A comparative study of how women are represented in popular music videos from the 80s to the present day.
by
lydia_mawdsley (student)
Lydia Mawdsley
A comparative study of how women are represented in popular music videos from the 80’s to the present day.
In this diachronic essay, I will be looking at two key texts, Madonna’s ‘Burning up’ (1983) from the 80’s era, and Rihanna’s ‘Rude boy’ which is a more recent text from 2010. I will be looking at whether or not the representations of women in popular music videos have changed over time, or if in fact they have always been there, but are more so exaggerated in recent years. The hypothesis I intend to prove is that the representations of women in today’s society stem back to, and are extremely relatable to those created in the 80’s, meaning that the representations thought to be modern and controversial have actually been around for a long time, only they are more exaggerated and accessible in today’s society, with the latest stories of what the most popular celebrities have been up to, put in front of us on a daily basis through media texts such as social networking, the internet, newspapers, magazines, radio, and television. I will prove this hypothesis by closely examining my secondary research, finding out facts and figures, along with public opinions based on the matter, and analysing each of my key texts. This study will show how the representations have been similar throughout time, but the impacts upon society have changed as women have become more domineering and important in recent years.
In the 80’s, the rhetorical construction of women came from societal, family, or cultural norms, whereas today, the media plays a big role in how we perceive and construct gender. Since the 1980’s, hip-hop has changed the way people think, but not always in a positive manner. It is clear that hip-hop has been a trend setter and has guided our culture over the last couple of decades. Unfortunately, corporate sales have taken over the content of hip hop music, motivating artists to take different approaches to selling music. Nowadays, popular rap music includes derogatory lyrics about women and videos typically showing women half-naked with the intentions of obtaining more listeners and viewers. Unfortunately, sex sells in our society, and the media has uncovered this fixation. The Hip-hop industry is hugely influential and has convinced a large portion of society that this is how women should be treated. Now more than ever the representations created are having detrimental effects on the way females perceive themselves, growing issues such as body image are making young women impressionable, as women are growing more self-conscious and are willing to spend a considerable amount of time and money dedicated to the way they look, in an attempt to make their own values and opinions of themselves improve, as well as impressing others they deem important.
