MTV, Female Objectification, and Self Image

Music and the media have together exponentially increased in popularity over the years.  Now, it seems as if we are to the point where our youth could spend hours upon hours watching mindless television.  What is even worse to consider is the kind of TV that our youth is watching.  MTV has become almost a cosmic force among teenagers and a source they can go to for what is considered hip and cool.    Typically, this television is saturated with ideals based off of the objectification of women and this kind of exposure only leads females into a negative self image which could even be reflected by the manifestation of eating disorders, anxiety, or depression. 

Music not only is a source for what is hip and in style, but it is also an outlet for self-expression.  Immigration has changed the foundation of our society’s music which can be seen both as a good thing, musically, and a bad thing when all other factors are intertwined.   As stated by Lipsitz, specific genres of music are increasingly affected and influenced by these social and cultural trends, (Lipsitz 376).  People from various different backgrounds are blending together to create a new sense of music that has never been produced before.  This music often embodies the ideals that the specific performers have.  Since music overall has increasingly been influenced by immigrants it is safe to assume that music become a unique form of self-expression which often focuses on independence.  Lyrics in songs often objectify women and are completely misogynistic; most evidently in rap and hip hop which are the main focus of MTV, (Adams 941). 

Sexual objectification can be described as “instances in which a person is made into a thing for others’ sexual use, rather than being seen as a person with the capacity for independent action and decision making,” (Grabe 2840).  Evidence for sexual objectification is posted all over the media, not inclusively within music videos.  If you look at movies, any television show, magazines, advertisements, books, etc., misogynist ideals become evident.  What is awful to think about is how these specific ideals are internalized, especially by females.  “Individuals use the consistent messages portrayed in the media, regardless of how narrow, to construct an image of reality,” (Grabe, 2841).  Therefore, females adopt a perspective of life that is consistent with how the media portrays it.  Not only are these ideals, internalized, but females also adopt certain behaviors which are evident within the media because they provide internalized value and reward.  Females gain reward when they dress in next to nothing because they gain attention from every male in the room.  That is much better than not getting glanced at by anybody to many young females.  Through backwards ideals which are evident within our media, we are teaching females of our youth to treat themselves like objects, (Grabe 2841).   Our youth will not only internalize our society’s ideals, but they will internalize other people’s perspectives of them.  If enough people tell a young girl that they are fat, it is highly probable that the young girl will in turn think of herself as fat and unattractive. 

MTV has become one of the most watched programs on television.  Although music videos are becoming harder to come by, their implications can be seen throughout our youth.  Music videos can be seen as the genre of our media where women are most frequently sexually objectified, (Grabe 2843).  I remember the day when Britney Spears’ music video “Hit Me Baby” came out and everyone was extremely shocked at her outfit, (see picture below).  After that, all of the mothers of my friends were criticizing Britney and a great majority of my friends were not allowed to listen to her music anymore.  Britney’s outfit from back in the day is nothing when compared to the outfits, or lack of (above), from today.  Not only are the outfits of females in music videos appalling, but the

limitations on the roles that women play are demeaning.  Music videos “offer numerous examples of what women are like and what their role is in society,” (Gordon 245).   This narrow range of roles played by women suggests that women do not have many successful attributes outside of these roles.  Not only do women play an extremely narrow range of roles, but men outnumber women five to one in leading roles (Grabe 2843).  These roles that women play “reflect(s) a social constraint that limits women’s autonomy and agency,” (Grabe 2843).  The strains that society puts on women often disable them from becoming what they want to become and engaging in activities that they normally would do.  Women are under increasing scrutiny to do what is expected of them.   There is evidence that suggests that watching music videos leads to “traditional gender role attitudes, a stronger acceptance of women as sexual objects, and more accepting attitudes regarding the treatment of women as objects via sexual harassment,” (Grabe 2483).  It is scary to imagine how long children watch television during a day and the frequency with which they do so.  Increased television watching in our youth will only lead to internalized ideals of female objectification, roles, and the habituation of bad attitudes related to treating women in an unjust way.  There is plain evidence of this when you look at how young men refer to females in today’s society.  They often think that it is okay to refer to females with degrading terms and names because they have internalized ideals which were presented to them in some way by the media, most commonly by music and music videos.  Young men are also treating women differently with increasing frequency as though they are nothing except for something pretty to look at. 

Adolescence is often viewed as a time period for self-exploration and the formation of an identity, but Gordon goes as far as to say that “for girls it is often a period of discovering limited opportunities and increased pressure to conform to society’s narrow definitions of what women should be like,” (Gordon 245).  These pressures that are put on young females can lead to increased self-doubt, a bad self-image, anxiety, depression, and eating disorders, (Grabe 2840).  It is easy to imagine how being under constant pressure from society and feeling like you are in social constraints could take the form of an eating disorder, anxiety, or a bad self-image.  Females have to reflect upon themselves more and more frequently and are reminded to do this multiple times a day by messages that the media sends, and these messages are read and interpreted as young as 7 years of age, (Grabe 2840). 

So the question is, what are we doing to ourselves?  The implications of our media’s messages have been evident to the human population for many years now, however, nothing has been resolved and as far as I am concerned, no progress has been made.  When can young girls stop worrying about whether or not they have to lose a few pounds?  Females can only return to a more simple adolescence when the constraints and pressures that society enforces upon them are invisible through the spectacle of the media. 

Works Cited

Adams, Terri M. and Douglas B. Fuller. “The Words Have Changed but the Ideology Remains the Same: Misogynistic Lyrics in Rap Music.” Journal of Black Studies 36.6 (2006): 938-957. JSTOR. Web. 2 Dec. 2010.

Gordon, Maya K. “Media Contributions to African American Girls’ Focus on Beauty and Appearance: Exploring the Consequences of Sexual Objectification.” Psychology of Women Quarterly 32.3 (2008): 245-256. Academic Search Premier. Web. 2 Dec. 2010.

 Grabe, Shelly and Janet Shibley Hyde. “Body Objectification, MTV, and Psychological Outcomes Among Female Adolescents.” Journal of Applied Social Psychology 39.12 (2009): 2840-2858. Academic Search Premier. Web. 2 Dec. 2010.

Lipsitz, George. “World Cities and World Beat: Low-Wage Labor and Transnational Culture.” Academic Communities/Disciplinary Conventions. Ed. Bonnie Beedles and Michael Petracca. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2001. 372-385.

J-14. Kesha in Body Paint. Web. 2 Dec. 2010.

http://www.j-14.com/2010/05/this-just-in-kesha-premieres-your-love-is-my-drug-music-video.html

2threads. Britney in Hit Me Baby Video. Web. 2 Dec. 2010.

http://2threads.com/article/6-degrees-of-fashion-the-midriff

People. MTV and Body Butter. Web. 2 Dec. 2010.

http://stylenews.peoplestylewatch.com/2008/03/29/the-body-shop-and-mtv-get-lippy-about-hiv/