Gender and Sexuality in Music Video

Growing up, I was surrounded by hip-hop music. My parents were gangbangers in their earlier years, so my early life consisted of a constant stream of all forms of hip-hop, from Tupac, NWA, Public Enemy, Ice Cube, etc. I loved everything about it, except for the language that my parents didn't want me to hear, but that didn't stop them showing me the greatest hits of the late 80s and early 90s. It wasn't until I got older that I noticed the imagery that accompanied the music videos, which were full of half naked women in almost every video. Even songs with deeper intellectual meanings to their lyrics has accompanying music videos with unrelated images of misogyny and stereotypes of black men, which promote distorted ideas about sexuality and gender.
One of the music videos that exemplifies this stereotype of gender and sexuality is Bruno Mars' "24K Magic". I will have to admit, I love this song and have listened to it countless times. But there is a lot to be said about the lyrical content and images in the music video. In the music video, the men play the role of "players" and "hustlers", having the best and most flashy clothes, jewelry, cars, and more. They even have their own jet! This certainly makes it seem like men are the ones who get these things, and the girls are only there to look hot and dance around these things. In the lyrics, Mars describes how he has girls all around him because of the things that he has. The women have no identity of their own, and are shown as just shallow objects looking to admire the men who are on top. Without sound, you would interpret the story of the music video as the guy getting whatever material goods he can get his hands on, which will attract females, whose only desire is to serve the men who have these items.
While I love Bruno Mars as an artist, this video reinforces harmful stereotypes of gender and sexuality, especially when the target audience is 13-18 year olds. While Bruno Mars performs next to the pool, the girls just stand around in the background in their bathing suits. This can be harmful in teaching young girls that they shouldn't strive for anything other than that, but more dangerously, teaches young adolescents to treat girls like objects and to chase material things exclusively. This example can apply to several different moments in the music video.
While it hurts me to criticize a song that I love, it's important to notice these themes that permeate hip-hop music videos, as well as genres across the spectrum.

Generation M

Misogyny is extremely prevalent in our media, whether we want to come to terms with or not. Some people want to act like it doesn't exist pervasively, whether it be in our movies, television shows, video games, or music. Growing up as a young boy, I've noticed this misogyny permeate throughout the years. Whether it be the spread of pornography amongst my adolescent friend groups, slurs, or insults, it became more and more prevalent. I'm not going to pretend I was above reproach and criticism as a preteen because I definitely was a part of it. Whether it was reciting sexist jokes from movies or sexist lines from rap songs with my friends, it became a common thing amongst us middle schoolers.
This was paired with the twisted view of masculinity that was pushed on us prevalently through the media. Rather than the good virtues of masculinity we might've learned from our parents (like respecting others, providing for people we care about, having good manners, etc.), we were taught virtues of machismo and brutality from media. They taught us that masculinity meant being heterosexual, white, and tough. These media portrayals also taught us that women LOVED to be pursued by men, and that was their main goal in films. A women's desire, other than that, wasn't a priority to anyone. I wanted to be that tough guy growing up, and I definitely didn't want to be associated with anything feminine, in fear of being made fun of by my friends.
I believe these factors contribute to the violence against female by males that are part of the whole "bro culture" as described in the film "The Bro Code". When male children are raised on these values, they begin to maliciously manifest into their adult years. Media still perpetuates these same ideas that we grew up, allowing some guys to justify their beliefs. Porn and media consumption has popularized ideas that they believe every girl wants, regardless of their personal interests and wants.