The modern world has brought about many changes in the way gender roles are viewed by society. The media has a lot of influence on people’s demand for types of music. Males are portrayed as powerful and resourceful owners of houses, cars, boats, and other luxuries. Women, on the other hand, are requested to act in a provocative and objectified way.
Most recently, the music videos and the music itself have become much more open minded and uncensored. Women are shown to play the role of possessions while men are shown promiscuous and are judged by the amount of women they can get as a form of social status. The division between genders has been evident for a long time, with history to support this fact. In the present times, sexuality and gender play a differential role in society and communication which is needed to attain specific results.
Nowadays, the majority of music entertainment shows women “half” naked and thus, the society’s views are reinforced. It is one thing that men want women to be in the music videos and play a particular role, but the society supports this sort of representation.
From one perspective it is possible to see that women are made out to be possessions who are looking for money and prosperous men but at the same time, there is a double standard, as the evidence speaks for itself. There are some musicians who do not engage in a similar trend. This empowers women and illustrates that they do realize what is happening when men are trying to throw money or gifts at them without having any particular feelings.
Unfortunately, the number of those in support of decency is small, and the changes that have taken place are definitely for the worse. A civilized society should not portray anyone as objects, especially in sexual terms. When a society represents inappropriate views through music, it gets predisposed to the roles that men and women have and so, will lead to further division. The most negative effect of the lyrics and videos will influence the younger generation.
Young children will expect individuals to be a certain way and will repeat such behavior in schools. Even though the society and law have accepted the equality of both genders, there is still much predisposition and discrimination. Partly, this is due to the freedom of expression and the open mindedness that has been so welcome in the modern times. People are given an ability to do almost anything they want and this has led to a few bad choices which must be rooted out from society.
As there is a close connection between the lyrics and social views, provocative and derogatory language has had a significant influence on the conversations and labels that people apply to each other. Since people often repeat the behavior they encounter, whatever is said and done in music transfers over to real life without a fully conscious choice. The subliminal messages specifically target people who are easily influenced by the pop culture and its negative side.
Music was always an important part of any society and its effects can be observed in all instances of life. In order for the music to change, people must raise the standards in how women and men are shown in the entertainment industry.