I. The first three steps of the scientific method are:
Make an Observation.
Form a Question.
Form a Hypothesis.
II. One topic I am interested in and believe would make a good sociological study is Women Objectification in Music Videos.
III
Ask a Question about the Topic: I have observed pervasive objectification of women in music videos and it has constantly made me wonder the rationale behind the act. And it has pushed me to ask the question, "Does the objectification of women in music videos sell these videos?"
Do some research and write down the titles of some articles or books you’d want to read about the topic:
Articles I would want to read about the topic are: Parents fear 'sexualised culture of music videos. (2013). Retrieved
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3). The feminist movement's move to curb what it percieves to be objectification fueled by misogyny had been rather counteractive. For while the movement pushed against women bashing, prominent in rap music, it also pushed for sexual liberalisation for women. We have had explicit musical videos or music album from as way back as the 1980s from pop icons such as Madonna. And the trend has grown over the years. In relatively recent years, we have had raunchy videos from the female singers in what appears to be self-objectification, from Nicki Minaj's Anaconda to the risque performances of Miley Cyrus, more recently, at the 2013 Video Music Awards. Reacting to a public backlash, Ms. Cyrus defended her controversial performance by claiming to be following the in the footsteps of pop icons Britney Spears and Madonna in her own quest for history making. The creation of such professional openings such as video music modelling also seemed to project the women liberalisation rather than misogynistic overtones. This self-objectification are now recurring themes in pictures where women turn their buttocks for the camera or make a video of themselves twerking in skimpy or tight-fitting
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.
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
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).
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.
Madonna is a controversial legend whose attitudes and opinions on sexuality have forced the public to take notice and change the image of females in society. Madonna believed women’s sexuality was a natural aspect of life; therefore, she dared to challenge the rules and definitions of femininity and sought to expand the meaning of it. In a male dominated world, she wanted to focus on the importance of women and let them have a voice of their own. Madonna shattered all the myths on traditional beauty standards and made her statement on sexuality and feminism, which changed how society viewed the standards of beauty. She impacted female power by encouraging sex- positivity into her music and her style. It is mainly because of Madonna that ordinary women, and women in modern entertainment have more choices and freedom which continues to influence further generations.
The Scientific Method is the standardized procedure that scientists are supposed to follow when conducting experiments, in order to try to construct a reliable, consistent, and non-arbitrary representation of our surroundings. To follow the Scientific Method is to stick very tightly to a order of experimentation. First, the scientist must observe the phenomenon of interest. Next, the scientist must propose a hypothesis, or idea in which the experiments will be based around. Then, through repeated experimentation, the hypothesis can either be proven false or become a theory. If the hypothesis is proven to be false, the scientist must reformulate his or her ideas and come up with another hypothesis, and the experimentation begins again. This process is to be repeated until a theory is produced. The production of a theory is usually called the conclusion. After considerable testing of the theory, it may become what is known as a law, but laws are only formed in very rare occasions where the theory can be proven without a doubt, which is usually done through induction.
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.
“Oh I think that I found myself a cheerleader.” This song lyric by OMI, certainly makes a statement about women; but what really is the meaning behind this lyric? Our country has become one that is obsessed with perfection, and controlled ideals; especially in regards to women. This song may have been written with good intentions, or no ulterior motive, but that is not the only way that is being perceived. The song is degrading, and sexist because of its concept of the perfect women, her objectification, and the blatant use of degrading stereotypes.
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
Women have feelings and should not feel as if they must be “slim thick” or being called a “b****” by males. Women should not be authoritatively mandated what to look akin to, should not be an object to men, should not be coerced into a visual examination, and should not be something they are not. Not only music videos affect this image on girls, but Pornography does as well. Porn is so degrading to all women in the nation. Many males watch Porn, which puts this conception in their heads that that is how a woman should be homogeneous to, and how a woman should act while having sexual intercourse with a man, or just in general.
Throughout history, there has been much contention concerning the treatment of women in society and in recent times, these long-standing controversies have progressed into arguments regarding the portrayal of women in modern media: Despite efforts of feminists, gender inequality is still present in our modern culture, and according to research women are still depicted as the weaker sex and in turn frequently sexualised within the music, film and television (Elber, 2013) – to a consumer ignorant to ongoing gender-equality issues, it is simply the norm. Perhaps this is why Joseph Kahn’s music video for Blank Space by Taylor Swift has received much praise from feminists (Valenti, 2014). I intend to explore the reasons behind this and discuss
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?
Since the beginning of time, women have always been seen as things purely for the pleasure and benefit of men. Women have always been objectified. Objectification is seeing and treating a person as if they did not have thoughts and feelings, as if they had the status of an object.{1} Only in recent years have they begun to be seen as individuals of equal intelligence and ability. You may think, ”Women have had equal rights for a while. I do not see how this is a problem.” It may not seem like women were given their rights recently, but in our history, women have been treated objectively for thousands of years, even dating back to biblical times. Still, even when women have the same rights, opportunities, and responsibility as men, women can be found almost everywhere being treated as though they were incompetent and lesser human beings.{4}
The music industry and artists are influential in today’s society; more and more women are becoming feminists, promoting equality for women globally. However no matter how much they try, some artists knock us back a few decades. The way women present themselves is the way they will be treated essentially; if women wear clothes which show off their bodies, men will become accustomed to expecting women to be in this manner; Ariel Levy is a theorist who believes in this, a American culture which is highly sexualised in which women are seen as objects and therefore are forced to treat other women in the same way. Meghan Trainor recently has become a love/hate pop star; she boosts self confidence in curvy women, but then slams us back down by suggesting all women have high expectations. In her breakthrough song, ‘All About That Bass’, Trainor is skinny-shaming and big-body-boosting, for both men and women.
Music is always a trend around the world, people have and always will listen to music and watch music videos as it gives out new trends and inspires generations on what to wear, how to act and brings people together although in some cases women are objectified in music videos. There has been an issue of how women are represented within the music videos this is mostly due to the lyrics which is mostly focusing on women’s looks rather than the personality like for example the 1975- love me 2015 say “You've got a beautiful face but got nothing to say” focuses on women’s look “beautiful face”. Another example of this can be seen in Robin Thicke- Blurred lines 2013 “what do they make dreams for, when you got them jeans on, what do we need steam