Thigh gaps, long legs, flawless skin, silky hair, seductive, submissive, the picture of ideal femininity is constantly portrayed in music videos and is quite difficult to obtain in real life. The majority of women cannot meet the standards that are set by the music industry.
Some may argue that there are plenty of successful female artists who are not sexually exploited in music videos, however, most of these successful artists do not meet the physical ideals that society establishes. For example, Adele is beautiful and incredibly talented, but does not have the body type that the media would deem as “sexy.” This further emphasizes the music industry enforcing the idea that women who are not shaped like supermodels are not desirable. In order …show more content…
Music videos, having the large impact that they have in on society should not be encouraging sexism and self-hate but should rather use their power for good, encouraging humanity and love that reaches beyond the superficial portrayals of sex and body parts. Music videos need to communicate different messages. They need to say that beauty radiates from the inside out. They need to say that gender roles do not define one’s strengths and weaknesses. They need to say that a person’s worth is not dependent on their physical appearance. These messages can encourage people to reach their full potential without feelings of inadequacy anchoring them to their low self-esteem. These messages can reassure people that they are worthy of love and capable of success regardless of whether they meet the standards of perfection set by society. People can fully discover who they are and become confident in their uniqueness and flaws and strengths. Young black girls, like me, can embrace their coily hair, their round lips, and their dark skin, without the fear of being rejected or excluded because they’re not traditionally beautiful. This issue of the oversexualizing and objectification of women in the music industry is such a complex topic that a mere report cannot fully encompass the magnitude of the issue. This issue extends even further into all forms of media such as magazines, television, and social media, shaping the American society in a way that does not promote the equality that this country takes so much pride in. If this issue is not addressed now, then the mentality of sexism will continue to be recycled, passed down from generation to generation, hindering the progression of gender
Some may argue that there are plenty of successful female artists who are not sexually exploited in music videos, however, most of these successful artists do not meet the physical ideals that society establishes. For example, Adele is beautiful and incredibly talented, but does not have the body type that the media would deem as “sexy.” This further emphasizes the music industry enforcing the idea that women who are not shaped like supermodels are not desirable. In order …show more content…
Music videos, having the large impact that they have in on society should not be encouraging sexism and self-hate but should rather use their power for good, encouraging humanity and love that reaches beyond the superficial portrayals of sex and body parts. Music videos need to communicate different messages. They need to say that beauty radiates from the inside out. They need to say that gender roles do not define one’s strengths and weaknesses. They need to say that a person’s worth is not dependent on their physical appearance. These messages can encourage people to reach their full potential without feelings of inadequacy anchoring them to their low self-esteem. These messages can reassure people that they are worthy of love and capable of success regardless of whether they meet the standards of perfection set by society. People can fully discover who they are and become confident in their uniqueness and flaws and strengths. Young black girls, like me, can embrace their coily hair, their round lips, and their dark skin, without the fear of being rejected or excluded because they’re not traditionally beautiful. This issue of the oversexualizing and objectification of women in the music industry is such a complex topic that a mere report cannot fully encompass the magnitude of the issue. This issue extends even further into all forms of media such as magazines, television, and social media, shaping the American society in a way that does not promote the equality that this country takes so much pride in. If this issue is not addressed now, then the mentality of sexism will continue to be recycled, passed down from generation to generation, hindering the progression of gender