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Elyse Gonzales
Professor Shamiryan
English 113B
March 26,2014

Objectification of women in music videos
Music from the beginning was a form of art. Artists put their work into imagery with the
music video alone. These videos had and still have a message that the artist wants to give out to
his/her viewers. In music videos, specifically hip-hop and rap videos, women are used as sex
symbols and are portrayed as just another object to make the video popular and sexy. Society has
allowed this concept to become a norm and acceptable to women around the world. The female
gender is constantly being objectified in both sexes music videos through their clothes and dance
numbers; therefore, this affects young girls today by pressuring them into being promiscuous.
Rappers and hip hop artists all want to be known for something through their music
videos. Other than having money and the power, men love to be a womanizer. When watching a
male artists music video, there is the artist performing and along side him and his friends there
are women dancing sexy. These men are not using these women in a positive way nor are they
embracing them. The women are there to make them look good and give off the message that
they are just their sex toys and the men can get any women they want and use them. It has
become such normality that the more sexualized women are in the videos, the more popular the
videos become. There is a song by R. Kelly called You remind me of something. The title
alone is giving out the message to a woman that she reminds a male of an object with no
emotions attached. Artists like R. Kelly are telling women in their videos that they are only good
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for sex and are only thought about/ compared to items such as cars. Another example would be
Kanye Wests music video Bound 2. In this video he is riding his motorcycle and his naked
wife is facing him and holding on to him throughout the video. Just as the motorcycle is a prop
for the artist in his music video, his wife is as well. He is degrading her by making her a sex
symbol and just some girl throwing herself on him with no clothing on. There is an article that
talks about how women are portrayed in music videos. The writer states that, women are always
seen in supporting roles beside, behind and below male counterparts. This is done in a subtle way
of course, but with close scrutiny you see how these women are never portrayed as strong,
independent, and career-driven instead, their focus is completely on the man on getting his
attention and keeping it - by all means necessary.(Bronwyn Douman). This article is supporting
the theory that women are nothing more than the inferior gender in these music videos compared
to men. It is sending out the wrong message to not only males, but to the female gender as well.
However, some women react to this message differently and do not mind being objectified.
Aside from men using women in their music videos and women dancing sexy as a sex
symbol in the male videos, women artists use the same tactics. For example, Beyonce Knowles
has a music video called Dance for you, and in this video she is strip dancing for a man sitting
on the chair. This video is based on a women dancing for a man because she is so in love with
him and is willing to do anything for him. This is telling women that if they love a man then they
should be sexy for them, and dance for them in a sexual way. In almost every genre women
artists are dressed sexy and dance in a detailed sexual way. It has become so normal for women
to think that giving off this image is acceptable and is the only way to get people to like them.
Female artists sculpt themselves and practice hard to be what society claims to be sexy, and use
it for popularity in their videos. These women do not mind being looked at in a sexual way
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because they love the attention and know that they will be more well liked if they do so. This
claim has been going on since pop culture started. An article says that, study shows that many
female artists are objectifying themselves in their music videos. (qtd Frisby). It is clear that
these claims are being made from actual visual experience. Artists like Beyonce, Lady Gaga, and
Miley Cyrus prove this notion to the exact point. These female artists will sing about break ups,
love, men, and other things non-related to sex, yet they dance sexy and have little clothing on. A
more specific example would be Katy Perrys music video to her song Roar. This song has
nothing to do with being sexy. Her song is about being dependent and making something out of
nothing; yet, in the music video she is half naked and being sexual throughout the video. Yet,
there are some artists like Adele who are fully clothed and sign conservative in their music
videos. Whether it may be male or female music videos, the same message is being given out to
society and affecting the youth.
Young girls today are watching these music videos and notice that a certain type of
women is well liked by men. Girls are seeing that women with a specific body type and face is
what men are more attracted to. This is causing girls to try and sculpt themselves into what they
see on television. It affects adolescent teens the most because some may not be fully developed
yet, or are going through the ugly duckling stage. Society allows this to prolong without taking
under consideration that young girls are being pressured into looking a certain way. They think
that they have to have big assets, be skinny, wear little clothing, and a lot of make up to obtain
this particular image. It is also pressuring girls to do whatever it takes for boys to like them, just
as the women do in the music videos. There is a quote supporting this issue that says,
Sexualisation can lead to a lack of confidence with their bodies as well as depression and eating
disorders.(Sexualisation). Young girls are beating themselves down for not being like the
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women they are seeing in the media. It makes the girls hate themselves for not being societys
version of beautiful or sexy. This can all also lead to suicide and or serious health
conditions. If society does not want girls to go through this then they can simply restrict music
videos from young girls or protest against the way women are portrayed in them. The media has
a big influence on society and sends out different messages every day.
Both men and women have conformed to societys theory that women are nothing more
than objects to be used in music videos. As a result this will affect the generation now and the
generations to come. No matter what the gender of the artists is, the female gender will always
be objectified. Men will still use women as sex symbols and women will continue to try and be
sexy for the world to see. Young girls will continue to go through pressure to be what society
thinks is sexy. Nothing will change until society wakes up and realizes what being a human is
really about and treat both genders equally.






















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Work Cited
Douman, Bronwyn M. "Women Objectified in Music Videos." New 24. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Aug.
2013.
"Sexualisation "harms" Young Girls." BBC News. BBC, 20 Feb. 2007. Web. 18 Mar. 2014.
"Women Objectify Women in Music Videos Too, Researchers Find." - Latimes.com. N.p., 4
Apr. 2012. Web. 18 Mar. 2014.