Sexual Objectification of Women in Music Videos and Performance

Introduction: Objectification Amplified

When compared to the female singers of the early twentieth century, women in music today represent a far more blatant example of sexual objectification. This is not to suggest that, three-quarters of a century ago, women were not also objectified; it is simply to acknowledge that objectification has been amplified to such a degree that women in music are eroticized in their music videos — across virtually all cultures, East and West — as the videos in K-Pop, J-Pop, and Western pop all indicate. Women performers from CL to Miley Cyrus to Beyoncé all contribute to this sexual objectification by flaunting their sexuality and utilizing it in a post-feminist manner: acting as the sexual aggressor rather than the sexually passive receiver of the "male gaze," as Laura Mulvey called it in her deconstruction of the sexual objectification of women in cinema. However, as other researchers have noted, in adopting a post-feminist manner of sexual exuberance and assertiveness, women singers have not escaped the constraints of objectification — they both reinforce that objectification and attempt to redefine their sexuality through a more assertive, flaunting style of female expression.

Award-winning journalist Ginny Dougary commented on this theme in her op-ed piece for The Times in 2007, noting that the underlying issue is the "pornografication of mainstream culture." This is supported by the fact that "serious" women — such as Nicole Kidman or Maggie Gyllenhaal — who have significant screen presence often appear nude for their roles, an act that reinforces the idea that women are mere objects. The popularity of female music videos on streaming sites like YouTube further reinforces the notion that women in music are utilizing their sex-symbol status and power to build massive followings on social media, which in turn translate into revenue streams for the corporations that sign them to extensive contracts. They promote their tours, and women come onto the stage in little more than bathing suits, some flaunting their bodies in sexually explicit ways that audiences are sometimes astonished by. The performance of Miley Cyrus with Robin Thicke at the MTV Video Music Awards in 2013 was a perfect example of the female singer's dual role as sexual aggressor and sexual object: Thicke was dressed in a tuxedo, while Cyrus came out in nude underwear and sneakers and "twerked" on Thicke as he ogled her body.

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