A conceptual framework of the sexual objectification of women in music videos

Abstract

Feminist theory has extensively explored the sexualization of women’s images across time. Women are sexually objectified in music videos, TV series, ads, cinema, video games, and other types of audiovisual content. Scholarship has acknowledged, for instance, that women’s visual objectification in news, publicity, and cinema can lead to discrimination and gender-based violence. Audiovisual content is especially impactful, while digital content has a broader and more immediate reach than other types of content. On the one hand, the consumption of music videos and other digital content among minors is rising. On the other hand, music videos influence the normalization of gender violence and gender stereotypes in girls and boys. Despite its importance, until now, there is no conceptual framework of the sexualization of women in music videos. What elements compose the sexual objectification of women in music videos? What dimensions does it encompass? Can they be operationalized to serve as a basis for further analysis? Based on a literature review and analysis by three gender experts of five of the most popular music videos on YouTube in 2020, this article offers a new framework that can serve as a reference. This topic is especially relevant in the age of platforms because, once these videos are online in the public domain, they become the basis for biased algorithmic decision-making.