The modern world has brought about many changes in the way gender roles are viewed by the society. The media portrays women through songs and music videos in a provocative and objectified way, and even some artists themselves seem to support the discriminatory cycle.
Most recently, the media, music videos and movies have become much more open minded and uncensored. Women are shown to play the role of sexual objects. Unfortunately, some female artists have no problem appearing as a male possession and not a separate individual.
A clear example is Katy Perry’s song titled “Dressing Up”. The lyrics explicitly mention that the woman is ready to “dress up” as anyone in the male’s fantasy. She openly says that she enjoys playing different roles and the general tone of the song is rather pervasive (Perry 2010).
From one perspective it might be seen as a hypothetical situation and carry no harm, but the fact that the matter is so private, makes it inappropriate for the greater society. There are no benefits from this sort of content, only the negative image that is majorly supported in the main stream media.
The division between genders has been evident for a long time, with history to support this fact. Women have been fighting for equality rights and fair treatment and it has almost been achieved. In the present times, sexuality and gender play a differential role in society and communication between genders. The traditional beliefs, norms and separation of gender roles have been always prevalent.
For a long time, there has been a gender difference between men and women in life and social environment. Even though there were times when women were an instrumental part of the world and family, they were still oppressed.
Through the degrading and sexual nature of the modern media, the feminist movement is diminished, as women of the present world have not felt the harshest differential treatment and cannot fully relate to women who have devoted their lives to the fight for equality and justice.
Not only has there been a gender difference between men and women in life and social environment, but extreme discrimination and external conditions of the world and governmental ruling added to the role division. The despair and helplessness are very obvious, as women were constantly oppressed and deprived of any rights.
The factors could be seen in the community itself, as well as environmental factors, discrimination, segregation and economical position of the society. In a book titled “Imaginary Bodies: Ethics, Power & Corporeality”, Moira Gatens talks about the social make-up and how people distinctively draw the line between feminism, sexism and politics, which closely relates to the strength and views of society.
It is a fact that “…a person’s gender identity is primarily a result of postnatal psychological influences” (Gatens 1996, p. 6). This leads to the fact that people create perspectives and qualities that separate people and genders. A seemingly harmless song or music video reinforces people’s conscious and unconscious predisposition towards stereotyping and social roles men and women play.
Not only does this create a vicious circle where it becomes close to impossible to get rid of role division, it separates women from the rest of society. This divides the civilization and does not add to the greater good.
Angela Mcrobbie is another writer who talks about the modern culture in her book titled “Post Modernism and Popular Culture”. She makes references to the theoretic separation of women, class division and alienation.
The mass media has identified two distinct groups of people, one being women in support of feminism, equal rights and opposition to sexism in the modern society, while others separate themselves from reality and ignore the details (Mcrobbie 2004).
But the fact that these messages and discriminatory portrayals seep through, make them dangerous, as they might be viewed as minimal in numbers, but together they create a large movement and acception. It is undeniably one of the worst influences that can be observed in the modern society and it comes from media.
When a celebrity reinforces certain stereotypes, through their behavior and attitude, they demonstrate what it takes to be ranked so highly, yet they become victims of social pressure and discrimination. While some are positive role models, judging by their career accomplishments and charity initiatives, others succumb to what is demanded by business and low ethical conduct.
Nowadays, the majority of songs and music videos show women half naked and thus, the society’s views are reinforced. It is one thing that men want women to be in the music videos and play a particular role, but women are willing to participate in the videos and even be the creators of inappropriate treatment (Plaisance 2009).
From one perspective it is possible to see that women are made out to be possessions who are looking for money and prosperous men but at the same time, there is a double standard, as the evidence speaks for itself.
Previously, after women have gained equal rights, the lyrics and the general style of music were much different. Strong appeal to morals and woman’s independence empowered women and illustrated that they do realize what is happening when men are trying to throw money or gifts at them without having any particular feelings.
The changes that have taken place are definitely for the worse. A civilized society should not portray anyone as objects, especially in sexual terms. The society that views these sorts of videos will get predisposed to the roles that men and women have and will expect the division. The most negative effect of these songs and videos will influence the younger generation.
Children will expect girls to be a certain way and will repeat such behavior. It seems that the cycle has been reversed, as women were fighting for equal and respectful treatment for a long time but now, people are starting to think that there are very few women who are able to do anything else except explicitly demonstrate their sexuality.
Partly, this is due to the freedom of expression and the open mindedness that has been so welcome in the modern times (Biagi 2011).
It is a fact that media is important to society, as it is one of the main information sources. It has many influences, and the roles people play, have a significant effect on the way society views individuals and gender.
There are songs, videos and informative materials that empower women, but there is also much discrimination, originating from both men and women. In the pursuit of highest morality and ethics, women and men must avoid behaviors and attitudes that reinforce negative social division between males and females.
Reference List
Biagi, S 2011, Media Impact: An Introduction to Mass Media: An Introduction to Mass Media, Cengage Learning, Boston, MA.
Gatens, M 1996, Imaginary Bodies: Ethics, Power & Corporeality, Routledge, New York, NY.
Mcrobbie, A 2004, Post Modernism and Popular Culture, Routledge, New York, NY.
Perry, K 2010, Dressing Up, music video, Capitol Records, Hollywood, CA.
Plaisance, P 2009, Media Ethics: Key Principles for Responsible Practice, SAGE Publications Inc, Thousand Oaks, CA.