Why Objectification Occurs
The objectification is created in the music industry, specifically, hip hop and pop music, for one reason: money. Sex sells in this day and age and the music industry is using this to their advantage.
Women who want to start a career in this industry are pressured to change their image to get a larger audience for themselves. Mariah Carey changed her image from music videos of her running in a field to her wearing a small tight dress and rubbing herself wtih money; this was a result of record companies pressuring a young female artist to change her image. "It has now become about her body and how she can sexualize herself to appeal to a larger male audience in hopes of obtaining fans that may not have been attracted to her music in the first place" (Peters 5). Record companies make their artists change themselves only to attract men who are intrested in the females' sexuality, not for her music. The companies do not see these women as talent but objects to lure in money.
The portrayal of women as sex objects in hip hop also comes from racism. African American women justify their exploitation of themselves as sex objects from the racism as well as sexism that they recieve in society. These women belive that their bodies is all they have to offer in exchange for money, jewelry and even the feeling of being wanted (Penn 2). Women justify their actions from sexism and racsim they believe in, they sexualize themselves because they belive that their body is all they have to offer, because they need money, becuase they want to feel wanted. These women are feeling this racism and sexism because of the of the messages delieverd thorough what they do for a living, they are being oppresed by the very thing they do.
Racism is also at the fault of why African American men continue to objectify women in their music. "Many black men battle racism or oppression within hip-hop culture and have been condintioned to distrut intrusive feeling of trust and love" (Penn 2). This hypermasculanity in hip hop has changed how men look at women. There is pressure from society that is directed towards men that causes men's behavior to change. This change is the result of men feeling the need to be powerful and in order to do this women must be oppressed, in this case being portrayed as objects.
Below are two videos by Mariah Carey. The first one was made at the beginning of her career and the second one is current to her career. Not only is her image changing but her message and her audience that she is singing to. Is this an example of record companies changing their artists image? Is this image change the only reason she has had such a long career?
