Women in popular music: A quantitative analysis of feminine images over time

Cooper, Virginia W.

doi:10.1007/bf00287756

Cited by 26 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…Although many correlates of hyperfeminine attitudes have been examined, there has been little research that attempts to explain why women might adopt such attitudes. The portrayal of women as sexual objects, which is part of the hyperfeminine response pattern, is consistent with images of women found in mainstream advertising (Urniker-Sebeok, 1981), fiction (Cantor, 1987), and popular music (Cooper, 1985). Thus, women might learn that being an object of male sexual desire is part of their expected role.…”

supporting

confidence: 76%

Hyperfemininity and Influence

Matschiner

Murnen

1999

Psychology of Women Quarterly

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KeRyoR Co//ege Murnen and Byrne (1991) have defined hyperfemininity as an exaggerated adherence to a feminine gender role as it relates to heterosexual relationships. Hyperfeminine women believe their success is determined by maintaining a romantic relationship with a man, and that their sexuality can be used to maintain this relationship. Extrapolating from theory concerning gender and status, including expectation states theory, it was hypothesized that a woman's expression of hyperfeminine attitudes would lead male college student participants to agree with her in response to a persuasive speech because it would indicate her compliance with women's subordinate status. It was found that men (but not women) who listened to a very hyperfeminine (high) speaker agreed with her more than did men who heard a mildly hyperfeminine (low) speaker, despite the fact that the high hyperfeminine speaker was judged less competent and knowledgeable. Implications of the results, including the idea that the sexual objectification of women perpetuates women's subordinate status, were discussed.The persistent sexual subordination of women in U S . culture has meant that some women learn to define themselves as sexual objects, to agree with attitudes indicative of "hyperfemininity." Murnen and Byrne (1991) developed a scale to measure hyperfemininity, which was defined as exaggerated adherence to a feminine gender role as it relates to heterosexual relationships. Hyperfeminine women believe that their success is determined by maintaining a romantic relationship with a man, and that their sexuality can be used to maintain this relationship. Examples of some hyperfeminine attitudes on the Hyperfemininity Scale (Murnen & Byrne, 1991) Appreciation is expressed to Merle Hamburger and George Smeaton for their assistance in data collection; to Tonya Ladipo, Linda Smolak, and Ellen Stoltzfus for their comments on the article; and to Jeff Ustick for his comments on the topic. The article is based on work that one of the authors (Matschiner) completed for a senior honors thesis for her B.A. degree.

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supporting

confidence: 76%

Hyperfemininity and Influence

Matschiner

Murnen

1999

Psychology of Women Quarterly

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“…Although such guides have been available for at least a decade, the continued evidence of sex stereotypes in many communication media suggests limited application. Gender bias has been documented in media as diverse as magazine fiction (Lazar & Dier, 1978), television commercials (Maracek, et al, 1978), speeches of presidential candidates (Purnell, 1978), Sunday comics (Brabant & Mooney, 1986), popular music (Cooper, 1985), introductory college textbooks (Bertilson, et al, 1982), and corporate annual reports (Kuiper, 1986).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gender Representation in Corporate Annual Reports and Perceptions of Corporate Climate

Kuiper¹

1988

Journal of Business Communication

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Annual reports from a sample of Fortune 500 firms were examined to determine male and female depiction in those reports. Parity indices were computed to relate male/female representation in the reports to male/female representation in the labor force. The parity indices were correlated with report readers' perceptions of corporate climate, measured by a nine-item Likerttype scale. Perceptions of corporate climate bore little relationship to male representation in the annual reports. However, as visibility of females increased, participants tended to rate corporate climate more favorably.

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“…Perhaps the most comprehensive analysis of portrayals of femininity in popular music is a study by Cooper (1985), who analyzed the top songs of 1946, 1956, 1966, and 1976 for the presence (yes/no) of eleven stereotyped images of women. Included in the group of stereotypes were images of women as evil, needing a man, as possessions of men, as sex objects, as delicate, as childlike, as being on a pedestal, as attractive, and as supernatural.…”

Section: Early Analyses Of Gender Portrayals In Popular Music Mediamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Together, these sources name the following as components of femininity: submissive, passive, dependency/deference, sexual purity, caretaking, emotionality, nice in relationships, thinness, modesty, domestic, care for children, prioritizing romantic relationships, sexual fidelity, investing in appearance, naïve/childlike, and compassionate. Finally, we included descriptions of women from literature on popular music and music videos, including notions that women are sexual objects, and that women are opportunistic gold-diggers (e.g., Cooper, 1985). Combining these attributes and reducing redundancies, we produced the following list of ten attributes representing hegemonic femininity: deferent/submissive,nurturant/supportive, need for a partner/love, importance of physical appearance, emotional, loyal, financially dependent, manipulative social climber (gold-digger), sex object, innocent/childlike.…”

Section: Coding Categoriesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tuning Gender

Avery

Ward

Moss

et al. 2016

Journal of Black Psychology

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Although analyses indicate that mainstream media are a prominent force in the gender socialization of Black youth, little is known about the nature of gender messages in contemporary music, especially in music by Black artists. To explore this issue, we conducted a systematic content analysis of 527 top songs by Black artists released from 1990 to 2010, coding each song for the presence of 23 attributes reflecting hegemonic masculinity and femininity. Analyses also examined differences in gender messages based on time period and genre. Findings indicated that representations of hegemonic masculinity were most likely to reflect hypermasculinity, characterizing Black men as competitive, dangerous, sex-focused, and materialistic. Portrayals of women were more likely to reflect hyperfeminine attributes, emphasizing the importance of women's physical attractiveness, utility as sexual objects, and emotional expressiveness. Representations of men as hypermasculine and of women as hyperfeminine sexual objects increased over time, and were more frequent for rap/hip-hop music than for other genres. Results

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Women in popular music: A quantitative analysis of feminine images over time

Cited by 26 publications

References 27 publications

Hyperfemininity and Influence

Hyperfemininity and Influence

Gender Representation in Corporate Annual Reports and Perceptions of Corporate Climate

Tuning Gender

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