considered acceptable and what is not. Music videos also influence the attitudes and behaviours of the young people today; but when we see women being sexualised and dancing sexually in a music video it can be degrading towards women and can give us a negative label or reputation. Additionally not all music videos are like this, some do reflect on sexuality which can influence young peoples opinions.
For years, popular music has involved pushing the boundaries of artistic expression and the negative effects of explicit music has outraged society. There is a fine line that divides vulgarity from artistic expression. Whatever the motive behind the explicitness of popular music, it has many negative consequences on our society and therefore should be stopped.
Feldman, R. (2008). Sexualty and Gender. Understanding Psychology (9 ed., p. 353). New York City: McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages.