The two tables show the raw data collected from the content analysis. There were women in skimpy clothes in 65% of the 20 videos. In 20% of the videos there were women undressing. In 45% of the videos there was a female artist yearning for a male. There were women touching themselves in 50% of the videos. In 5% of the videos there were women touching other women. In 15% of the videos there was a female artist either crying or depressed. In 30% of the videos there was kissing between anyone.
In 50% of the videos there were women dancing seductively alone. In 5% of the videos there were women dancing seductively with other women. There were women grinding on men in 25% of the videos. In 35% of the videos the camera focused in on breasts. Also in 35% of the videos the camera focused in on buttocks. In 25% of the videos there was a woman who either licked her licks or licked an object seductively. A woman pursed her lips together or blew a kiss in 35% of the videos. In 0% of the videos was there any type of liquid poured on a woman.
The “Heart Attack” video is by a single female artist, Demi Lovato. The entire video only features her and a backup band of males. Not once in the video is she shown in provocative clothing. The lyrics are about her falling for a guy and because of that she becomes defensive. It talked about her being able to easily interact with men when they do not mean anything to her but the male the song is directed to is different. Although the lyrics suggest she is at the will of a guy, the video is feminist in the sense that it does not degrade women in anyway. She is fully dressed throughout the video and not once does she do any provocative moves.
The second video with no observations in it is titled thatPOWER” by will.i.am ft. Justin Bieber. This video surprisingly has no women featured in it. The backup dancers are all men. The video is futuristic in its nature. The lyrics are about the artist will.i.am being “cool.” The video features will.i.am, Justin Bieber, and backup dancers. The results found that in 18 of the videos, there was at least one thing done by women that sexually exploited them.
There is something very wrong with today’s music videos. The majority of videos use women as sexual props. Some use women as just objects to be looked at and touched. Others show women alone and in need of a man, as if to say women need men in their lives to be complete. Some videos are too sexually explicit to be aired on television. There are even videos and lyrics that suggest violence against women. These videos give young men (the most impressible) very wrong ideas. These videos give men an unrealistic standard for women’s bodies.
Almost 41 million women in the United States over 20 are obese (“Prevalence of obesity,” 2012). The majority of women are not “perfect” looking. Women come in all shapes and sizes and should not be pressured to change their body. Not only does it put these unrealistic expectations in males’ heads, but it also gives the impression that women are only used for their bodies. The women shown in music videos are silent and only shine light on their bodies, not their minds. Women live in a world today where almost every aspect of society focuses on how they look. Music videos only reinforce this.
There are some videos that are unique by going against the norm of having women be sexually exploited in music videos. Like the two in the study, there are some videos that have no women dancing around or half naked. There are some songs that are feminist and some artist as well. The few videos that are out there like this give hope for the music industry. It women use their voices, there could be changes made. Women need to realize what is going on and realize how women are being used in music videos.
This content analysis could use improvements. The most important would be the details. Content analyses need to be very specific in what they are looking for, and very detailed in the observations. This content analysis could be good solid ground for another study to grow out of it. With a few changes, this content analysis could be replicated and be very successful. To improve the results a specific genre of music videos, such as rap, could have been used. A different popular music site could have also been used. With a few tweaks here in there in this content analysis it could be very successful.
Bibliography
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. (2012). Prevalence of obesity in the united states, 2009–2010 (No. 82). Retrieved from DHHS Publication website: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db82.pdf
Hay, C. (2001). Would The Least Cliched Music Video Please Stand Up?. Billboard, 113(5), 90.
Kistler, M. E., & Lee, M. J. (2010). Does Exposure to Sexual Hip-Hop Music Videos Influence the Sexual Attitudes of College Students?. Mass Communication & Society, 13(1), 67-86.
