SIP

Remember when I mentioned my Senior Independent Project? Well, here it is.

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THE NEGATIVE PORTRAYAL OF WOMEN IN HIP-HOP/RAP VIDEOS
How are the viewers affected?
Introduction
Picture this scenario: A four-year-old girl asks “You wanna see my booty dance?” and proceeds to put stickers in her naval as she giggles, “I have a belly-button ring like Britney Spears.” And when asked where she learned that, her reply is, “I saw it on my [twelve-year old] sister’s TV” (“Music Videos: Negative Impact…”). Children and teenagers, on average, watch a half hour to two hours of music videos each day (“Impact of Music Lyrics and Music Videos on Children and Youth (RE9648)”). These music videos, specifically hip-hop/rap videos, tend to warp the images of women, portraying them in a negative way. This negative portrayal can affect both the male and female viewers, no matter their ages. Children and teenagers see the portrayal of women in these videos, and their minds could become molded into thinking that is how a woman should act or be treated.
Gender stereotyping is frequently seen in hip-hop/rap videos on television. Gender stereotyping can be described as displaying simple roles or characteristics to one or both genders. There is much concern that the negative portrayal of women in hip-hop/rap videos can affect both the male and female viewer in terms of self-esteem issues, sexual roles, and success in life.
Definitions and Limitations
Gender stereotyping is “one type of subjective perception [mental views] of what a male or female should be or how one should act” (Chng). Much of the time, women are portrayed as sex objects; seen as objects to satisfy the desires of the male artists and viewers. Females are often portrayed as “naïve, virginal, submissive creatures” in need of male protection, adoration, and direction (Chng). This project is concerned with the effects of the portrayal of women in these videos on the female and male viewer in terms of self-esteem issues, sexual roles, and success in life.
Self-Esteem Issues
Music artists define beauty as what is presented through outward appearance and outward behavior, rather than internal qualities (“Music Videos: Negative Impact…”). This perception can lead the female viewer to feel a need to change herself to be more like the women presented in the videos. Womens’ and girls’ perceptions of how their bodies should look can be altered by the exposure to repeated images of skinny, large breasted, and tan women (“Using Sex to Sell Products Hurts Perceptions of Women”). Figure A shows what 50 Cent considers to be an ideal video girl.
On November 22, 1997, the Kids Speak panel was held, consisting of a focus group of twelve teenagers from different backgrounds, who watch hip-hop/rap music videos ("Women's Portrayal in Vids Debated at Billboard Confab"). Some of the teenagers in this focus group complained that women in music videos look like supermodels, but the men aren’t held to the same standards ("Women's Portrayal in Vids Debated at Billboard Confab"). Repeatedly seeing these images of ‘ideal’ women plastered on the screen could cause low self-esteem, or eating disorders in women (Greer). Erin Senack, who teaches a class on Women in the Media at UMBC, says “Women are looking at themselves and going ‘Well, wait a minute…I don’t look like that, so that must mean that guys don’t think I’m hot’” (Senack).
“The media, and especially these videos, are telling women and girls that they’re not good enough as they are” (Senack). These images will “also be harmful to young (insecure) adolescent girls who [are] being socialized into society and trying to develop a sense of self” (“Using Sex to Sell Products…”). Some adolescent girls think that if they act like the women in the videos, they will feel better about themselves, and so will others. When young girls constantly watch music videos (one to three hours pending) they try to dance and behave the same way by mimicking the moves with social groups/or at social gatherings, or they begin to feel overwhelmingly self-conscious about themselves (Music Videos: Negative Impact…”).
Studies have concluded that these videos could greatly impact the behavior of adolescents in regards to sexual issues (Razetto). This portrayal of women as easy, loose, and sexual promoters/advertisers, leads adolescent girls to believe that it is okay to go have sex, without being aware of the serious risks and consequences (“Music Videos: Negative Impact…”).
Sexual Role Issues
According to a 1994 Harvard University study, black men in hip-hop/rap videos are often portrayed as aggressors, while white women are portrayed as their victims (“Stereotypes Enforced in Music Videos, Study Shows”). The women portrayed this way are often hanging on the male artists and attending to their needs. Women in these music videos are portrayed as sex objects providing pleasure for their men (“Women’s Portrayal as Sex Objects: BET Degrades Women”). Figure B shows a member of the group Outkast,
a popular rap/hip-op duo, seen with two video girls by his side, ready to whatever he tells them. Some may consider the portrayal of women as sex objects in hip-hop/rap videos to be a form of sexual abuse (Women’s Portrayal as Sex Objects…”). Women are usually seen as weak and seeking the protection of men. Music videos have been criticized for depicting women as the weaker sex, in need of protection and in submission to male authority (“Women in MTV”). It is another theory that women are put in these music videos to be seen as a challenge for the men; a sexual goal to be conquered (“Males who have a Negative Effect on the Perception of the Female Gender”).
This negative portrayal of women could distort mens’ perceptions of women, and make them think that it is okay to treat women as they are treated in the videos and on the television. The media often focuses on the legs, breasts, and mouth of women. Women are looked at in pieces. If men view this continuously, it legitimizes violent actions against women (Bryant, “Forum Calls for More Positive Portrayal of Women in Media”). Some men expect women to act in a certain way because of what is shown in these videos. They may think that all women should behave in this manner that they see on their televisions, and at the same time, the women feel pressured by these men to be sexually aggressive and assertive (“Female Artists Who Display Controversial Images of the Female Gender”).
Success in Life Issues
Statistics show that 41% of those who watch most rap music videos also developed a sexually transmitted disease [STD], compared to 33% who didn’t watch as many videos” (Davey D). These two percentages are contrasted in Figure C. Viewers of these videos were also 2.5 times more likely to be arrested (17.3 percent versus 19.3 percent), and nearly two times more likely to have sex with multiple partners (19.3 percent versus 11 percent) (Davey D). African American female adolescents are not exposed to many positive role models in the media; and the negative portrayal of African American females in rap videos could be a danger to them (Davey D). Black teenage girls who view a large amount of rap videos are more likely to have legal issues with the law, take drugs, and become infected with STDs (“Do Rap Videos Cause Black Girls…”).
On the other side if the spectrum, the artists making these videos are quite successful. “Whether the male artists use women or women use themselves for this purpose, the outcome is the same; artists, directors and producers know that the more sexual significance is portrayed in the video the more attention the artists will get from the viewers, which will result in higher record sales” (“Controversial Music Videos: Why Women?”). It can be said that the artists are using their bodies, and not their music, to sell their records. The artists do not have confidence in their music, which has them resort to stripping in their videos (“Sex Sells: Music Videos in the 21st Century”).
Conclusion
There is much concern that the negative portrayal of women in hip-hop/rap videos can affect both the male and female viewer in terms of self-esteem issues, sexual role, and success in life. Statistics help to prove that this portrayal can negatively affect men and women viewers of all ages. Young children could aspire to grow up and be like those they see in the videos. Teenagers and adults who view these videos often feel self-conscious about themselves, and try to change to be more like those accepted in the videos.
Some women feel degraded when they see other females in these videos portraying the “weaker sex,” and some men who watch these videos expect things from women after seeing the women in the videos acting the way that they do. Statistics show that children and teenagers who view these videos are more likely to get in trouble with the law, have sex with multiple partners and use drugs. “Overall, music videos, especially in hip-hop, have a negative ‘rap,’ pun intended, of using women as objects” (Senack). On the other hand, those artists who are making these videos and shedding their clothes benefit with their record sale and the attention that they get from the media.
Though the negative portrayal of women in hip-hop/rap videos does not directly affect my life, this project is for those who it does affect. All artists should realize that they can get plenty of attention from the media and their audiences, and sell just as many records by making music that people like, and not by stripping down to their underwear, or degrading members of the opposite sex in any way.

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Also, here is the link to the website I created - http://www.geocities.com/karensip