 | This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page . (Learn how and when to remove these template messages)
|
Sexuality in music videos has been evident since the 1980s.
| This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page . (Learn how and when to remove these template messages)
|
Sexuality in music videos has been evident since the 1980s.
On August 1, 1981, MTV, the first 24-hour music video channel, began broadcasting. [1] Directed towards adolescents, it promoted societal trends through video content and advertisements. The material displayed helped the audience identify appropriate male and female roles, behaviors, and careers. [1] In the 1980s, typical feminine stereotypes included: submissive, performed household duties and emotional. [2] In contrast common male clichés were: dominant, professional occupations and aggressive. [2] Young adults watched MTV mainly because it was different from other programs; they were intrigued by the combination of visuals with music and watched them as "leisure time entertainment". [3] The Rolling Stones, AC/DC, Michael Jackson, and Guns N' Roses were significant musicians featured on MTV. Music Television had a commanding influence on its audience and heavily affected the ways adolescents viewed their role in society. [3]
Music videos released in the 1980s typically depicted women as alluring objects. Aligning with typical stereotypes, women were portrayed as attractive, yet submissive. Although women's talents may be acknowledged, their skill never surpassed the male's; this concept is evident in AC/DC's video for "Sink the Pink". [2] In the video one of the main characters is a self-assured woman who is a skilled pool player. She uses her talent and sexuality as an attention-getter but is not shown as more talented than the male characters.
In a 1987 study, thirty hours of MTV content was analyzed. The results suggested: 57% of music videos displayed women being objectified, 17% showed women's talents being accounted for yet her sexual role was highlighted, 14% did not align with typical stereotypes and 12% acknowledged women's independence. [2] In addition to these results, touching was displayed in over 50% of music videos and women were often seen in seductive clothing. [2]
Music remained an essential part of the cultural evolution of the 1990s. The music scene transitioned into a darker and more provocative sound with the rise of the genres of alternative, hip-hop and R&B. Popular music videos of the time came from artists such as Nirvana, Notorious B.I.G., Aaliyah, Weezer, Michael Jackson, and Radiohead. While the acclaimed artists and genres of the time differed from the previous decade, the visual depictions of this music and how they were delivered to the public remained the same. MTV continued to be socially relevant. Airing music videos continued youth culture's exposure to varied visual experiences. As music videos grew in popularity and cultural prominence, researchers began to look at the link between gender identities and mass media platforms. Several studies have been conducted regarding gender portrayals in music videos of the 1990s.
In early 1990, MTV created a program standards department which aimed to reject music videos featuring extremely graphic and explicit content. It sought to prohibit any signs of female nudity and violence directed toward female figures. For example, MTV rejected Madonna's "Justify my Love" video due to its explicit content. After this program was implemented, a study was conducted to analyze the centrality and depiction of women in the 100 most popular videos of the decade. This study first sorted men and women in the categories of either leading or supporting figures in the videos revealing men outnumbered women in lead roles by a five-to-one margin. [4] Secondly, the study categorized the lead roles into seven main portrayals: artist, poser, comic, actress, superhuman, dancer, or crowd-pleaser. The analysis found that a majority of women in leadership roles were portrayed as either posers (35%) or dancers (29%), while men in lead roles were more equally disbursed among the seven categories. [4] Portraying women predominately as dancers or posers implied that, in the 90s, women needed not display musical talent, but instead physical talent that emphasized a sexual attitude. Meanwhile, the equal disbursement of men among the categories suggested that men could better exhibit skills of musical and performing prowess. [4]
Other studies analyzed 123 music videos from varying genres that aired in the summer of 1995. 44.7% of the videos failed to feature a female in a central role, while 31.7% of the videos portrayed women as conventional, meaning they served either as objects or sensory props to romantic male desire. [5] However, the overtly sexual nature of women in these videos was not the only thing analyzed. Gender displays in the form of nonverbal sexual cues were also considered, proving women could also be depicted as more subliminally sexual than men. For example, in the videos only 1.24% of men touched their hair compared to 38.35% of females. [6] Additionally, only 26.80% of males danced suggestively in their videos compared to 74% of females. The study examines the distinction between the prominence and depiction of male and female gender portrayals within the music videos of the 1990s.
Music remained integral to cultural life in the 2000s, even though not many new genres were created during this time other than a few indie-related and electronic genres. Teen Pop had a heavy influence over the 90s and into the first part of the decade. Artists like Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, NSYNC and Backstreet Boys were extremely popular in the early 2000s. By the mid-2000s, Contemporary R&B had become the most popular genre with artists like Usher at the forefront.
A 2008 study by Jacob Turner hypothesized that African American genres of music—hip-hop, rhythm and blues—would feature the most sexual content in their music videos while white genres—Country and Rock—would feature less. The study found that 73% of all music videos had some sort of sexual content. The study also found that 90.09% of mixed Hip-Hop and R&B music videos contained sexual content, followed by Hip-Hop with 79.7% and R&B with 76.9%. The genres that contained the least amount of sexual content on their music videos were Rock with 40% and Country with 37%. The study also looked into how African American and white wallpaper characters were dressed in music videos. It found African American wallpaper characters were three times more likely to dress provocatively than white wallpaper characters. The study also found that while African Americans were not underrepresented in music videos, it proposes this is because videos featuring African Americans contained significantly more sexual content than videos that featured whites. [7] In 2004, many family groups and politicians lobbied unsuccessfully to ban Eric Prydz's "Call on Me" video for containing women dancing in a sexually suggestive way.
In 2005, the music video of "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'", which featured Jessica Simpson in character as Daisy Duke, was controversial for featuring Simpson in "revealing" outfits and washing the General Lee car in her bikini. [8]
In the 2000s, social media platforms such as Facebook and MySpace grew in popularity, allowing users to share music videos quickly with one another. This had an impact on the direction of sexuality in music videos. Due to the increased accessibility of music videos online, many of which featured some sexually suggestive content, this led to the increased perception of normality with respect to sexual themes in music videos. [ citation needed ]
In particular, YouTube was a major contributor to this trend. The platform, launched in early 2005, grew rapidly—with its videos amassing one billion daily videos by October 2009 [9] and became the largest video sharing site on the internet. Although YouTube's success in the 2000s was relatively limited compared to its explosive growth in the 2010s, it was nevertheless one of the most popular sites on the internet. Naturally, it became a hub for music videos as many content creators and fans flocked to the site to post content. The easy accessibility of various music videos, some charged with sexual themes, began to increase the perception of its normality.
Into the 2010s, artists continued to garner headlines for provocative content in their music videos. For example, Rihanna's music video for the song "S&M", in which she simulates sex with a life-sized doll and wears bondage gear, generated much media attention and was banned in 11 countries. YouTube required its users to verify they were 18 years of age before being able to view the video. [10] The video's director, Melina Matsoukas, responded to the controversy by saying she felt it was a success because the provocative imagery created a dialogue around the video. [11] Conversely, Ariana Grande's "Everyday" video which depicts several couples beginning to have sex in various public places, such as on a bus, was praised for its sex positivity and inclusion of different races and sexual orientations. [12]
Recent research has looked into the effects music videos that sexually objectify women have on women's body image perceptions. A study of college students found that young women with low self-esteem were more likely to view their body in a negative light after exposure to a sexually-objectifying music video. The same study found exposure to sexually objectifying music videos lessened the extremes of young women's concepts of an ideal body weight. [13] A 2017 study found a relationship between sexual content in dance music videos and negative attitudes toward sex and sexuality among young adults in the United States and Australia. [14]
Some scholars have noted that sexualized content in music videos rarely depicts non-heterosexuality. Frederik Dhaenens has pointed out that when music videos feature gay content, it often involves a "heteronormative shaping of gay and lesbian identities", citing Macklemore and Ryan Lewis' "Same Love" as an example. [15] Carly Rae Jepsen's music video "Call Me Maybe" demonstrates the heteronormativity in music videos. Its scenes portray stereotypical heterosexual figures who reiterate heterosexuality. [15] The music video focuses around heterosexuality by using homosexuality to bring attention to the video. Music videos like Disclosure's "Latch" and Citizens!' "True Romance" emphasize homosexuality on a small-scale. It is presented in small amounts to include sexual diversity and attraction. [15] The artists' music videos depict heterosexuality but also include homosexuality to embrace social change.
YouTube continued to grow in the 2010s after a successful half-decade since its launch in the 2000s. Sexual themes were explored in videos that grew to enormous popularity on YouTube. Meghan Trainor's 2014 single "All About That Bass" is one example of this trend, although a milder one, as the sexual themes were very subtle. Nevertheless, the video amassed over 2.3 billion views on YouTube as of November 2019. [16] Also in the 2010s came the rise of music streaming platforms such as Spotify, which reached 248 million active users by October 2019. [17] The site is possibly creating a countermovement to the increased acceptance furthered by YouTube's growth by de-emphasizing the video itself in favor of the sound.
Studies have shown music videos featuring African American characters tend to feature significantly more depictions of sexual acts than videos featuring white characters. [18] For example, African American women are more likely to be depicted as engaging in sexual behaviors and wearing provocative clothing. A study in the American Journal of Health Education attributed music videos' "frank sexual messages, objectification, and overtly sexual images" to apathy toward these behaviors in African American girls. The journal considered this dangerous in light of the heightened HIV risk for African Americans. [18] It has been suggested by scholar Jacob Turner that white-run corporations like Viacom (which owns MTV) are more willing to pay for music videos from African American artists who perpetuate racial and sexual stereotypes, thus explaining why African Americans videos are disproportionately sexualized compared to white videos. [19] Implications include the idea that Black women may internalize video messages about beauty and sexuality, and that Black men and White individuals may form inaccurate and harmful ideas of Black femininity because of music videos. [20]
Asian artists, like BoA, have been accused of presenting Western stereotypes of Asian female sexuality in their music videos in an attempt to gain popularity in the United States. Japan's Koda Kumi and AKB48 also present sexuality in their music videos. Male K-pop star Rain's music video for his song "Rainism" has been credited with helping to refute stereotypes of Asian men as effeminate and weak depicting an Asian man in various sexual situations, primarily with white women. [21]
In the article "Sex and the Spectacles of Music Videos: An Examination of the Portrayal of Race and Sexuality in Music Videos", Jacob Turner studies the sexual behavior portrayed in music videos by two races. His study argued that African American women were more likely to portray sexual content than white women in music videos that were televised in the United States. This included both the use of provocative clothing and sexual acts in the videos, which ultimately showed how gender roles and race play a part in the amount of sexual content in music videos. [22] In Erika VanDyke's article "Race, Body, and sexuality in music videos", she argues that men appear more often in music videos than women. Men are usually portrayed as "powerful" and "aggressive" characters. Consequently, women occupy stereotypically female roles in these music videos and are usually seen as passive and are objectified in this manner. [20]
Sex appeal in advertising is a common tactic employed to promote products and services. Research indicates that sexually appealing content, including imagery, is often used to shape or alter the consumer's perception of a brand, even if it is not directly related to the product or service being advertised. This approach, known as "sex sells," has become more prevalent among companies, leading to controversies surrounding the use of sexual campaigns in advertising.
Lesbian erotica deals with depictions in the visual arts of lesbianism, which is the expression of female-on-female sexuality. Lesbianism has been a theme in erotic art since at least the time of ancient Rome, and many regard depictions of lesbianism to be erotic.
Symbolic annihilation is a term first used by George Gerbner in 1976 to describe the absence of representation, or underrepresentation, of some group of people in the media, understood in the social sciences to be a means of maintaining social inequality. This term is usually applied to media criticism in the fields of feminism and queer theory to describe the ways in which the media promotes stereotypes and denies specific identities. Gaye Tuchman (1978) divided the concept of symbolic annihilation into three aspects: omission, trivialization and condemnation. This multifaceted approach to coverage not only vilifies communities of identity, but work to make members invisible through the explicit lack of representation in all forms of media ranging from film, song, books, news media and visual art.
LGBT stereotypes are stereotypes about lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people are based on their sexual orientations, gender identities, or gender expressions. Stereotypical perceptions may be acquired through interactions with parents, teachers, peers and mass media, or, more generally, through a lack of firsthand familiarity, resulting in an increased reliance on generalizations.
A video vixen is a female model who appears in hip hop-oriented music videos. From the 1990s to the early 2010s, the video vixen image was a staple in popular music, particularly within the genre of hip hop. The video vixen first came around in the late 1980s when the hip-hop culture began to emerge into its own lifestyle, although was most popular in American popular culture during the 1990s and 2000s. Many video vixens are aspiring actors, singers, dancers, or professional models. Artists and vixens have been criticized for allegedly contributing to the social degradation of black women. Latinas are also degraded and hyper-sexualized in hip hop music videos because they are seen as objects of sexual desire in rap music videos.
Sexualization is the emphasis of the sexual nature of a behavior or person. Sexualization is linked to sexual objectification, treating a person solely as an object of sexual desire. According to the American Psychological Association, sexualization occurs when "individuals are regarded as sex objects and evaluated in terms of their physical characteristics and sexiness." "In study after study, findings have indicated that women more often than men are portrayed in a sexual manner and are objectified. In addition, a narrow standard of physical beauty is heavily emphasized. These are the models of femininity presented for young girls to study and emulate."
Stereotypes of African Americans are misleading beliefs about the culture of people with partial or total ancestry from any black racial groups of Africa whose ancestors resided in the United States since before 1865, largely connected to the racism and the discrimination to which African Americans are subjected. These beliefs date back to the slavery of black people during the colonial era and they have evolved within American society.
Feminist sexology is an offshoot of traditional studies of sexology that focuses on the intersectionality of sex and gender in relation to the sexual lives of women. Sexology has a basis in psychoanalysis, specifically Freudian theory, which played a big role in early sexology. This reactionary field of feminist sexology seeks to be inclusive of experiences of sexuality and break down the problematic ideas that have been expressed by sexology in the past. Feminist sexology shares many principles with the overarching field of sexology; in particular, it does not try to prescribe a certain path or "normality" for women's sexuality, but only observe and note the different and varied ways in which women express their sexuality. It is a young field, but one that is growing rapidly.
Sexual script theory is a theory introduced by sociologists John H. Gagnon and William Simon in their 1973 book Sexual Conduct. Its basic principle states that all social behavior, including sexual behavior, is socially scripted. The idea is that sexual scripts are guidelines for appropriate sexual behavior and sexual encounters. Sexual behavior and encounters become behavior which is learned as well as instinctive. Each partner in consensual encounters acts as if they are an actor in a play or film following a script, rather than acting on impulse alone. Research on sexual scripts and sexual script theory has concluded that sexual scripts are gendered.
Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, to more than one gender, or to both people of the same gender and different genders. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, which is also known as pansexuality.
Misogyny in rap music refers to lyrics, videos, or other aspects of rap music that support, glorify, justify, or normalize the objectification, exploitation, or victimization of women. It is an ideology that portrays women as objects for men's ownership, use, or abuse. It diminishes women to expendable beings. It can range from innuendoes to stereotypical characterizations and defamations.
The representation of African Americans in speech, writing, still or moving pictures has been a major concern in mainstream American culture and a component of media bias in the United States.
Examples of misogyny exist in many published forms, within multiple cultures and well-observed works. Technological advances in the modern era have contributed proficient means to media and marketing to the resultant mass media in the 21st century. The merging of misogyny and mass media has made numerous examples where studies have concluded correlations between misogynous messages, both obvious and subliminal. Corresponding physical appearance of violence and hateful conduct may be seen relative to exposure.
Gender in advertising refers to the images and concepts in advertising that depict and reinforce stereotypical gender roles. Advertisements containing subliminal or direct messages about physical attractiveness and beauty have been of particular interest regarding their impact on men, women, and youth. Gendered advertisements have and continue to shape what is expected of a distinct gender, regarding physique and attitude. Not only are these types of stereotypes present in various forms of media, but they also hold significant weight in everyday life.
LGBT Culture in Japan has recently begun to distinguish. The Japanese adopted the English term gender to describe cultural concepts of feminine and masculine. Previously, sei was used to distinguish the binary biological sexes, female and male, as well as the concept of gender. Ai Haruna and Ayana Tsubaki, two high-profile transgender celebrities, have gained popularity and have been making the rounds on some very popular Japanese variety shows. As of April 2011, Hiromi, a fashion model, came out as a lesbian. There is a genre of anime and manga that focuses on gay male romance known as yaoi. With the rise of a visible gay community and the attendant rise of media for gay audiences, the Hadaka Matsuri has become a fantasy scenario for gay videos.
The portrayal of gender in video games, as in other media, is a subject of research in gender studies and is discussed in the context of sexism in video gaming.
The representation of gender in horror films, particularly depictions of women, has been the subject of critical commentary.
Gendered sexuality is the way in which gender and sexuality are often viewed as likened constructs, whereby the role of gender in an individual's life is informed by and impacts others' perceptions of their sexuality. For example, both the male and female genders are subject to assumptions of heterosexuality. If a man were to behave in feminine ways, his heterosexuality would be doubted, and individuals may assume that he is gay.
The exploitation of women in mass media is the use or portrayal of women in mass media such as television, film, music, and advertising as objects or sexual beings, in order to increase the appeal of media or a product to the detriment of the women being portrayed, and women in society. This process includes the presentation of women as sexual objects and the setting of feminine beauty ideals that women are expected to reflect. Sexual exploitation of women in the media dates back to 19th century Paris, in which ballerinas were exposed to harassment and objectification. The most often criticized aspect of the use of women in mass media is sexual objectification, but dismemberment can be a part of the objectification as well. The exploitation of women in mass media has been criticized by feminists and other advocates of women's rights, and is a topic of discussion in feminist studies and other fields of scholarship.
Gender plays a role in mass media and is represented within media platforms. These platforms are not limited to film, radio, television, advertisement, social media, and video games. Initiatives and resources exist to promote gender equality and reinforce women's empowerment in the media industry and representations. For example, UNESCO, in cooperation with the International Federation of Journalists, elaborated the Gender-sensitive Indicators for Media contributing to gender equality and women's empowerment in all forms of media.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)