Dilemmas of Femininity: Gender and the Social Construction of Sexual Imagery

Abstract

This work builds on an interactive, interpretive approach to the study of cultural texts in an investigation of how images of gender and sexuality in music television (MTV) are read by the audience. After viewing a music video by Michael Jackson, 80 respondents described the video's portrayal of feminine and masculine images. A content analysis of the respondents' open-ended descriptions of the images indicate that there are significant gender differences in how young women and men socially construct the meaning of femininity in the video, particularly concerning the intersection of gender, sexuality and power. There are no major gender differences in the interpretations of the masculine image. The findings show that MTV texts have multiple meanings for the audience, and the interpretations of sexual imagery reflect traditional gender ideology about gender and sexuality. This is a study of how young people interpret the images of gender and sexuality as portrayed in the "texts" of music television (MTV), one of the most widely consumed forms of popular culture among adolescents. The research builds on the assumption that gender and sexuality are social constructions, or "interactional accomplishments," situated in and shaped by patriarchal cultural myths as articulated in the popular culture (Denzin 1992). The ideological "codes" for gender and sexuality are learned early in the socialization process, entrenched during adolescence and transmitted in large part by the popular culture. An exploration of how the audience interacts with and interprets MTV imagery advances our understanding of how "ideological meaning is coded into the takenfor-granted meanings that circulate in everyday life" (p. 34). It demonstrates how contemporary ideology can be revealed in text which is read as a "fact" but is only a myth (Barthes 1972).While MTV has historically reproduced and maintained a gender ideology of male power and dominance of men over women (Lewis 1990), little is known about how viewers actually interpret these messages. Texts have multiple meanings because readers create texts as they interpret and interact with them (Denzin 1992). This research explores how the reading of an MTV text differs among young viewers according to their interpretation of the ways in which gender, sex and power are intertwined. I argue that gender Direct all correswndence to: Linda Kalof. Deuartmrnt of Sociolo~v. State Universitv of New York. Plattsbureh. NY 12901.

Thin ideals in music television: A source of social comparison and body dissatisfaction

“…Viewers typically report watching between half-an-hour and 2 hr of these programs per day (Sun & Lull, 1986). Content analyses of music videos have shown that, like other forms of popular culture, the portrayal of women is decidedly sexist in orientation with high levels of sex-role stereotyping (Kalof, 1993). In particular, the physical appearance of women is emphasized (Gow, 1996) and they are commonly depicted as thin and attractive, usually provocatively or scantily clad, and often involved in implicitly sexual or subservient behavior (SommersFlanagan, Sommers-Flanagan, & Davis, 1993;Vincent, Davis, & Boruszkowski, 1987).…”

Sex and the Spectacle of Music Videos: An Examination of the Portrayal of Race and Sexuality in Music Videos

“…Adolescent consumers continue to watch music videos regularly and remain the target audience for MTV, BET and the like (Kalof 1993;Lewis 1990;"MTV: Music Television Profile and Network Contact Info" 2005;Rideout 2003;Smith and Boyson 2002;Tiggemann and Slater 2003). Past research shows that music video content from the 1980s and 1990s was sexy (Sherman and Dominick 1986;Hansen and Hansen 2000;McKee and Pardun 1996) but that it also typically emphasized sexual innuendo and suggestiveness rather than overt/explicit depictions (Baxter et al 1985;Gow 1990;Sommers-Flanagan et al 1993).…”

“…Attentional processes suggest that for a mediated model to have a legitimate chance at gaining the attention of a potential attendee, that model must be salient, striking, conspicuous, and/or prominent (Bandura 2002). MTV and other music video channels are a popular form of entertainment for adolescents (Kalof 1993;Smith and Boyson 2002;Tiggemann and Slater 2003). It is estimated that 3 out of 4 young adults (16 to 24 years) watch MTV every day (Rideout 2003).…”

Stereotyped evaluative judgments and female attractiveness

“…In research on how audiences receive messages encoded in music television texts, both Kalof (1993) and Brown and Schultz (1990) documented gender differences in the interpretation of text meanings. These researchers established that the reading of a text is an interactive, interpretive process.…”