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Stereotypes of women in media
Female stereotypes in media
Sexual Objectification of Women in Music Videos
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The following study Race and Genre in the Use of Sexual Objectification in Female Artists Music Videos by the researchers Cynthia M. Frisby and Jennifer Stevens examine the use of sexual objectification by popular female music artist in their music videos. The authors focus on the sexual objectification within pop, country and hip hop music videos.
The study investigated to what extreme female artists would be part of the sexual objectification of their bodies. The authors solely focus more on the portrayal of women in their own music videos instead of women in male artist music videos. There was an earlier study shown that the author’s use that demonstrates 40% to 75% of music videos contained sexual images. Also moreover research has been
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However the study tries to emphasize that woman featured artists still tend to put themselves in sexually submissive positions in their own music videos.
According to the authors, they express in their study that in contrast to hip hop, the genre country is known more for its socially conservative themes that does not high light sexuality and physical appearance for women than any other genres of music. They propose that the music genre that is not too explicit after country is pop music because it is less likely to have other antisocial themes like violence and drug use like hip hop music does. They also believe that it is reasonable to assume the difference in sexuality related images and messages depending on what type of music genre.
Continuing on the study results and focusing more on women portrayal in their own music videos, they found that persuasiveness of sexual objectification was found more in female artist music videos more than in male artist music videos. The study articulates, “The majority of music videos in the present sample is 71.7% (n=119)- contained at least one of four the indicators of sexual objectification” (Frisby. Jennifer, 2012, p74). There overall results concluded that hip-hop music videos were more likely to contain the female artists as gaze and be an attention grabber for males. Also the main music genre when compared to county artist, hip-hop/ R&B and pop used more sexual objectification in the music
Will sexism ever come to an end in today’s society? Are women going to let men step all over them? Jennifer Mclune discusses in her article, Hip-Hops Betrayal on Black Women, how black male singers objectify and degrade black females in the music industry. The purpose of this article is to show how black women are being deceived in the hip hop industry and being used as sex symbols instead of showing them for their true colors. Mclune (2015) voices her strong argument in attracting her audience by using ethos, tones, and the use of word choices.
In The Venus Hip Hop and the Pink Ghetto, Imani Perry argues that the over-sexualized, unattainable bodies of black women in popular culture will lead to the breakdown of feminism and the positive body image of the everyday black women. As hip hop music continues to become more popular, the sexist messages presented in lyrics and music videos are becoming more common to the everyday public, including young black girls developing a self-image. Instead of these girls being exposed to healthy, positive role models who encourage individuality and that there is more to a woman than her body they are given hip hop video models whose only purpose is to look sensual on screen. The strong women that do exist in the hip hop genre are pushed to sexualize themselves or their lyrics to sell records or stay relatively unknown. Although Perry’s arguments are logical, I believe that she is creating a slippery slope of logic. A genre of music cannot destroy the self-image of black women that has existed for generations.
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).
On Halloween night, one will inevitably see tween-aged girls adorned in sexed-up skeleton, vampire, and doctor ensembles. Costume companies design these provocative outfits specifically for children who want “a sexy look to give you the perfect butt” (Jones, 2014, p.7). The sexualization of girls’ clothing and, consequently, the girls wearing the clothing is not limited to one day per year, however. Popular retailers, such as Abercrombie Kids and Victoria’s Secret PINK, market children’s thong underwear adorned phrases such as “eye candy” and “call me”; push up bikini tops are commonplace in sections intended for young girls (Goldfarb, 2008). Even television shows such as My Little Pony are marketed to sexualize girlhood. The sexualization of girls is inescapable in today’s society, where it is pervasive on virtually all media platforms. This issue must be addressed immediately, as it damages not only the individual, but the well-being of society as a whole.
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)
Women have consistently been perceived as second-class citizens. Even now, in times when a social conscience is present in most individuals, in an era where an atmosphere of gender equality 'supposedly' exists, it is blatantly apparent that the objectification and marginalization of women is still a major social issue. In reality, progression in terms of reducing female exploitation has been stagnant at best. Not only is the degradation of women a major problem that to date has not been eradicated, but it is actually being endorsed by some music celebrities. There are a growing number of people who purchase rap albums that support the fallacy that women are mere objects and should be treated as such. As the popularity of rap continues to climb at unprecedented rates, so too does its influence on the perception of women. In the vast majority of hip-hop songs, the depiction of women as sexual objects, the extreme violence directed towards them and the overall negative influence these lyrics have on the average adolescent's perception of women make rap the absolute epitome of female exploitation.
In almost every music video that comes out they have half-naked women and other men see that and think these rappers are living the good life. For instance the music video “Blurred Lines” by Robin Thick and Pharrell Williams they dance and touch these naked models. (Makarechi) The majority of people would say that there is no sexism in the culture of Hip-Hop. Artists and listeners would more than likely agree that women want to be called and treated like an object. Women on the other hand, feel that they need to fit the description of becoming a video vixen. As mentioned before these women are in these videos dancing to these negative lyrics because they believe these rappers aren’t talking about them. (McLune) Maybe this society doesn’t care about how women are put down; at least that is what seems to be
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...
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
One of the most noteworthy features of modern music videos is the portrayal of gender according to the worldviews, experiences, and expectations of the music artistes, or in line with gender stereotypes associated with specific music genres (Conrad, Dixon, & Zhang, 2009). In this regard, this paper attempts a critical interrogation of gender representations in music videos, specifically in terms of how women and men are represented in music videos of artistes in the Hip Hop genre. In doing so, this paper seeks to determine the stereotypes that underpin gender portrayal in hip hop music videos, contextualize the factors that may be responsible for the propagation of such stereotypes in music videos, and explore the implications for audiences – particularly teenagers and young adults who constitute much of the fan-base for the hip hop music genre.
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.
In 2010 Dr. Cynthia Frisby published an article in Media Report to Women about a research study that she conducted to find any correlation between music genre, artist gender, and artist ethnicity. Common slang terms used to de...
...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.
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.