Introduction
The original purpose of music videos is to create an outlet that will allow artists to make their work public, reach a wider audience and broaden their popular appeal. Music videos have become significant just like the music they represent. The popular music has become a major outlet for propagating stereotypes and views which have an influence on the popular culture. The most common feature of the popular music is concerned with how it portrays gender in relation to experiences, expectation, and worldviews of the music artists and in relation to gender stereotypes in various music genres (Gauntlett, 2008, p. 3) . This paper will, therefore, answer the question "is the representations of gender in popular music help audiences construct an idea of what it means to be a man or a woman”. The paper will achieve this by determining how men and women are represented in music specifically in the Hip Hop genre.
Representation of gender in music
In order to understand better the issue of gender representation in music videos especially hip hop, it is advisable to recognize first that the hip-hop music acts as a reflection of lifestyle, thoughts, and social orientation of young urban people in the society. The major aim of the hip-hop music is to cater for the daily hopes, ways of life, struggles and dreams of people living in the urban areas and at the same time provoking critical discourse in order to facilitate social change. In this case, most of the artists prefer to use images and languages that are considered offensive, sexiest, or profane to make the audience understand their messages. This preference has always defined the artistic expression for more than 200 years (Wallis, 2011, p. 160) .
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There are claims that the hip-hop music is representing gender in a stereotypical manner in that it defines how women should look like, what role they are supposed to play, and how they should be treated in relation to their social relation to men. Almost all hip hop music portray women as in a stereotypical manner which glorifies the objectives of women and at the same time focusing on the pursuit of male concerning sexual gratification. Women in hip-hop often expose their bodies which suggest that it is a trophy or a decorative prop that portrays the sexual desire of men and the purpose of women to satisfy those sexual desires of men (Wallis, 2011, p. 160) . For example, Nicki Minaj often wears bikinis in her music videos in order to expose her boobs and booty because she believes it will attract the attention of men.
According to Laura Mulvey, the media is a tool for male oppression and the female partners are portrayed as objects for the gratification of males. She claims that during the recording of music videos, the camera sees from the Male gaze. In her theory, she tries to explain how women are used in music to satisfy the desire of men (Mulvey, 2003, p. 44) . Siouxsie Sioux one of the powerful women in the hip-hop music video in the 70s claimed that the way Laura Mulvey sees women is not true because she believes that women can control the video. In her video, we see her with red lips and a dark make-up. She is seen wearing an oversized jester outfit and she looks androgynous. No part of her body is visible except her hands and face. We see her controlling the camera as it follows her. Despite the fact she is the only woman in the video she is seen as being more confident when compared to the male counterparts. Also, she is seen playing instruments just like the male musicians making her look equal to men. Nothing in the video portrays her as a sex symbol (Whiteley, 2013, p. 15) .
According to Pawling (1992, p.44), music videos in the contemporary society portrays men as the dominant figure and they are having control over the women. She believes that stereotyping is not a simple process because men and women would not be working together over time. This stereotype existed in the past and the music video producers represent women in a stereotypical manner just like in the past. She explains that women and men are seen as couples and this is what the society demands from all individuals in relation to behavior. She criticizes the idea of Laura Mulvey of portraying women as dancers who elicit sexual desires (Pawling, 1992, p. 43) .
In the hip-hop music videos, women are seen exposing their bodies while dancing. This proves that hip-hop music portrays women in a sexual manner. In the music video "Hotline Bling." By Drake, scantily dressed women are seen dancing. This is common is most of the hip hop music videos and both young boys and girls throughout the world are seeing the way women are portrayed and treated in the videos. This is a major concern for the parents of the kids because the images the kids see on TV and media is directly related to their thinking and development. Exposure of the kids to hip-hop music that is explicit about violence and sex, has a high chance of influencing the adolescents by modeling unhealthy practices among them (Keyes, 2002, p. 2) .
In music, women are objectified through the way they are represented even if they are the owners of the music. Most of the listeners and viewers of hip-hop music are young women and they are usually influenced by what they hear. Singers and dancers in hip-hop music often dress in a manner that is provocative and they also dance in a manner that objectifies their bodies. Music should all be about sound, but the bodies of artists and their dancers act as an instrument for entertaining the audience. This is different from the rock music in that the rock music is often based only on vocal talent and instruments. In rock music, a woman is seen as an artist who has musical ability while in hip-hop music the woman is seen as a musical instrument with the ability of dancing and singing. This leads to power dynamic whereby women and men are not boarding the same plane as artists. In this case, women are considered as objects of desire while men are seen as figures of power. Therefore, we cannot deny that the representation of gender in music is uneven as women are represented in a negative way. In a society that is considered equal, the representation of women in music is equal to that of men (Dibben, 1999) .
A study conducted by Kylie Murphy (2001, p. 145), showed that the pop culture in the contemporary society plays a complex role among women, who are seen to be having the willingness and critical approach to work in the music industry. The hip-hop music has influenced the popular culture and it has affected how people live and understand the modern world. Kylie Murphy tried to discover the ideologies that are informing the current pop culture dialect and though his analysis of the music industry he found out that there is an increasing pornographic women representation in popular music (Murphy, 2001, p. 139) . For example, during her performance, Rihana often put on clothes that expose her cleavage and nipples because she believes that will help in selling her music.
Effects of representing women as sex objects in music
The music videos specifically hip-hop videos stereotypes women as it portrays them as sex objects. The music industry is, therefore, changing the culture of individuals as it changes the sense of dating, sex, and romance. In addition, the sexual attitudes of the society are shaped by the music in that it affects all the demographics. The way hip-hop music portrays women is expected to continue in future because sex sells. The way women are portrayed in music makes girls focus their attention on sexuality and looks, which is harmful to their physical and emotional health. The girls start seeing their bodies as sexual objects and not personal self which leads to recurring problems such as low self-esteem, eating disorders, and depression (Martino & Berry, 2006, p. 430) .
Viewing the way women are portrayed in music may change the state of an individual in that it may induce arousal or activate associations or thoughts. It may also develop enduring learning patterns associated with behavior, schemas, and, cognitive scripts concerning sexual attitudes, beliefs, and interactions. The music videos are targeted at teenagers and they make them understand love, relationships, and sexual desires which may shape their values, practices, and sexual attitudes. The music videos show skewed and unrealistic accounts of sexuality and human romance which raises concerns about how the society operates. Children also view these videos on TV and media and this affects their perception concerning women in music. The women in hip-hop music expose their bodies and this will make children see it as normal and they will grow up knowing that it is acceptable to expose their bodies.
Conclusion
The representations of gender in popular music help audiences construct an idea of what it means to be a man or a woman. This is because women in the popular music such as hip-hop are portrayed as sex objects whose main purpose is to satisfy the sexual desires of men. Women in music are seen to expose their bodies. For example, Niki Minaj often exposes her boobs and booty while shooting her music videos. She does this because she believes that by exposing her body will help her videos sell. This affects the society because it affects the perceptions of children concerning the role of women in music and it also affects their moral values. It is, therefore, the responsibility of parents to ensure that their children do not watch the music videos which corrupts their minds.
List of References
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Keyes, C., 2002. Rap music and street consciousness (Vol. 433). Chicago : University of Illinois Press.
Martino, S. C. R. & Berry, S., 2006. Exposure to degrading versus nondegrading music lyrics and sexual behavior among youth. Pediatrics, 118(2), pp. e430-e441.
Mulvey, L., 2003. Visual pleasure and narrative cinema. The feminism and visual culture reader, pp. 44-53.
Murphy, K., 2001. 'I'm sorry--i'm not really sorry': Courtney love and notions of authenticity. Hecate, 27(1), p. 139.
Pawling, C. a. P. T., 1992. Popular drama and realism: the case of television. In The Death of the Playwright? (pp. 43-66). London: Palgrave Macmillan.
Wallis, C., 2011. Performing gender: A content analysis of gender display in music videos. Sex Roles, 64(3-4), pp. 160-172.
Whiteley, S., 2013. Women and popular music: Sexuality, identity and subjectivity. New York: Routledge.
