Our topic is the depiction of women in music videos over the last thirty five years (1980s to now). We chose this topic because we were interested in seeing if the image of women in music videos has changed since the first music video was released in the 1980s. We chose to focus on music videos because they are an important part of the music industry, especially in the department of sales. Music videos increase the sales of songs as well as be viewed by millions of people around the world. Music videos play a large role in online media as well as an influential part of people’s lives. Our research question is “How have the depictions of women varied over the last thirty five years?”
Methodology: First, we researched when the first music video …show more content…
We looked at whether the women in a particular music were skinny (straight bodies) or curvy (more voluptuous hips, stomach or upper body). The second variable we measured was race (white, black, Asian, Hispanic, or other). We determined ethnicities by skin color and other race-specific characteristics. The third variable we measured was the type of clothing worn by the women in the music videos (revealing/tight vs. normal). We defined revealing as showing off a lot of skin and tight as body-clinging clothing. Normal clothing was defined as neither revealing nor tight. The fourth variable we measured was if the women acted in a sexual manner or not. We defined sexual action as taking off clothing, suggestive movements such as dancing, heavy making out, and assumed sexual intercourse. The fifth variable we measured was the age group of the women (pre-teen, teen, 20s, 20s to 30s, and older). We then estimated which age group the women of each music video belonged to. The sixth variable was the presence of subordinance and/or objectification. We defined subordinance as portraying the women as less worthy or equal than their male counterparts. We defined objectification as the focus on women as objects, such as the zooming in on female body parts instead of showing the woman as a whole person. The last variable we measured was if the women were the main focus of the video or not. We defined the main focus as being present in the whole
Methodology: First, we researched when the first music video …show more content…
We looked at whether the women in a particular music were skinny (straight bodies) or curvy (more voluptuous hips, stomach or upper body). The second variable we measured was race (white, black, Asian, Hispanic, or other). We determined ethnicities by skin color and other race-specific characteristics. The third variable we measured was the type of clothing worn by the women in the music videos (revealing/tight vs. normal). We defined revealing as showing off a lot of skin and tight as body-clinging clothing. Normal clothing was defined as neither revealing nor tight. The fourth variable we measured was if the women acted in a sexual manner or not. We defined sexual action as taking off clothing, suggestive movements such as dancing, heavy making out, and assumed sexual intercourse. The fifth variable we measured was the age group of the women (pre-teen, teen, 20s, 20s to 30s, and older). We then estimated which age group the women of each music video belonged to. The sixth variable was the presence of subordinance and/or objectification. We defined subordinance as portraying the women as less worthy or equal than their male counterparts. We defined objectification as the focus on women as objects, such as the zooming in on female body parts instead of showing the woman as a whole person. The last variable we measured was if the women were the main focus of the video or not. We defined the main focus as being present in the whole