Art and creative expression have always been part of our social and sensitive nature and have shaped our perspective of cultural expression, from telling stories to performing primitive dances to painting scenes of human experience on cave walls.
Pablo Picasso stated that to him, “Art and sex are one and the same”. Sigmund Freud’s sublimation theory suggests that “real” artists create works of art through excessive sexual energy.
Historically, music has not always been sexually explicit. Monks have been practising for centuries. As a natural part of human beings, it goes hand in hand with sex and sexual behaviour, especially in our time.
However, excessive female sexuality in music can have a negative impact such as objectification, including self-sexualization, which can lead to a decline in physical confidence and even mental illness, such as depression and eating disorders.
Today’s music industry is subliminally pushing the youth towards pornography.
How the Content of Pop Music has Changed in the Past Few Decades
Since the 1980s, sexual behaviour in music videos has been evident. Every ten years, the degree of correspondence between stereotypes and gender representation changes. Music video content has always had cultural relevance and has been subliminally influencing the personality development of teenagers.
Over time, the perception of women has changed. Modern music videos show that the value of female characters lies in their appearance and ability to entertain and please men. In many music videos, the camera focuses on the female’s chest and legs. In these music videos, women usually wear more revealing clothing to attract male audiences.
Let us see how sexualization has increased in the music industry from the 1980s to the 2010s:
Music in the 1980s
On August 1, 1981, MTV’s first 24-hour music video channel began to air. Most of the music videos released in the 1980s portrayed women as attractive and alluring objects. In keeping with the typical stereotype, women here are super attractive but submissive.
Even though women’s talents got proper credit. Still, it was shown as if their skills could never be better than men’s. This concept became clear in AC/DC’s “Sink the Pink” music video. One of the protagonists in the video is a confident billiard woman. She uses her talent and sexiness to attract attention, but she doesn’t seem to be more talented than her male counterparts.
Music in the 1990s
Music was still an integral part of the cultural evolution of the 1990s. With the advent of alternative genres, hip-hop, and R&B, the music scene had transformed into a darker and more provocative sound. The popular music videos at the time came from artists such as Aaliyah, Weezer, Nirvana, Michael Jackson, Notorious B.I.G and Radiohead.
Although the famous performers and genres of the time were different from those of the previous decade. The visual presentation of this music and the way the audience came across it remain the same.
Streaming music videos continue to introduce diversified visual experiences to youth culture. The depiction of women as primarily dancers or posers implies that women in the 1990s must show physical talents that emphasize sexual relationships rather than musical talents.
Music from 2000s to 2010s
In the 2000s, social media platforms such as Facebook and MySpace became popular. This allowed users to quickly share music videos with each other. Thus affecting the direction and perception of sexuality in music videos.
Due to the increased availability of music videos on the Internet, many of which contain pornographic material. This has led to a higher acceptance of the normality of sexual themes in music videos.
Even in the 2010s, artists’ music videos made provocative headlines. The video that Rihanna made for the song “S&M” in which she simulated sex with a life-size doll. She wore bondage suits to attract widespread media attention and was banned in 11 countries.
During this period, young women with low self-esteem were more likely to view their bodies in a negative light.
How the Internet has Contributed to youth towards porn
Modern technology, social media and famous musicians are improving access to music videos around the world. Especially in the United States, the United Kingdom, and India. It all depends on the general diet of teenagers sexual media diet.
Human sexuality not only includes gender but also human behaviour. In music videos, certain songs affect listeners in different ways. Men tend to use music as a source of energy or to create a more positive image for themselves. Many artists mention sex, drugs, violence, etc. in their music and portray them in their music videos.
How Sexual Content is Now in Music Videos and drives youth towards porn?
In addition to watching pornographic music videos, teenagers may also find other sexually explicit material on the internet. All of that reinforces the misogynistic message of sex music videos. For example- some videos show that women are always sexually willing and that consent does not matter.
By analyzing the relationship between music videos and gender representations. It is possible to draw conclusions about how music videos are on the internet. Especially social media affects young people’s perceptions of relevant social behaviours.
As more youth watch these videos, their negative behaviour will increase. Sexual behaviours in music videos and behaviours depicted by artists can leave a negative impression on the public.
What is the Overall Impact?
Today’s teenagers are exposed to more sexual content than any other generation. In addition to the Internet, young people also receive early sexual exposure through music videos, advertisements and reality shows. Even social networks represent them better than previous generations.
In fact, social media is not just about cute puppies, makeup videos and inspirational quotes. Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat contain quite a lot of pornographic content. Therefore, teenagers are more aware of the situation and have a different mentality than their parents.
In fact, technology has completely changed the way young people view interpersonal relationships, sexuality and sex itself
9 Ways Modern Pop Music is Causing Desensitization to Sexual Content
Music is powerful due to its deep connection with teenagers and its influence on personal development. This may be more than any other entertainment medium. Many times, this can negatively affect the youth today.
Here are 9 ways in which modern pop music is causing desensitization to sexual content:
#1 Sexual Objectification
Music videos tend to sexually objectify women more clearly and portray them as objects of consumption. However, when artists choose to sexualize themselves. They have more autonomy over their roles on how they would like to appear.
Sexual objectification can be harmful whether men do it, or women. If women take more control of their sexual image, it’ll create a more positive image for young girls. However, if they learn to behave a certain way by men, it has a more negative impact.
Take the two most viewed music videos on YouTube. As an example, Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee’s Despacito video clearly sexualizes the female body. It has now more than 5 billion views. The video objectifies her body most directly. And the camera regularly focuses on her legs, hips and chest whereas it showed only men’s faces.
# 2 Misogyny
When listening to the lyrics, we often hear derogatory words such as “hoe” and “bitch” to describe women. This shows how these offensive terms are now standard. In addition, misogynistic lyrics act as an inducement that leads to aggressive behaviour and sexual arousal. It creates conditions for female victimization by men.
Rap is a genre that can show sexual imagery and sexual degradation for both men and women. This behaviour can influence their own behaviour by telling them that these actions have no consequences. Repeated exposure to sexually aggressive lyrics can affect adolescents’ behaviour. This may cause adolescents to exhibit abnormal behaviours when expressing their desires and needs for sexual activity.
#3 Mental Health Issues
As parents increasingly question the impact of technology on their children’s health and well-being. Many people are concerned about the massive coverage of harmful content in inappropriate music videos. The industry even targets children who are as young as 2 years old.
This can have a detrimental effect on the developing brain.
Children who face stress often and frightening emotions may have poor development of the prefrontal cortex and lobes. These are the parts of the brain responsible for executive functions. Making conscious decisions and planning for the future are the main ones.
These offensive videos on YouTube are only a fraction of millions of other inappropriate content on the internet. They are another example of possible abuse on digital platforms that rely on content management algorithms. As well as a series of recent reports exposing the dark side of technology in the minds of young people.
#4 Abnormal sexual development
Teenagers who see degrading and pornographic content in music videos will lose their way during their development phase. This is the time when they need to learn to manage their sexual behaviour. And when they are more likely to have uncertainty about their sexual beliefs and moral values.
More than one-third of popular songs contain explicit or implicit references to sexual activity. Through simulation and reward behaviour depicted in popular music. There is strong theoretical and empirical evidence that exposure to such media can lead to early sexual activity.
#5 Affects Relationships
Establishing romantic and sexual relationships is the core of the development of adolescents and young adults. Exposure to pornographic material may impair your ability to develop and maintain healthy intimate relationships.
Sexual content in music videos often contains information about sexual distortions, stereotypes, and potentially harmful information. Frequent viewing of sex-oriented media content, such as soap operas, music videos, and the prime-time show is bad. It’s related to the increasing acceptance of common sexual stereotypes and abnormal beliefs about relationships.
Young people who repeatedly see sexually explicit content in the media may have low trust in their intimate partners. They might lose hope of finding sexual exclusivity with their partners.
#6 Gateway to porn
Children and adolescents who are frequently exposed to sexual content on media are at risk of addiction. In short, addiction includes activities that were once pleasurable but eventually become a necessity. Sexual music videos can be used as a gateway to access pornographic websites. If the time a child or adolescent spends too much time online causes significant mental injury.
This type of behaviour not only brings negative social or entertainment impacts. But it also fails from stopping the child from accessing porn. They are more likely to engage in sexual activities and, over time, switch to more advanced non-coital sexual activities. This crosses all boundaries when it comes to their age.
#7 Sexual aggression
If you keep watching sexually aggressive content on the internet, it can start to seem normal. In fact, research shows that people who see such content are more likely to sexually objectify and dehumanize others. They are more likely to express rape intentions, and less likely to interfere during a sexual assault. Are more likely to attribute sexual assault to the victim, and more likely to forward sexual information without consent. And finally, more likely to commit actual sexual violence
#8 Sexual Violence
Domestic violence is an important issue that is generally considered acceptable by the media. And therefore challenges the perceptions of how men and women should treat their partners in their relationships.
The media usually promotes the idea that women must always tolerate male aggression. The media portrays domestic violence from both visual and auditory aspects and normalizes the use of violence in interpersonal relationships.
#9 Sexual Uncertainty
The gap between expectations and reality can lead to “sexual uncertainty” in sexual beliefs and values. And it may also be related to sexual dissatisfaction, fear and anxiety. Sexual content in media can reinforce the double standards of active male sexuality and passive female recipients. Misogynistic sexual content on TV is six times more likely to cause sexual confusion than people who watch regular content.
Conclusion
Parents and caregivers should conduct research on the Internet, social media and the entertainment industry. That will help them understand the current dangers and opportunities for their children on the Internet. If parents and guardians are aware and make a decision.
They are less likely to be afraid of any of the online risks.
They should also lay an active role in the children’s digital life. Parents can use porn-blocking software like Blocker X to do so. Supporting children and young people who are exposed to sexual content online is very important for processing their experiences in a healthy way.
