"What's your fantasy?" the sexual objectification of women in rap videos

For many African American youth, hip hop has been a part of their cultural identity since the 1970s (George 1998; Rose 1994). From its inception three decades ago, hip hop has grown from an urban (predominantly black and Latino youth) culture into an international youth phenomenon, transcending racial and ethnic lines. Prior research indicates that male artists tend to rule the video world. Furthermore, the portrayal of women in these videos produces an acceptance of violence and sexual objectification toward women. The purpose of this study is to look at the sexual objectification of women in rap videos. This study will examine two questions: (1) Are men and women equally represented as artists who perform rap videos? (2) Are men and women equally likely to be sexually objectified in rap videos? BET's Rap City Top 10 Countdown was recorded from January 2006 through June 2006. Data were gathered on the gender of the main artist and of models/actors to determine whether men and women are equally represented in prominent roles in rap videos and to identify specific types of sexual objectification in these videos. The study found support for prior research, demonstrating that rap videos are dominated by male singers and producers and that sexual objectification of women is more common than of men.

Grantor dc:publisher

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

Author dc:creator

• Blue, Dorothy E.

Contributors dc:contributor

• Eigenberg, Helen
• Bumphus, Vic; Garland, Tammy
• College of Arts and Sciences

• Rap (Music)--History and criticism
• Women in mass media

Licence

• http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Language dc:language

English, eng

Identifier

LB2369.2 .B583 2006

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:scholar.utc.edu:theses-2068