How females are represented in music videos

1. Justin Timberlake - Tunnel Vision (Explicit)

The first of my 3 videos is one by well known artist Justin Timberlake. The video itself was directed by 3 males. This features topless women throughout the majority of the video, the nature of this video has caused YouTube to include an 18+ age restriction on it to prevent younger viewers from seeing the content. In terms of representing women, the video seems to emphasise the vulnerable side of women by having them parading around naked whilst dancing erotically.


The ways in which the women in the video cover their body with their hands and crouch down to hide their body suggest that the women are not naked out of choice and have been forced into being that way, which shows women as being vulnerable and weak. Whereas in modern years the idea of male and female equality is important, however this video still seems to view women as the weaker sex and only an object to males.

In terms of the female gaze, young females watching this video are likely to look at the extremely skinny women and believe that is how all women should have to look to be a part of the male gaze. This is dangerous for young women especially teenagers because they do not yet understand that women's bodies are all different and looking up to these women in the music video could potentially be harmful.

In the male gaze however, close ups of the females naked body have been deliberately included in the video in order to attract the attention of its heterosexual male viewers. The camera specifically focuses on the naked curves of the women in the video, making it seem like the women involved are just objects for men to enjoy. The ways in which the women in the video are also heavily made up with make up makes them look more visually attractive to the mainly male audience.

Another feature of Mulvey's male gaze however is the ways in which males look up to Justin as a role model, as he is surrounded by attractive naked young women. This is likely to make the males viewers believe that promiscuous behaviour is acceptable as that is what the music video suggests.The fact that the main male in the video is fully clothed yet again empahasises how males have physical power over females and that he does not need to be unclothed to be found attractive.

Long shots have also been used of the women to show their full body, these shots also emphasise the idea of having to be skinny to be found attractive in the male gaze. The ways in which the woman stands in this shot have been specifically done to ensure her figure is on full show to the viewers. I don't believe that these kinds of music videos are a good example to young males and females of how to behave, as they seem to promote sexual behaviours to a audience that are mainly underage and susceptible to influence from these popstars that they idolise and look up to.

2. Beyonce - If I were a boy

This slightly older song by Beyonce was also directed by a male, but in contrast to the previous music video it does not include the nudity which was the main focal point of Timberlake's video. Unlike Timberlake's video, Beyonce's has a storyline which is easy to follow throughout the duration of the video. Due to Beyonce's fame and fanbase it would be inappropriate for a woman of her status to be walking around naked in her own music video. Beyonce is seen as a role model figure to many women across the world for her self respect and 'womanly figure'.

In this music video Beyonce is playing a role reversal of what her life would be like if she was male. It is clear to see that the message in this song and video is that women are the victims in relationships as men do not understand how their actions hurt their partners.

However, even though nudity is not included in this video the male gaze theory still applies. This is because Beyonce is still heavily made up with make up and made to look attractive throughout the video, which attracts both male and female attention. The female gaze of this video would be girls looking up to Beyonce as inspiration of a woman that they aspire to be like. The male gaze however would be more focused on their attraction to Beyonce's appearances.

Even though this video is completely different to the previous, the song itself as well as the video also promotes the vulnerability of women as it shows Beyonce being cheated on by her partner but not doing anything about it.

Nearing the end of the video, it shows Beyonce in the morning before her and her husband both go to work. This is a small but significant part of the video as it shows that in modern times women can also go to work when in a relationship rather than sticking to a 'housewife' role that would have been expected of them in previous years. This is a good message to put across to its viewers because it shows the equality that has now been established between men and women.

The message of the video is clear to both male and female viewers that unfaithful behaviour in a relationship is not acceptable and can happen to both male and females when in a relationships. I also think it helps emphasise this by showing the situation from the perspective of both partners, which will make the video easier to relate to by both sexes.

3. Chris Brown - Fine China

Just like the other two music videos, this video was also directed by two male directors. However, in contrast to the other two videos, this one focuses more on the males within the video rather than the female. This is very different to the other videos I have analysed as the females had taken the lead in both, the male gaze is still very much apparent in this video however but is more focused on how males look at Chris as a role model.

For example, wealth is a main focal point of this video which we can tell from the very beginning from the technology in the lead females house as well as the sports car driven by Chris himself. Mulvey's male gaze of this video is mostly males looking up to Chris as an inspiration as he has the money, the looks and the girl which any heterosexual male would dream of having. By using long shots the director captures all three of these features in one shot, which is just as likely to grab a males attention as naked women did in Timberlake's video.

As in the other two videos, women are also perceived as the weaker sex in Chris's video, this becomes apparent when the lead female's father has sent out people to get his daughter back from Chris as he does not approve of him. Chris shows the lead female as being weaker because as he notices the people coming to take her he immediately stands in front of her to protect her, assuming that she would not be able to protect herself from them purely because she is a woman.



Another scene in the video shows the pair walking along before entering a nightclub, in this scene Chris is leading her along, showing that he is the dominant figure in the relationship because of his physical strength over her. By having his arm around the back of the lead female suggests that he is protective of her and she is 'his'.






In the fight scenes of the video, it is a very kind of stereotypical man fighting for his girl, which could be seen as desirable for young males as it would show their strength and manliness to the girl that they are trying to impress. So yet again women are seen to be an object that men have to work hard to get and impress.




Dancing is also a main feature of this video, which adds to Mulvey's males gaze theory in this video. The fact that Chris has the ability to sing, dance, impress the girl he likes and is wealthy adds to the reasons why males would aspire to be like him. Showcasing all of these features of Chris's life in this video will make males of his age envious and make them want to try their best to be like him.

Overall

As a whole, I believe that the ways in which women are represented in video's is determined by many different factors including whether the artist is male or female, the genre of music and the target audience of the song. As most of the songs I have chosen are of a similar genre the ways that women are perceived are similar in that the songs are mostly about love and that women are an object to be protected. I do not believe that having the nudity as shown in Justin Timberlake's music video is acceptable as it does not show women in a good way at all and can influence younger women to have little respect for themselves and their bodies. The male gaze has always been a big influence in music videos and I believe that the male gaze is the main reason as to why more and more music videos are featuring nudity and provocative female participants.