Hoes, Thots, and Sexy Lamps: The Frightening Portrayals of Women in Music Viedos

Abstract

By Jasmine Robinson, Sociology; Ali Grader, Communication; Avery Head, Psychology

Advisor: Nancy Jennings

Presentation ID: AM_A45

Abstract: Media is an enormous part of youths lives from the shows they watch, music they listen to, and websites they visit. It offers a constant stream of messages about relationships, gender roles, families, sex and more. They spend about 7 _ hours a day 7 days a week watching and listening to media. Girls, hispanic and black youth, listen to more music than their white peers. Almost 3 hours for hispanic and black youth, 2 hours and 33 minutes for females and 2 hours and 6 minutes for males specifically. Children and youth learn behaviors and have their value systems shaped by media, and research has focused on content, viewing patterns, and effects on youth. One of the effects of exposure includes increased high-risk behaviors, including alcohol and tobacco use, and accelerated onset of sexual activity. The purpose of this research is to better understand how youth interpret messages about the depiction of various women within music videos from a collection of analyzed videos. The basic design of this research uses a pre-test and post-test on knowledge comprehensions and use of music videos with a media literacy lesson plan about deconstructing media messages. Through this research, our findings illustrated that images and portrayals of gender in music videos influence adolescents' ideas of sexuality and gender roles. This is especially significant for adolescents, who find themselves in a particularly sensitive phase of finding their identity and developing images of gender roles and sexuality.