Sexualisation of Pop stars

[Unicorn ♥✿]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz...on-raunch.html

Yes, yes. It's Daily Mail

But what do you think?

Just because Lady Gaga IS rauncy, is that wrecking the show, or just adding to the entertainment?

Taylor Swift, noting "Raunchy" about her. Nor Adele, does their way of performing and dressing RUIN the show?

Katy Perry is quite explicit, but in a funny way (icing gun boobs anyone?)
Oh, being raunchy RUINS the show... (EMAs BEST LIVE!)



Discuss

[Snufkin]

It's important to point out that it concerns "pop" stars. Nine Inch Nails have a song called Closer with the lyrics "I wanna fuck you like an animal", but at the same time, people aren't seeing this on mainstream TV. So, I'm not prudish, and those lyrics don't bother me (infact I love that song!) but when it's pop stars who have a mostly young female audience, it's surely promoting the wrong image.

I sort of like pop music, I'm not ashamed to like catchy mainstream stuff, but at the same time, I don't really need the singer gyrating to enjoy the song. Adele proved in 2011 that people still value a voice over image, since she greatly out performed Lady Gaga's Born This Way (and everything else released last year).

Katy Perry and Rihanna are obviously attractive, but whether it's music or not, there's an appeal in leaving something to the imagination. I'd say Pixie Lott pulls that off quite well. I can't imagine the sexualisation of music is having a good effect on this generation...infact I would say a lot of mainstream music has led to the societal problems we're seeing today, in the UK at least.

[Maverick.]

When you are a female pop music singer, music video directors always want them to wear the least amount of clothes as humanly possible. I just don't understand that. For example, Mariah Carey, Beyonce, Gwen Stefani; sometimes appear in their music videos where they are wearing nothing but a bikini top and very short bottoms. I just don't understand it. To me that shows that the music/singing talent isn't enough. We are going to have to kick it up a notch and have the singer practically nude.

I think it also has to do with music style. Taylor Swift is very family friendly. Her songs are hardly ever explicit. Lady Gaga however has a rougher style. Her music is pressured more, thus she feels her fashion must match her style. Other musicians are sadly copying Gaga. What makes it even more unfortunate is that Gaga is copying Madonna who is the queen of pop.

[Cabron]

The thing with pop stars is that they're a package. A product, if you will. Not every pop star is like this but they are marketing an image, above all. Part of this image is how they look. Yeah, Lady Gaga and Katy Perry have minimal clothes and shocking outfits but that's all part of their look. I don't think it's fair to glorify Adele or Taylor Swift for being 'family-friendly' when they're doing the exact same thing that Gaga and Katy Perry are doing, just in a different way. It's a crucial part of the pop music genre and the purpose of the show is to showcase that. So yes, it'll include some racy material, but that's to be expected.

[Baxter]

I don't think it's anything new, pop stars, or music stars in general have always been considered "raunchy" for their time. We just get used to something and become more tolerant of that, so the next generation has to kick it up a notch. Hell, even Elvis "swinging his hips" made people knock him for being too raunchy. Every old generation thinks the new one has "gone too far".

I wouldn't say it ruins the show, since its just a grab for attention. It doesn't necessarily take away from the work. It's the reason why Robert Plant went shirtless, or the Red Hot Chillie Peppers wore socks on their dicks. To some the 'act of performing' is just as important as the music. And being 'raunchy' is quite the performance.

Oh, and isn't Taylor Swift like, country-pop and started out as a country star? Thats probably the reason why she's so family friendly.

[Digilodger]

Taking this thread internationally . . . would you guys consider these sexualization of underage pop stars?


Seifuku ga Jama o Suru ([My] School Uniform is Getting in the Way): http://youtu.be/e_1ObyG2-1Y
No comment on this one. You'll get it once you read the English sub.
This song was released in January 2007, featuring 14 members. At that time, 7 of them were under 18 years old.

Heavy Rotation: http://youtu.be/lkHlnWFnA0c
Throw 21 young girls together in their undergarments in a room and film them, then slap a pop song over the video. What a BRILLIANT idea! There's no way any man can keep being gay after seeing this!
On a serious note, this song was released in August 2010. At that time, 3 of these members were below 18 years old.



Side note: I get these info from Wikipedia, not the top of my head. Also, you know what's interesting? Check the "statistics" on those videos (click on "Show Video Statistics" button below the Full View button.)

[Cosmo]

Originally Posted by Cabron

The thing with pop stars is that they're a package. A product, if you will. Not every pop star is like this but they are marketing an image, above all. Part of this image is how they look. Yeah, Lady Gaga and Katy Perry have minimal clothes and shocking outfits but that's all part of their look.

But is this look appropropriate considering their audience? You haven't really answered that. I think it's interesting that we see more and more people getting into Pop music, younger and younger people becoming pop stars, and the amount of clothes decreasing and decreasing. It's interesting that if we take this and then consider that younger and younger girls (and boys to an extent) are feeling incredibly insecure about their bodies and appearance, constantly thinking they don't look good enough, then we see a sort of link. These young children are growing up watching pop stars with photoshop, effects, makeup etc. who look incredibly beautiful and attractive, and they're of course comparing themselves to these pop stars. I think it's very bad for children's self-esteem and I also think it's inapporpriate on a sexual level - is it really okay to show that much skin to a 7 year old on the justification that "it's part of her package as a pop star"?

Originally Posted by Cabron

I don't think it's fair to glorify Adele or Taylor Swift for being 'family-friendly' when they're doing the exact same thing that Gaga and Katy Perry are doing, just in a different way.

I'm sorry but this plain does not make sense. We realise they're doing it in a different way - they're being family friendly and proving positive role models for children to aspire to. They're also appropriate for family listening and for young children to listen and, importantly, watch. Adele is a brilliant role model for appearance - she flat out refused to lose weight at the request of her record label and she's confident and very talented. Taylor Swift is also a good role model in many respects. I honestly don't have much of a problem with Gaga. Her outfits are often quite revealing which I think she should work on avoiding in future, but her message is so positive and helps so many people through tough times that it outweighs it completely. Katy Perry is also not too bad. Often revealing but always in a playful, comedic manner, and her message (Firework for example) also oughtweighs it. I also think the R&B scene plays a huge part in the problem as they're more often than not the source of it.

Originally Posted by Cabron

It's a crucial part of the pop music genre and the purpose of the show is to showcase that. So yes, it'll include some racy material, but that's to be expected.

If the genre of Pop cannot survive without the singers being almost naked or without providing negative role models then the genre needs to die as it's having a negative effect on society.

[The Morrigan]

I don't think it's fair to say pop music is the only reason for people's insecurities. Most of the photos are airbrushed anyway which isn't really the artist's fault and it's not just pop music that has all these naked girls in. Society's definition of beauty is everywhere so even if the pop music genre was to die something would be there to take its place.

To me it's music. I like it. If there happens to be a few naked girls dancing around who am I to compain

It's all a bit of fun anyway, if the people like Katy Perry and GaGa are happy prancing around in little clothes that's up to them. If Adele and others don't want to do that then that's fine too.

[JKmadu619]

Sex sells simply becauses men make less informed buisness choices when looking for a mate, or sexually excited. This means they're more likely to buy the Lady Gaga CD if she looks "Sexy" on the cover, only to get home and wonder why the hell they just bought a Lady Gaga CD. Of course this works different for different people, for one it takes a somewhat weak minded or mentally weakened person to be easily fooled by marketing, two the definition of "Sexy" changes from man to man. Popstars know that if they show skin, their views, and sales will go up.

View this thread as well: http://www.teenhelp.org/forums/f38-c...sm-yeah-right/

- Justin

[Marguerite]

Originally Posted by Cosmo

I'm sorry but this plain does not make sense. We realise they're doing it in a different way - they're being family friendly and proving positive role models for children to aspire to. They're also appropriate for family listening and for young children to listen and, importantly, watch. Adele is a brilliant role model for appearance - she flat out refused to lose weight at the request of her record label and she's confident and very talented. Taylor Swift is also a good role model in many respects. I honestly don't have much of a problem with Gaga. Her outfits are often quite revealing which I think she should work on avoiding in future, but her message is so positive and helps so many people through tough times that it outweighs it completely. Katy Perry is also not too bad. Often revealing but always in a playful, comedic manner, and her message (Firework for example) also oughtweighs it. I also think the R&B scene plays a huge part in the problem as they're more often than not the source of it.

It made sense to me. I can't imagine an artist singing a song like 'Some Like You' or 'Rolling In The Deep' while bouncing around in a bikini. Same with, er, some of Taylor Swift's songs (I can't think of any by name ).

It is about a brand, and Taylor's brand, for example, is wholesome. It's unfair to put her on a pedestal because record producers aren't saying to Taylor "Alright, now, for your next video, we want you to get in a whipped cream bikini and dance on top of a table!". It isn't about Taylor's personal morals, it's about her core fanbase and what appeals to it. If Taylor didn't have any success in her career (and I'm not just talking about when she became a household name), maybe she'd be shaking her stuff in next to nothing as well.

I also think it's funny how female pop stars are singled out for this. If you put pretty much any RnB video on these days it's got explicit lyrics and women walking around in barely anything. You can try to argue that it's about the audience and blah blah, but RnB is played just as much (probably even more) as pop music on mainstream radio stations. It's not about the music, anyway; i'm sure a lot of people would take issue with how Rihanna or Nicki Minaj dress and act in their film clips. It's about gender, and frankly, men can get away with a lot more in this regard**


****note my use of 'in this regard' before you yell at me Matthew

[dr2005]

I'm probably going to come across a bit prudish here, but for me the sexual imagery and general raunchiness which is creeping more and more into music just does nothing for me at all. I've nothing against having backing dancers or choregraphy or a spectacle generally - when done well, it can add a lot to the performance. But when you've got people effectively gyrating around leaving very little to the imagination and acting as if they want to cop off with their backing dancers, all it makes me think is "Jeez, get a room people!" If I go to a concert or a gig, or see an artist on TV, I'm watching because I want to hear their music and see them on stage. I don't want to see their impersonation of a pornstar, frankly. That applies to both sexes, by the way - it just becomes a distraction to the music which is supposed to be their trade, and Lady Gaga (who is an artist I like a lot, for the record) is a very good example. I saw her at Glastonbury in 2009, and while I enjoyed the songs and some of the act my abiding memories of it are the impression she was completely tanked and the fact that she inadvertently flashed her womanhood to the crowd because she had a short red dress and no underwear. I couldn't tell you for the life of me which song she was performing when it happened because my brain got blindsided by a proper "what the hell?!" moment. I can, however, remember an acoustic performance of "Poker Face" from the same set which was very good indeed. So for me it does become a distraction, and I genuinely believe that good artists could get by and still be successful without it.

[Snufkin]

While we're on the subject, is Nicki Minaj's arse real???

[Cosmo]

Originally Posted by Snufkin

While we're on the subject, is Nicki Minaj's arse real???

Has to be fake. No ass can be that good. Probably padding.

[JKmadu619]

Originally Posted by Cosmo

Has to be fake. No ass can be that good. Probably padding.

Seriously, I find it comically huge, to the point where I'm too busy chuckling to myself to see any sexual arousment people find in her.

Edit, also to Cosmo: Regarding Adele refusing ot lose weight, she is a great singer, and it's great she has self confidence, but she is borderline unhealthy, which isn't necessarily something to be proud of. I'm not sure if I know the answer because either you're setting unrealistic expectations in media, or else you're telling children "Being unhealthy is rad!"

- Justin

[Invert]

Overweight (up until a point) women tend to have longer lives.

The sexualisation of women in pop is not a new thing, and although I'm sure some artists are sexualising themselves, the industry has often pushed for the sexualisation of women... and I guess for many, they have to fall into it to compete (or maybe they are geniunely sexualized people... in which case if they are empowered more than a mere object, its not so bad. There's nothing wrong with a women owning her sexuality, but there's a problem was its 'sex objects').

But Objectification is a problem, in all the media.... I don't think individual artists are to blame, its the industries they are in, often, and the culture. But things need to change:

Virtually every media form studied provides ample evidence of the sexualization of women, including television, music videos, music lyrics, movies, magazines, sports media, video games, the Internet and advertising (e.g., Gow, 1996; Grauerholz & King, 1997; Krassas, Blauwkamp,& Wesselink, 2001, 2003; Lin, 1997; Plous & Neptune, 1997; Vincent, 1989;Ward, 1995). Some studies have examined forms of media that are especially popular with children and adolescents, such as video games and teen-focused magazines.
In study after study, findings have indicated that women more often than men are portrayed in a sexual manner (e.g., dressed in revealing clothing, with bodily postures or facial expressions that imply sexual readiness) and are objectified (e.g., used as a decorative object, or as body parts rather than a whole person). In addition, a narrow (and unrealistic) standard of physical beauty is heavily emphasized. These are the models of femininity presented for young girls to study and emulate.

http://www.apa.org/pi/women/programs/girls/report.aspx

[CitizenErased]

I think that the music industry is like TV soaps - They have to get more insane to keep people interested. For example, have you ever seen a popular soap without someone being killed or something shocking like that? 10 or 20 years ago, if someone was killed in a tv show it would've been considered a lot more shocking. But people get bored too easily, so new heights of ridiculousness need to be brought in to keep people interested.

With the sexualisation of Pop stars, I think it's really similar. It's become a lot more common to wear more revealing clothes and such like, so record companies can get away with more and more. Every time I see a music video on the music channel, almost all of them have sexual references. That's because it's become more acceptable. Why it's needed, I don't know if that makes sense, but I'm gonna post it anyway and if it makes sense then cool

[Unicorn ♥✿]

Originally Posted by Marguerite

It made sense to me. I can't imagine an artist singing a song like 'Some Like You' or 'Rolling In The Deep' while bouncing around in a bikini. Same with, er, some of Taylor Swift's songs (I can't think of any by name ).

HAHAHA! "LOVE STORY.... BABY JUST SAY yeeeeeeesss"

*Dances with alf naked dudes*

[dr2005]

Originally Posted by Glen Coco

HAHAHA! "LOVE STORY.... BABY JUST SAY yeeeeeeesss"

*Dances with alf naked dudes*

I'm not going to be able to listen to that song without that image coming up now...damn you.

[xxpaigiexx]

Celebrities are always going to do outrageous things, because they can. They are so manufactored it's unreal. They are told how to act and how to speak, and what to wear. In order to appeal to different age groups they have to portray a certain image.
Lady Gaga, although she is pop her songs are quirky and her style reflects that. Rihanna a lot of her songs are pretty explicit, so her videos and her style reflect that massively. I do think that the sexualisation of pop stars does definitely rub off on the youth of today, the amount of YOUNG I mean like 13, 14 year olds I see out dressed in things that I wouldn't even wear and many older women would not wear, and most of the time they aren't old enough to get in anywhere and there are no underaged discos in the area I live in so it makes me wonder where they are going done up to the nines.