Artists Lack Originality When it Comes to Objectifying Women in Music Videos
It’s no secret that objectifying women’s bodies has been a central theme in music videos for decades. Click on any music video produced in the last 40 years by a male artist, and the chances that you will come across images of women dancing seductively in sexualized outfits is very high. While this popular music video model might attract millions of viewers, it promotes the objectification of women and feeds into the patriarchal notion that females exist for male pleasure.
Perhaps one of the most controversial music videos in history, Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines” (Thicke, 2013), is a prime example of the highly misogynistic pattern many music videos seem to pursue. The video portrays Thicke, fully dressed in a suit, surrounded by half-naked models. For four and a half minutes, the singer and featured male artists stand in the center of the frame lip-syncing while models dance around them sexually, posing as objects of sexual gratification. This dynamic depicts Zeisler’s idea of the “male gaze”, which involves the tendency of “positioning women as nothing more than objects to be looked at, sexualized, and made vulnerable” (Zeisler, 2008, p. 8). By showing the women freely letting themselves be watched and touched by the singers, the video perpetuates the male gaze as it encourages the idea that men have control over women’s bodies. Further, the presence of the models proves that the video is “constructed to be seen by men” because they exhibit society’s ideal body type (which has been established through the male gaze) and their dance moves appeal to male sexual gratification.
Another vivid example of a music video that follows this misogynistic pattern is Travis Porter’s “Ayy Ladies” (Travis Porter, 2012), which showcases the rapper and two featured artists roaming the halls of a hotel traversing through groups of women dancing provocatively. While the video is visually different from Thicke’s, it follows the same ideas — girls dressed in erotic outfits dancing sensually while they are admired by the men around them. Porter’s video goes the extra mile and further plays into the male gaze by featuring a part where the rappers go into a hotel room filled with women dressed as maids. This costume choice and the depiction of the girls acting as if they are serving the rappers advances the notion that women’s societal role is to assist men and cater to their needs. Of course, the women’s costumes are not traditional maid uniforms, but sexualized versions of it. That is, the costumes appeal to the male gaze because they serve to objectify the women, displaying a man’s ideal of the submissive yet sensual woman.
By portraying women as sexual objects, these music videos are contributing to the stereotypes that continuously challenge women’s lives. Being that the models’ main role in the videos is to act in a way that is attractive to the male perspective, it “reduces [them] to a few, simple, essential characteristics” (Hall, 1997, p. 249). Namely, they are stripped of the significant characteristics of womanhood and portrayed merely as sexual tools. This depiction confines society’s view of women by upholding the stereotype that their most significant values are physical appearance and an ability to please. Now, objectification does not necessarily have to involve degrading women to objects, it can extend to anything that is not human —animals are a particular favorite among musicians. Thicke does a great job of capturing this trend when he sings “Tried to domesticate you/But you're an animal/Baby, it's in your nature” while he holds a half-naked model and speaks into her ear (Thicke, 2013). It’s no surprise that Porter is shown following the same trend when he raps “When I put it in ya mouth, don't scratch, don't bite” with a group of women twerking behind him (Travis Porter, 2012). Beyond recognizing that these music videos advance women’s stereotypes, Hall would also agree that positioning women at an inferior level (that of an animal or object) creates difference between men and women by the “basis of that symbolic order”. That is, society establishes a contrast between both genders as a way to classify men as the dominant group and women as the subordinate group being that “one must establish a clear difference between things in order to classify them.” (Hall, 1997, p. 236).
Not only are these artists feeding into the male gaze and promoting the objectification of women through their music videos, they are also being very unoriginal about it. In the words of Adorno and Horkiemer, they are displaying the concept of “standardization” within the culture industry (Adorno & Horkheimer, 1944, p. 1). The fact that these male artists’ music videos follow a similar structure and represent consistent ideas about women, they support the theorists’ claim that “under monopoly all mass culture is identical” (Adorno & Horkheimer, 1944, p. 1). Both music videos feature fully clothed men singing alongside women in sexual outfits. While the scenery is different —Thicke dances against a white background and Porter moves through a hotel — the content of the music videos and the meaning behind the lyrics are essentially the same. They depict a group of men treating women like property by touching them and dancing with them without displaying any sense of connection or respect, both in the physical and lyrical sense. Music videos portray this redundant misogynistic content because producers are aware that it attracts large audiences. They know that by replicating it, the chances of reaching a high view count are greater. Since viewers have already developed a liking of such content, “certain reproduction processes are necessary that inevitably require” the creation of seemingly identical music videos to satisfy the audience's needs. (Adorno, T. & Horkheimer, M., 1944, pg. 1).
It is concerning to think that the music videos for “Blurred Lines” and “Ayy Ladies” are just a small sliver of the world of music videos that objectify women and promote misogynistic messages. Although we might not recognize it immediately, this type of content has detrimental effects on women’s self-esteem and their representations in the media. Society has to work towards opposing the male gaze, softening the difference between genders, and counteracting the trend of standardization to secure a future where the days of female objectification in music videos are no longer.
Works Cited
Adorno, T. and Horkheimer, M. (1944). Dialectic of Enlightenment (pp. 1-12).
Travis Porter & Youtube, Travis Porter - Ayy Ladies ft. Tyga. (2012, March 6). YouTube. Retrieved November 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37FhMnV-sxc
Robin Thicke & Youtube, Robin Thicke - Blurred Lines ft. T.I., Pharrell. (2013, March 20). YouTube. Retrieved November 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyDUC1LUXSU
Hall, S. (1997) Introduction. The Spectacle of the Other. (pp. 225-249). Newbery Park, CA: Sage
Zeisler, A. (2008). Pop and Circumstance: Why Pop Culture Matters. Feminism and Pop Culture. (pp. 1-21). New York, NY: Seal Press.
Commenter: Gabriela Solomiany
ReplyDeleteHi Liliana,
I loved reading your piece, I found myself engaged in every part of the blog post. You did in amazing job in depicting the problem of the objectification of women, I felt well informed on the background and context. As I was reading I thought about Jessica Hopper’s article, Pazz&Jop: So, Are Women Here Yet?
In your blog post you express that “it’s no secret that objectifying women’s bodies has been a central theme in music videos for decades”. When I read this first sentence I instantly though about a specific paragraph in Hopper’s article where she states “Yet, what is “girls learning to play a boys’ game by boys’ rules” if not the game itself.” (Hopper, 2019) Then she continues and states that there was truly never a time in the music industry when that game and those rules weren’t “the terms” for women. Moreover, Hopper states that in the music industry there is a widespread idea for women; the idea that if as a woman you follow those rules correctly and well, maybe the rules would change to allow you in (Hopper, 2019). I believe this directly correlates to your blog post because women have always been objectified, sexualized and treated as inferior in the music industry. Women have always had to do the impossible and play “boys games” in order to actually make it big. A clear example of this would be what you have been talking about in your blog post: women have been objectified and sexualized by men within the music industry for over 40 years. Female artists usually partake in these type of music videos because they feel it is their only way to be seen and recognized in the music industry. Female artists are being objectified and treated as inferiors by men regardless of the setting: whether it be in music videos or in a day to day business. I can see a clear connection between your blog post and Hopper’s article because they both evaluate the inferiority and objectification of women in the music industry.
Commentor: Mia Schoolman
ReplyDeleteLiliana,
Your piece was very engaging to read and integrated the readings in an interesting manner.
The integration of “Blurred Lines'' in your piece led me to think about Emily Ratajowki’s novel “My Body”. Ratajkowski, the star of the “Blurred Lines” music video, writes years later an expose of the environment that she worked in for production of this music video. After reading “My Body” by Ratajkowski, I felt as if I understood every feeling of objectification and sexualization she had. In her book, she speaks on how she knew she was being objectified, yet she capitalized on it. This honesty guided me to think about the reading, “Communicative Intimacies: Influencers and Perceived Interconnectedness” by Crystal Abidin. In an age of influencers, they have a voice to stake their own claim and share their story. This article investigates “lifestyle” influencers, which I would claim Ratajkowski falls under. Ratajkowi’s novel in addition to her social media presence reminds me of Abidin’s claim, “In their attempt to retain an impression of “intimacy” and to bridge the distance between themselves and followers, influencers in Singapore tend to emphasize a persona that is ordinary and everyday”. She shows days in her life of selling her novel, mothering a newborn child, and modeling. She is promoting herself as someone who is more than “a few, simple, characteristics” (Hall, 1997, p.249). Influencers like Ratajkowski now have a platform to demonstrate to the public that they are more than sexual objects. Your blog post, along with Adibin’s piece, leads me to wonder about the future of sexualizing women when the women now have a platform to speak on how it made them feel and that they are simply more than objects. We now have the power to feel intimate to influencers, and we have a more holistic portrayal of what they are. This power can alter our perception of past videos, like “Blurred Lines” and hopefully change the production of future videos.
Hi Liliana,
ReplyDeleteFantastic job on your piece about the depiction of women as sexual objects in both Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines” music video and Travis Porter’s “Ayy Ladies” music video. I enjoyed your connection to the Stuart Hall reading and thought it was fascinating how you made the point regarding women as animalistic. Your entire piece was very insightful, and you clearly understand this topic well.
Your writing brought up a recent reading we have done by Lisa Robinson titled “Abuse,” which is a chapter of the large piece “Nobody Ever Asked me About the Girls.” I initially thought of the concept of popular music and why music videos like the ones you discussed are so popular. Robinson describes the horrors and normalization of the harassment and sexism in the music industry, which is not only apparent for female artists, but the mistreatment of women depicted in these music videos builds the popularity of the song/music video and, in turn, the artist himself.
I liked your connection to the male gaze and thought it was interesting how you connected it to Adorno and Horkiemer’s concept of “standardization.” It made me think differently about not only the common music videos I regularly watch but how the majority of media, specifically surrounding male artists, all boil down to a similar idea of the male gaining power through the subordination of a woman. It allowed me to look at a lot of media I regularly consume differently and recognize where this is present within my own life.
You did an excellent job. Your whole piece was very thought-provoking and insightful.
Alex Sinins
Hi Liliana!!
ReplyDeleteThis was a great, though disturbing, blog post to read, especially as I scroll through our class blog and find so many responses to Prompt 4 relating to the sexualization and objectification of women. For this reason, I particularly enjoyed your connection of these two music videos to Adorno and Horkheimer’s concept of standardization. When reading your post, it also brought me right back to Perry Johnson’s guest lecture and Lisa Robinson’s piece, “Abuse” in Nobody Ever Asked Me About the Girls (2020). In this piece, Robinson exposes the monstrosities that are inflicted on women behind closed doors in the music industry. Though Robinson tells stories of stars like Madonna, Mariah Carey, and Stevie Nicks, your post made it clear that this terrible treatment, powerless cycle, and sexualization of women happens even in the background. What struck me so much about Robinson’s piece was how she had an anecdote or story about every female singer I could think of. The treatment is so normalized and yet we continue to let it happen. Although the girls in the music videos you described might not be household names or have an opportunity to speak against their treatment, it is likely they have similar stories. Additionally, Robinson describes the vicious cycle that female musicians fall subject to in order to survive in the heavily male-dominated and run industry (2020). The only way women can succeed is by pleasing the men who hold the power in the industry to help them find their big break! These featured women in the videos you describe likely are not striving for this exact role in the entertainment industry. In other words, they probably want to be cast in music videos that feature real dancing or perhaps are even trying to make it as singers themselves. But instead of being given the chance and platform to achieve this goal, they are subjugated by the male gaze once again to fall into a role of sexual object.
-Isabel Sweeney
My apologies!! Prompt 5***
DeleteIsabel
I really like the song Ayy Ladies and have never seen the music video until reading this blog post prompted me to. This post was enlightening and gave me a full view / description of what the music video would be like if I had actually watched it. I like the way you chose to format your piece by having one paragraph describing each video and then one paragraph to describe each of the readings you engaged with. I think it was really smart to do it that way. However, I think that Ayy Ladies was not the best song to choose. The women in Ayy Ladies are not skimpily clad, nowhere near the level of the women dancers/ models in Blurred Lines. The maid outfits actually cover a fair amount of skin. I think a different song and companion music video could have made your point about "male rappers being fully clothed while women are not" stronger.
DeleteI think an additional paragraph that could have been added would include "The Industry Ain't Safe" which speaks on power and misconduct in pop culture. Artists mentioned in your piece, along with the audience and fashion of both masculine and feminine participants, are considered music industries. Though we may not typically think of them as such, I think it is relevant to draw this out because a lot of ideas and final choices made in a music video are certainly influenced by the culture surrounding them. Johnathan Sterne said, "the music industry, “privileges ‘the work’ as the most important aspect of musical activity, as the work is the thing that is given monetary value and is the basis of exchange”" (p. 51). In the Ayy Ladies music video, maids are seen as fake representatives of the work real maids do. An accurate representation would include more vigorous cleaning of the hotel rooms, brief breaks in between long shifts, and low wages. Yet, this is not a "sexy" portrayal, so rappers never choose it.
- Lex Gilbert