Methods

In order to fully examine how women are affected by the images portrayed in music videos, our research and first hand experience was approached in various ways. It was vital to examine the views and experiences of many women of different backgrounds in order to understand how these videos are interpreted by others.

Bianca Marino, a legal advocate for SASS (Sexual Assault Support Services), was interviewed in preparation for this research. The interview took place on a Thursday evening at a coffee shop on the University of Oregon campus. She was asked questions regarding her tasks for SASS, as well as experiences she’s had while on the job. She also talked about her experiences working with WomenSpace.  Her views on music videos specifically were also addressed. The techniques used during the interview were primarily listening and observing her reactions and emotions provoked to the questions asked. The interview lasted about two hours and field notes were taken by hand in order to make the interviewee comfortable. Interviewing someone with first hand experience working with victims of sexual assault would give researchers a look into the ultimate consequence of sexually violent music videos.

The women in music videos are often seen wearing little to no clothes and dancing in a highly-sexualized way. In order to examine this culture in a different light, we visited a dance practice a studio in Eugene, Oregon. Urban Pulse is a collegiate aged hip hop dance group at The Dance Factory.  It is composed of 11 women, all 18 and over. The practice was held from 8-10pm on Wednesday night in downtown Eugene. The techniques used were listening to the music choice of the teacher, as well as observing the type of movement in the choreography of the dancers. Field notes were taken by hand in order to keep all other senses fully alert. Following the practice, a few of the dancers were quickly interviewed in order to collect their views on the topic of sexualization and violence against women.

To provide us with input from men on this topic, we created an online survey to be taken by male college students. The survey contained questions asking how often they watch music videos and how strongly they agree with a sentence regarding women and music videos. It was posted on various social media sites and was available online for a week until results were calculated.

Results

There were a few common themes that stood out after the research methods were completed. After reviewing the online survey, the interview questions, and first-hand experienced observations, multiple themes helped clarify what exactly is wrong with the media’s portrayal of women in music videos.

• Societal Unawareness

From the interview with Bianca Marino, the idea that society does not know how harmful degrading music videos are on the image of women became clear. As a former employee of WomenSpace Crisis Support Center, she got a first-hand look at what the damages of these images can do. She worked with 4-5 people a day, which stresses how big this issue really is to the general public. Despite it’s severity, the problem is often overlooked. Marino said in her interview, “When we objectify women in the media, it’s the first step to dehumanizing them and abusing them.” This ultimately leads to abusing them in reality, even when in committed and intimate relationships.

This theme was also prevalent in the online survey. Almost all men that took the survey agreed with the statement that music videos are harmful to the portrayal of women and it influences younger generations; however, the vast majority of them said they watched these music videos quite frequently throughout the week. This brings researchers to the conclusion that even after recognizing the harmful messages portrayed in music videos, people are still watching them and buying into the culture.

• Embrace It, Don’t Suppress It

At the Urban Pulse dance practice, the dancers were dancing to highly sexual songs like “Good Kisser” by Usher and “Raindrops” by Jeremih. The choreography was sensual in order to mimic the song’s lyrics and was danced in a highly sexualized, feminine way. When asked about the choreography after practice, most of the dancers agreed that the choreography was sexual and definitely feminine. Although they agreed, many of the dancers expressed that the movement represents more of an empowerment for women, rather than being sexual objects for men. “I don’t dance for guys to watch me, I dance because I like feeling sexy,” said Abby Johnson, an Urban Pulse dancer for four years and counting.

This idea leads to the theme of media embracing women’s sexuality rather than trying to suppress it. A common misconception when this question about women and music videos is discussed is that in order to fix this problem, women should not celebrate their sexuality. This just contributes to the problem of the idea that men are superior and only they can express their sexuality. The problem is not that women are being sexual; the problem is how the sexuality is portrayed and the mindsets about sexual violence spurring from these images.

• Beyoncé and the Need for More Strong Female Role Models

It was a definite consensus in all forms of the research done that there needs to be a change in the media. The online survey taken by college men included written comments. Most of the men said it is the music industry’s responsibility to promote a positive message in music videos. When Bianca Marino was asked in her interview about which artists she respects and thinks portrays a positive image, she brought up Beyoncé Knowles. Although Beyoncé does not wear the most conservative outfits on stage and does promote a sexual image, she also stresses the importance of feminism and embracing one’s own sexuality. She has many songs such as “Pretty Hurts” and “Flawless” that speak up about the harmful images that women get stuck in their heads. Marino expressed a need for artists like Beyoncé in music videos to change the image of women in pop culture. If images like this outnumber the negative images we have now, it could potentially solve the problem, slowly but surely.