Sexism in Music Essay - 879 Words

How do we choose the music that we listen to? We could be affected by the music itself, the lyrics could touch us on a personal level, or we may have a predisposition to a certain genre of music due to the geographic area we live in. Our background and upbringing can even play a role in our musical choices. However we come to that ultimate decision, how many of us actually pay close attention to the language used in the songs that we like? Could it be that some of our favorite artists or compositions actually contain language that can be considered sexist or harmful? Many people associate sexist language with the music genre of rap and hip/hop, but the truth is that sexist language invades every style of music. While it is true that the†¦show more content†¦150 songs were selected from the Top 50 most popular songs ranging from the years 2006 to 2008 and were pulled from platinum albums. (A platinum album has sold at least 1 million copies.) Each song was listened to in its entirety twice and the lyrics were verified by the researchers through Lyrics.com. Results showed that songs classified as hip hop/rap â€Å"frequently included references to female ‘bitches’, than the other genres (87.5%)† (Frisby 16.) While there were no indicative results correlating artist gender or ethnicity to the use of derogatory slang words, her research found that hip hop/rap music was not the only culprit. In addition to showing that â€Å"of the eight genres, hip hop was found to more likely use slang words and rely on message themes that refer to women as sexually permissive and aggressive† (Frisby 16) the study also provided results stating that pop music also contained slang words demoralizing women. Frisby wrote that â€Å"Pop music and song lyrics sung by men may reinforce the cultural notion that women are only adored and valued for their bodies and appearance† (16.) It is not just teenage girls and young women that fall prey to believing that these offensive words are acceptable. Many adult women do not object to females being referred to as inferior to men and, while they may not agree with the language that is used in many popular songs today, their silence onlyShow MoreRelatedSexism in Music1627 Words   |  7 PagesSexism in Music There are countless forms of media out there that are in one way or another degrading and offensive towards women. The one that is of most interest to me is music. Whether songs are blatantly sexist and downright rude to women, like many rap songs, or overtly offensive such as many rock and roll songs, women are commonly demeaned by lyrics in countless songs throughout the ages. 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