Sexualization of Women in Music Videos

[10kolivia]

This article, published in the Daily Telegraph, discusses how women in the music industry are treated as products rather than artists. The hyper-sexualization of women in music videos like Nicki Minaj's "Anaconda" and Robin Thicke's "Blurred Lines" helps society reinforce standards for beauty as well as put women in their place. When women, be they dancers or singers, prance around in skimpy attire, impressionable adolescent girls start to believe that their only purpose in life is to be trophies or prizes for men. Rather than focusing on their education, young girls become preoccupied with their appearances since society has told them that their bodies define them first and foremost. This mentality is what breeds eating disorders and what eventually leads some women to undergo cosmetic surgery in order to attain greater "desirability." If we continue to look accept and look past these offenses against women, they will only grow stronger.

Take for example Miley Cyrus and "Wrecking Ball." Miley's video, which featured her swinging naked on construction equipment, reached 19.3 million views during its first day. Why is it that Miley felt compelled to shoot her video in such as state? Was it truly an emotional statement? Or was it because she knew that viewers would eat it up? The media has programmed us to believe that women should be taking their clothes off. In my opinion, however, it is wrong that Sam Smith, a man, can shoot a video for "Stay With Me" fully clothed when J-Lo and Iggy Azalea have to be lip-syncing half naked to a song called "Booty." 

Let me know what you think. Do you believe this is an issue? If so, how should we go about solving it? 

www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/opinion/sexualised-music-videos-only-teach-women-how-to-sell-out/story-fni0cwl5-1227070613498?nk=2621d4b3ccc29e1fa2bd412d526f7c5c 

[3sanna]

I do believe this is an issue, but I don't believe women such as Jennifer Lopez and Nicki Minaj should be the people used as examples of this behavior. Most of the lines in this article i find to be completely condescending, especially when the author says "Nicki Minaj’s hit Anaconda features dozens of women gyrating their exposed flesh to the lyric, “My Anaconda don’t want none unless you got buns hun.” Classy, isn’t it?". This remark is outrageously condescending and is an example of a man feeling the need to police a woman's level of "class". Also this video features no men, it is all female, and the man who appears at the end is drake. When drake appears for Minaj to perform a lap dance on him, and he reaches out to grab her, she slaps him away. This is an especially important thing to note because this video is an example of a woman who is in control of her sexuality, choosing the ways to make her body appear, and controlling how a man can react to it. It is not his to grab. Where the sexualization of women in music videos is dangerous is when the sexualization lies in the hands of men. In Robin Thicke's video for blurred lines, him, Pharrell, and TI are all fully clothed while 3 women prance around in front of them fully nude. This is the sexualization that should be attacked, because it is forced. A woman deciding to be sexual is different from a man projecting his vision of sex onto her.
I wholeheartedly agree with your opinion that the idea of the sexuality of women in our culture is extremely detrimental to young girls, because i can speak personally about that. I don't think the solution to this problem is to block out all sexual images in our culture, but to redefine what sexuality means. A persons sexuality and sexual identity has become devalued and publicized, leaving the majority of young girls feeling as though a valuable and intimate part of who they are becoming has been co-opted. What needs to be done about this is to redefine the way not only the young girls of our society understand themselves (which relates to the sexual education in our country) but the way young boys in our society understand the value of women. The sexualization of women in music videos by male artists is more so connected to the way a man feels he is entitled to view a woman, and not to be blamed on woman like Jennifer Lopez who choose to show their bodies in a certain way, a sexual way. It is totally true that it is Sam Smith and other male artists are not at all expected to put themselves in states of undress to sell and normally a woman is, this isn't the woman's fault. A single woman artist did not create this dichotomy in our culture.

[3zrheanna]

I agree completely with Anna's response.

This is a slippery slope to walk on because while the hypersexualization of women in our culture is demeaning, it is just as demeaning to criticize a woman for expressing her sexuality. The biggest factor in determining the difference between personal sexual expression and objectification of women is the way the intended media portrays men. Are the men "in control" of the women to the point where they seem helpless? Are the women described as being "animals" needing the be "domesticated"? Yes, I am throwing subs at Robin Thicke for his sexist objectification of women, in writing a song about consent being a "blurred line". Women should be allowed to express their sensuality in anyway they see fit, without being harassed and objectified. Young women should not be told that their worth lies in the way that men see them. The bottom line is that women need to be encouraged to do whatever pleases them and only them , to do whatever makes them feel happy and good about themselves. The opinions of others should have no bearing on it whatsoever.

[10ganja]

I agree that the hypersexualized way women are being portrayed in media is degrading, but we should not be criticizing the fact that the women are expressing sexuality so much as we should be calling out the fact that they are being portrayed as accessories or trophies for men to parade around, like in the "Blurred Lines" video. Sure, Nicki Minaj is half naked in her video, but throughout the video she is the one in control of her sexuality and she chooses to embrace it this way. Acceptance of women's sexuality is something we should strive to teach younger generations, instead of continuing to drill into their heads that a naked woman is shameful because this isn't considered "classy." Saying that a woman has lost some of her integrity because she chose to show more skin can be perceived the wrong way and warped into something even more dangerous, like saying that a woman that dresses a certain way is “asking for it.” Instead of demonizing Nicki Minaj for bearing more skin, in which case she was portrayed as doing so her own terms in her video, we should be bringing to light all the ways this unhealthy hypersexualization occurs in all aspects of the media, and how harmful it is for younger generations, girls and boys.
While there is nothing wrong with expressing sexuality, there are definitely artists out there that add sexual elements to their videos for no other reason than to grab the attention of the public. This is when it becomes a problem, because when younger generations see this, they can easily be influenced in the wrong kind of way. Young girls will watch videos for songs like “Blurred Lines” and see naked women prancing around Robin Thicke as he sings about the “blurred lines” of consent and think that this is their role in a man’s life as well, to act as decoration. It’s detrimental to boys too because they could start to form the idea that this is how women should be treated, which just worsens the problem. If we wish to stop the hypersexualization, while respecting the way a woman embraces her sexuality, we have to focus on teaching younger generations (and even older ones) that as long as no one is severely offended, a woman should dress and live however she feels most comfortable, and that her value is not defined in how appealing she is to a man but how much respect she has for herself.

[10slena]

    While I do agree that the over-sexualization in the music industry is ridiculous, I don’t think that videos like “Anaconda” should be used as an example. Although I do personally think that the “Anaconda” video is outrageous and unnecessary, it is Nicki’s own choice to do what she wants with her body. I think that telling a woman she needs to be sexy is equally as bad as condemning a woman for being sexy. We should not be criticizing videos such as “Anaconda” because that is demeaning to the woman in the video, not to the industry. Whereas in male music videos, such as “Blurred Lines”, the sexualization of the women is not the woman’s choice, but is for the male singer/rapper. In these cases of sexualized women in male videos, I completely agree that it is disgusting how the women are portrayed as sex objects for the men. Women should be allowed to show their sexuality, and should not be criticized for what they wear, no matter how much or little it is that they’re wearing. However; the real problem in our society is that many women dress “slutty” not for themselves (to feel good) but for the benefit of a man. This is the idea that is portrayed in male music videos; in order to be wanted by these attractive, famous men, you have to wear nothing and shake your ass. And that is the real problem with the music industry in terms of sexualization. Also, in terms of eating disorders, I believe that the movie industry and the fashion industry are much more harmful to young girls than the, yes over sexualized, but curvy girls grinding in music videos. Big actresses are infamous for having to be very slender, since the camera “adds ten pounds”. Models, which generally are naturally skinny, but also have the (often false) stereotype of eating disorders, perpetuate the idea to young girls that to be beautiful you have to be stick-thin. In terms of being damaging to women and girls, I honestly don’t think music videos should be our top priority. It’s demeaning for a man to take advantage of the female body for a pure selling point, or to put down an independent woman for being too sexual. It’s empowering to let a woman own herself and her own sexuality. And that’s the difference that we need to understand.

[3cdelia]

Sexual Objectification: viewing people as depersonalized objects of desire instead of as individuals

I want to address this issue beyond the music industry and extend it to the advertisement industry. Advertisements objectify women as a means to sell a product everyday and in every way.
Ad agencies will do anything to sell a product, including selling a persons body along with it. And why wouldn’t they? Research has proven that sex sells! But it sells that pair of shoes at a high cost.
The reason we shouldn’t do this is because it promotes objectification of women’s bodies. We as a society have stopped looking at women as people but as parts. It is proven that both men and women see men as wholes, but women as a sum of parts.
The female body is exploited by ads and is treated like an object. Objects are things that are acted upon. Painting women as objects that can be taken advantage of or acted upon is detrimental to equality. This can be done by showing only parts of a sexualized persons body, namely by cutting of the head or eyes of a woman in a photo, thereby dehumanizing them. Additionally, photographing or depicting them from behind promotes a violation of their bodies and of women. (This in particular can be associated visually with rape, American Apparel is a huge culprit of this type of advertising) Women are seen as sexually submissive and weak in ads, often paired with a connotation to rape. Violent submission is portrayed all the time in advertising, with men in high fashion spreads shown drugging models and dragging them off as shown below.
Women’s bodies are hyper sexualized and exploited in ads to sell anything from a pair of heels, to a Carl’s Jr Burger. This objectification should be a concern for all of us, because at this point ads like this should be deemed disgusting and harmful. Why are we still putting up with the exploitation of women’s bodies and sexuality to sell burgers beer and clothes?

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[3gterrence]

While it is unfortunate that so many music videos portray women in such a way, I believe this is a result of biology rather than societal problems. The sad fact is that sex sells. Sex does not just sell in the states or just in the west or just in the northern hemisphere, sex sells everywhere because of evolution and yes it's good for survival and all that basic biology stuff we learned two years ago. There are quit likely downsides to this media trend, but I do not think there are any short term solutions to this. Companies want to make money, and they have found a very effective way of doing so that works and that has worked for a while. As long as scantily clad women attract male eyes, sexual objectification will continue to happen unless the human male's sex drive magically shrinks away, and that's a world I don't want to live in.

[10solivia]

I definitely agree with the fact that sex does sell! However, I don't think artists and celebrities should be shamed for "objectifying" or sexualizing their image. It is their choice, who are we to tell them how they should and should not present themselves? Anna made a really good point by showing that how in her music video, Nicki does have ultimate control of her sexuality. I do think the way women's bodies are portrayed in ads/other promotional things is nauseating, but we should not be teaching girls to cover up or feel ashamed of their bodies. Like Nicki, we need to teach girls how to gain control over their sexuality, and not feel like it is being used against them. It is important for women to understand that our bodies are our bodies, and it is nobody else's business what we do with them if we are happy with ourselves. No one has the right to take that feeling of security away from us. It doesn't matter if one girl prefers to wear more exposing outfits and another feels the need to cover up, she does not deserve to be called a slut nor the other a prude. It is hard enough building ones self confidence when we are constantly surrounded by different forms of media projecting one thousand different images of the perfect person; slut shaming, judging, and tearing down a persons self confidence for how they choose to take control of their own body is unacceptable.

[10BEthan]

I agree with the notion that "sex sells". Unfortunately, it is one of the most direct ways of getting famous in today's popular culture. It is in the end, however, the artist's decision to portray their bodies as they do, and they have the ability to be more reserved. There is an undeniable pressure that society puts on female artists to conform to these standards, which is perhaps the biggest issue. The highest profile artists such as Nicki Minaj do get sexual “enhancements” but there are artists who are able to be more reserved and stay “high on the charts”. Since I am a male who appreciates music, I often value the artist’s talent more than how much clothing they are wearing.

[3gsofia]

While I completely acknowledge all of your points on the hypersexualization of women in both the music and marketing industry I wanted to bring up a concept That is easily looked over: the sexualization of men in these same criterias. I find it ironic and cruel that men are forgotten in terms of justifying their appearance to a camera. When I think of the words "male model" I imagine a very fit man with his shirt undone or completely off. I fail to see why women are the only ones offended and being defended. Granted, There is an unfair expectation for you to fit the concept of "sex sells" however I thought it might be important to point out another party at stake in these industries.

[10nangie]

I completely agree that today more than ever, women put their bodies on display to get attention and earn money.
Most music videos portray half naked women dancing, singing, and twerking. Although it is their choice and they are free
to do what they want, this is negatively affecting new generations of little girls who are born into a world full of social media.
Young girls see these women (mostly celebrities) and aspire to be them. This does not set very high life goals or standards for these girls.
In general nowadays, children learn inappropriate language and behavior from the internet and from public figures at a much younger
age than they used to.


The following link compares seventh graders now vs how they used to be:


www.kidsinthehouse.com/teen/sexuality-and-body-image/7th-graders-then-vs-7th-graders-now

[10kolivia]

I completely agree with the idea that women should be in control of their own sexuality and every person, male or female, most certainly possesses the right to express themselves as they please. I am in NO way trying to "slut shame" or demean Nicki Minaj for the manner in which she chose to portray herself in her music video, as that was her decision as an artist. My point is that we should be aware of the fact that women are often pressured into dressing in a revealing manner, more so than men are. We live in a world where even a commercial for Carl Jr.'s includes a scantily clad model, as was mentioned by Delia, a society in which women are judged first and for most by the shape of their body. Obviously I recognize the difference between a woman making a statement as an individual and a man objectifying a women. At the same time, however, it is still extremely common for women to seek male attention by exploiting their bodies. Therefore, I think we need to be conscious of the fine line that exists between a woman expressing herself, and a woman dressing in a sexual manner because society has told her that her figure is somehow a measure of her value as a human being.