Female Sexual Objectification in Music Videos From 2006 and 2016: A Content Analysis Comparing Female and Male Artists’ Music Videos

Abstract

Given that music videos have often been a target of criticism for their highly sexualized content and for conveying the message that women are only valued for their bodies as sexual objects, this pervasive theme in popular music videos is dramatically distorting ideologies of women’s sexuality. The present study aimed to explore female sexual objectification in popular music videos from 2016 compared to music videos from 2006. With a content analysis, the results showed that the occurrence of female sexual objectification in music videos were not different in the ten-year period. The results show that the occurrence of exposed body parts, provocative dress, sexualized dance and sexualized behavior, as well as composite female sexual objectification were not statistically significantly different in music videos from the year 2016 and those from the year 2006. Specifically, the sexual objectification of women in music videos has not increased, but at the same time, it has not decreased either. These findings reinforce that the contemporary cultural view that women are to a great extent valued by their physical appearance and bodies is still very relevant.