How genders are seen in music videos:

Within the media world, women and men and have a different representation, are seen differently and have different roles. There are many people within the media world that do not accept the way men treat women and how they look at them.

Men:

Women:

Women are represented very differently to men in the media world when making music videos. Women are mostly represented as: delicate, girly and having a sexual appearance. In the music videos women are mostly presented as explicit, sexual objects and a very passive behavior which makes them look powerful but still seem weaker and less valuable than women. In comparison to men playing instruments and being surrounded by girls, women usually seem to dance a lot in the videos which is skillful, however, the dance routine doesn’t seem to skillful as the dance is usually sexual by posing, being very explicit, showing skin etc. which continues to represent the sexual presentation of women. Also, in the music videos whenever there is a female artist that is the main appearance in the music videos, they’re still seen as sexual objects as the female artist would want to stand out to the audience and seem appealing which would be by being sexual.

The ways females are stereotyped is clearly shown in Britney Spear’s music videos where she stereotypes women as expressing sexuality through dressing up as a:

Secretary
Air Hostess
Waitress

The music videos that present women in these roles are presented sexuality through the emphasis of the behavior of the artist and the costumes.

This video is a good example of how men are represented in music videos. The fact that Chris Brown is surrounded by his group of friends which makes him look dangerous as we imagine them in a gang that we should be scared of. Also, the women chasing them makes them seem famous, rich and powerful as women want them badly for their success while women seem as if they’re dependent on the men around them because they have money and have fame that they could make a use of. In the end, Chris Brown is dancing around many other women who are also dancing, however even though they all seem to have skills, the women are still seen as sexual objects as they’re showing a lot of skin which makes the audience concentrate more on that than on their dancing skills.

Men in the media world are represented as people who are dominant and who run the industry. We automatically assume that they’re rich, dressed posh, have a big ego and having many women around them. We also imagine men being very protective and in control who always want to deal with everything. We also imagine them to be tough, masculine and violent as we assume that men go to the gym to work out, we imagine them getting into arguments and being very violent towards many situations. Men are seen as independent individuals we see them as people who don’t want others to help them- they want to sort everything out themselves. Men’s appearance must always be good however they may still look ‘unclean’ but men within films and music videos must always be represented well. Men are also seen as role models as seen in magazines when the topic is about male fashion, male skin, hair care products, weight lifting etc. where they’re always represented to the best of their ability. In a music video, man are likely to use an instrument, be surrounded by women or be with a group of friends which all represent that they have: skills, power and attractiveness.

Beyonce’s video is a good example of how women are presented in the media world. Beyonce sings and dances to a man which makes it seem as if she serves him and is willing to do anything he says. She also dances there which is very skillful, however the clothes she wears and the way she dances takes over and is seen as sexual, therefore we no longer pay attention to her talent as our attention is grabbed on her sexuality rather than her skills.

Feminism 1960/1970’s:

This is a movement in which women are questioned about their position within the patriarchal society and how they are seen within today’s media world. This action concentrates on the fact that everyone is equal and no gender is dominant- everyone is equal. When feminism is women debating on how they are seen in the media world and today’s society, for example seen as:

Virgins, mothers and promiscuous
As sex objects
Inferior to men
Domestic/based in the home

Feminists are against the being treated in a sexual way and being treated less worthy than men as they believe women have the same rights as men, many feminists fought for the rights of women to be treated equally and receive equal opportunities. Feminists usually make many speeches trying to reach the world, changing their perception of their views on women, they also dress and act very classy to show others that we don’t need to dress sexually to be classed as ‘attractive’.

Marlene Dietrich is an example of a feminist. She didn’t exactly show nay effort into making women’s equality successful however she did show it through the efforts of having a good fashion sense. This actress used to wear trousers during the 1930’s which was very offensive and scandalous both on screen and privately which she nearly got arrested for. She was famously quested, saying: “I dress for the image. Not for myself, nor for the public, not for fashion, not for men”.

Post-feminism 1980’s:

Post-feminists reject the theory of feminism and agrees to something completely opposite. These women believe that ‘equality’ doesn’t exist meaning that men are in control and are the dominant ones and are wishing to serve men- do tasks that they tell them to. This therefore objectifies women and positions them as objects of the ‘male gaze’ meaning that women desire men and look attractive for them in a sexual term in order to be appealing towards the men.