Resource A clips 

Portrayal of women in hip hop music videos

Women are often objectified in hip hop music videos. The role played by women in some music videos involves women being seen as a sexual object to be admired by men and envied by other women. Women are portrayed as being a male’s possession, and are dispensable – there are always several women for every man.

Images of women that are portrayed include:

·        attractive, made-up women, who are slim but curvy with large breasts, and who are skimpily dressed – often wearing little more than a bikini

·        women who are dancing provocatively

·        women working hard to please a man and enjoying attention from him

·        suggestions of bisexuality – women dancing suggestively with other women for a male’s benefit.

It is not only in music videos by male artists that such images are portrayed. Often, female music artists include such images in their music videos. These images present a culture of using sex to sell, male empowerment and sexual objectification of women.

Your teacher will show you three music videos. Make notes about each video that will help you complete the first part of the assessment activity.

For each video:

·        name the artist and song

·        describe images of women that are portrayed in the video.

OR

Portrayal of men in situational comedies

Situational comedies (sitcoms) often portray men and women in stereotypical ways as a source of much of the humour and many of the storylines that are presented.

Sitcoms often portray men as being unintelligent – particularly in relation to the women in the show, messy, lazy and women chasers.

Some common images of men portrayed include:

·        being less attractive than the woman he is paired with

·        being sexually promiscuous – a bachelor who enjoys dating many women

·        behaving in a silly, reckless, dangerous or immature way

·        relying on his wife to look after the children and the house, cook his meals and mop up his mistakes – he is unable to look after himself.

Many men (and women) find that the portrayal of men in this way maintains unhealthy and unhelpful stereotypes and is unfair.

There are have been many examples of situation comedies over the past several decades that portray men in this way and there are many examples of this type of portrayal in sitcoms screening in New Zealand today.

Your teacher will show you three clips from TV sitcoms. Make notes about each sitcom clip that will help you complete the first part of the assessment activity.

For each clip:

·        name the TV show

·        describe images of men that are portrayed in the sitcom.