Gender and Media

Representation of Women in MTV Videos

Wendy Gutierrez

Gender roles on television and film have always been a factor when determining content on television shows, movies, videos, etc. Several studies have been done on how subject matter and actor/actress roles on television affect the viewer, especially in young minds. Film, video, and media therefore becomes an important matter when deciphering how gender is represented in society. What I will be taking a close look at for my presentation under the larger spectrum of gender and technology will be the representation of women on MTV videos since MTV began.

Different types of videos on MTV can be categorized into certain categories. There are videos where the male is the lead role, woman as lead role, or mixed group. However what keeps being portrayed on videos is violence against women, and sexually depicting women. In a study done in the late 90's, researchers found that women appeared mostly as posers and dancers. Posers would be when the singer is shown performing in a recording studio or sound stage however acknowledging the camera. Various results came from this study. One of the most amazing things I found was that

"popular videos suggested that for women to star in music, videos in the early 1990's they had to affect an attitude or demonstrate physical talents, rather than exhibit the musical skills typically displayed by the men who appeared in lead roles." (Gow, 1996)

Men and women both are part of music videos, however what we must look at is who actually is in the videos and how they are portrayed. Now a day more women are seen on television and are not simply in the motherly, homemaker role anymore as they used to be in the past. They have risen in some area however men still have outnumbered women on TV and videos. Some argue that women reaching the heights they have in music videos are grand accomplishments. I believe it has been an impressive attainment on the women's part however the effort from MTV has not been what it should be.

In my presentation I will show parts of several videos and explain how the men and women are represented for the viewer. I will show examples of both women represented degrading or lesser than and how man is portrayed in an unequal manner also. Depending on what videos I can get of MTV, will determine what kind of examples I bring into the presentation.

Bibliography

1. Bell, Carrie; Fitzpatrick, Eileen. Women's portrayal in vids debated at Billboards confab. Billboard. Vol. 109. Issue 49, p95. 12/06/97.

2. Gow, Joe. Reconsidering gender roles on MTV: Depictions in the most popular music videos of the early 1990's. Communications Reports. Summer 96, Vol. 9 Issue 2. p152.

3. Hay, Carla. Is anti-hate campaign contradictory to MTV? Billboard. 1/20/2001. Vol. 113. p1.

4. Hay, Carla. Proper role of music TV debated ion the US. Billboard. 2/17/2001. Vol.113. Issue 7. p1.

5. Kalof, Linda. Dilemmas of femininity: Gender and the social construction of sexual imagery. Sociological Quarterly. 1993. Vol. 34. Issue 4. p639.

6. Lewis, Lisa A. Being Discovered: The emergence of female address on MTV.

7. Newman, Melinda. Everyone's a comedian at MTV awards, but, as usual, the joke's on the women. Billboard. 9/24/01. Vol.106. Issue 39. p14.

8. Rakow, L.F. Review and Criticism. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media. Winter 91. Vol.35. Issue 1. p126.

9. Signorielli, Nancy; Mcleod, Douglas. Gender stereotypes in MTV commercials: The beat goes on. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media. Winter 94. Vol.38. Issue 1. p91.

Return to Start Page