Powerpoint Investigation Summer

How do female artists represent
themselves in their own videos and
why?
By Helen Blyth

Hypothesis
• I believe that there will be two types of
video made by female artists, one of these
being where they remove their clothes,
dance provocatively and represent
themselves as men’s play things.
• The other type of video would be of
women empowering themselves and being
good role models, however I think most
female artists will promote both messages
in their music videos to create a larger fan
base of males and females.

The Female artists I will be
focusing on and the links to their
videos
• Britney Spears
i. Gimme More - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTdDCfBOalw
• Sugababes
i. No Can Do -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MuoG3vqOWZ8&feature=related
• Robyn
i. Handle Me - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGfzGb8-b64
• Eurythmics
i. Sweet Dreams - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52bh36j023Y

Genre
• Genre is a huge contributing factor to the way in which artists
represent themselves: the way they dress, underlining messages,
lyrics, make-up, colours, images, narrative etc.
• This is all because of the way in which they are trying to appeal to
their target audience, because some will watch videos, some will
just listen others will remix, copy their style etc.
• Heavy metal/Goth music for instance is specifically targeted at a
niche audience whom although stereotyped generally wear a lot of
black (shown below).
• I am mainly focusing on mainstream dance/pop/hip-hop music
videos as they are seen by a wider audience and have a greater
influence.

The Male Gaze
• According to Laura Mulvey ‘The Male
Gaze’ refers to the act of “looking upon
women as objects, of adopting the role of
spectator. Metaphorically it refers to a way
of thinking within society.”
• Although Mulvey looked at this through the
Hollywood cinema many of her ideas are
transferable to any type of media e.g.
Music Videos.

Discussion
• I showed a group of six sixth formers (3 male and 3
female) the videos and gave them a questionnaire to
better understand their thoughts on the representation of
females.
• I chose to use sixth formers because they have an
emotional maturity and would answer the questions fully.
• In this group I made them watch 3 music videos:
1. Britney Spears – ‘Gimme More’
2. Robyn – ‘Handle Me’
3. Sugababes – ‘No Can Do’
• Below you can see the Questionnaire they were given.

Britney Spears – ‘Gimme More’
• I chose to discuss her video ‘Gimme More’
because it is a demeaning video with
suggestive lyrics.
• Also Britney Spear’s has a history of
removing her clothes in her videos whilst
trying to be a strong female role model, which
in itself is a contradiction as this shows no
empowerment.
• This video is different to the other two as it
appears to have no redeeming values from
the point of view of a woman.

Britney Spears – ‘Gimme More’
– Brief Analysis
• The use of hand held camera adds to the sense of the
male gaze as if you are seeing it through his eyes.
• The parallel of the ‘innocent’ Britney with blonde hair
and the ‘naughty’ Britney with black hair shows her
inner demons, this juxtaposition also show the differing
perceptions of women through male eyes.
• The close-ups and extreme close-ups of different parts
of her anatomy show her eagerness and adds to the
male gaze, as does the male voice at the end telling
the audience he is “going no where”!
• Strips of light and changes in colour make the mise-
en-scene feel like a clubs and makes the grimy
surroundings look more exotic.

Sugababes – ‘No Can Do’
• The Sugababes Video ‘No Can Do is a stark
difference to ‘Gimme More’ by Britney Spears
because the roles of men and women are
reversed with the women being dominant.
• Whereas in ‘Gimme More’ Britney Spears is
almost begging to please the man saying ‘I
just wanna go that extra mile for you’.
• The Sugababes are physically walking all
over the men, showing the female gaze as
the men are shown as objects, literally as
lamps and cars etc.

Sugababes – ‘No Can Do’ –
Brief Analysis
• Turning the tables on the ever popular male gaze this video is
portrayed through the female gaze with extreme close-ups of
parts of the muscular men’s bodies.
• The occasional black and white shots and the lack of colour
apart from skin tones in the video connotes a lack of emotion
which fits in with the lyrics as the women appear to be very
strong saying “what makes you think I’d want you back again”
• The use of men as objects like the motorbike and lamps etc.
Has reversed feminist theory and changed men into objects
instead of women.
• It is obvious in this video that the women have power over the
men as the close-ups of their faces show and the way in
which they tell the men what to do.

Robyn – ‘Handle Me’
• I mainly chose it because compared to the other
two it doesn’t involve men at all, although the lyrics
do, which is great to show the questionnaire group
to gain a mixed view of representation.
• On top of this just like Annie Lennox (Eurhythmics)
Robyn is very androgynous and so by appearing
more masculine she is creating an entirely
different image of herself compared to Britney
Spears and The Sugababes, one which is not from
the male or female gaze.

Robyn – ‘Handle Me’
• The use of boxes in this video is very clever as they range in sizes
and you can never tell what way they are standing up! This connotes
a sense of confusion and entrapment. The sense of confusion and
the need to figure it out also allows quite long length shots that fit in
with the music at the beginning and this distraction is an element
that is missing from the other two video which is why the need for
nudity or sexual references are needed.
• The different sizes of the boxes enable a variety of sot distances
from close-ups of Robyn’s head in a tiny box to long shots of her
entire body in a long box.
• The lapses in the footage to create a jerk effect fits in with the beat
perfectly to create a coherence and a dance atmosphere.
• The many different outfits that Robyn wears add colour to the mise-
en-scene which is predominantly white this keeps emphasis on her
and the white colour adds a sense on ambiguity.

Questionnaire Comments on
Britney’s Video
80.00%
20.00%
0.00%
Female opinions of Britney's
Video
negative points
positive points
inbetween
33.33%
33.33%
33.33%
Male opinions of Britney's
Video
negative points
positive points
inbetween
As can be seen here the male participants enjoyed Britney’s video more than the females who
predominantly said it was “degrading”, which is expected as she is viewed through the male gaze. A
recurring statement about Britney’s video in the questionnaire answers, is that she wants to be viewed as a
‘sex symbol’ the definition of a sex symbol on Wikipedia is very interesting;
“A sex symbol is a famous person of either gender, known for their sex appeal. The celebrity "star
system"—the tabloid papers, paparazzi, and gossip talk shows—play an important role in creating and
sustaining the public perception of which stars are viewed as attractive. These media industries are in turn
sustained by a strong public demand for sexually alluring photographs or footage of celebrities”
This promotes the view that the audience made her create this “degrading” image of herself, by consuming
media that show her as a sex symbol and in turn viewing her in that light.

Britney’s Video
Another point made by a male in a questionnaire is that “flaunting their good points is the kind of thing
you would find in a club”. This shows the view that Britney’s video is merely reflecting the culture we
live in, in so doing by making this behaviour socially acceptable we created this image of her
ourselves by consuming her material. On the other hand it can be interpreted as the way in which
media like Britney’s video made our culture like this in the first place, by desensitising the public to
images of sex and nudity.
Another interesting comment, made by a female participant, considers the way in which Britney is
“dominating” in this video, so instead of being a helpless woman complying to all the mans needs she
is in fact in charge of the situation.
This is an interesting viewpoint and it is reflected both in the title and the video. ‘Gimme more’ is a
phrased with a very demanding tone and the lyrics just concern her own emotional feelings showing
that she does not care about the male, she does however seem to care about the “cameras are
flashing” connoting that she is using him for publicity or attention.
Overall this video wasn't as well received as the other two, this may have been due to the fact that
Britney has recently done some very strange things and has alienated herself from her audience. The
test group have proved that this video appeals more to the male audience which is shown in the
youtube.com comments like:
JOHNNYNGUY3N100 says
“I thinkI wanna have sex with her “.
In spite of this, on YouTube many females have left positive comments because over Britney’s long
career she has amassed a large fan base consisting of both genders, who support her throughout.

It's Britney Bitch
I see you,
And I just wanna dance with you
Every time they turn the lights down
Just wanna go that extra mile for you
You got my display of affection
Feels like no one else in the room (but you)
[Bridge:]
We can get down like there's no one around
We keep on rocking, we keep on rocking'
Cameras are flashing while we're dirty dancing
They keep watching, keep watching'
Feels like the crowd was saying
[Chorus:]
Gimme Gimme more
Gimme more
Gimme gimme more [x4]
The centre of attention, even when we're up against the wall
You got me in a crazy position (uh huh)
If you're on a mission (ooh)
You got my permission oh
[Bridge]
[Chorus (x4)]
[Spoken]
I just can't control myself, more
They want more?
Well I'll give them more (ow!)
[Chorus (x4)]
Gimme more gimme more
Gimme more gimme more babe
I just want more
Gimme gimme gimme gimme gimme [x4]
Britney’s ‘Gimme More’ Lyrics AnalysedThe repeated use of ‘I’,
‘Gimme’ and ‘my’ shows she
is just thinking about herself
Complying to the needs of the
crowd could be a symbol for her
fans, giving the audience what they
want to see
The male gaze – she is just an object
Overall
•She appears to be just a
toy for the man to play with
– (Male Gaze).
•She doesn't seem to mind
being thought of like this
and attracts the attention
of the cameras – could be
a reflection of societies
need for publicity and
attention.
She seems to be in control of the
man giving him ‘Permission’.
Explicit sexual references show
how society is desensitised to
this and this reference also
shows the male gaze – Barbie
doll?

The Sugababes Video
41.67%
33.33%
25.00%
Male opinions of the Sugababes
video
negative
positive
inbetween
25.00%
58.33%
16.67%
Female opinions of the
Sugababes video
negative
positive
inbetween
In contrast with the results from Britney Spear’s video the Sugababes video was a lot more popular with the
females (58% positive) than the males (33% positive), this is probably due to the fact that it was directed
through the female gaze and involves women dominating men.
One male participant said that they are portrayed as “man eaters to attract women audiences”, this
statement demonstrates the reaction of males that I mentioned earlier and proves that men do not like this
video as it is aimed at women by using very attractive partially naked males and lyrics that try and empower
women stuck in unhappy relationships. Another reason for one of the males to not enjoy this video was that
it was “unimaginative and plain”, the colour tones are very neutral and bleak in this video with the only
colour coming from the females dresses and skin, so the video does look quite plain. However making
furniture and automobiles out of men and reversing the usual roles of gender in this video does not seem
unimaginative but quite the contrary. The participant to say this also described the Sugababes as “arrogant”
and said that they “don’t do a lot in terms of making music”, so this comment may have stemmed from an
earlier bias and from a dislike of the genre of music.

The Sugababes Video
A particularly interesting point made by a female participant was that although the stereotypical
gender roles had been reversed and the women were literally walking all over the men and using
them the Sugababes still tried to keep their “sex appeal” through their dominating/teasing
dispositions and the low cut dresses they are wearing, which shows that sex really does sell albums
and singles.
Another point made, is that this video “makes them look like they only care about good looking men”,
but when was the last time a mainstream video was released that had no good looking people in it. It
is very hard in the modern day mainstream music industry to become a large star if you are not
attractive or slim, the exception to this rule of course is Susan Boyle but she is famous not only for
her voice but actually for her unattractive appearance. Furthermore it comes to the same conclusion
as before that attractiveness and sex does sell.
Overall because this video is filmed through the female gaze it appeals predominantly to the female
audience, this perfectly presented by two YouTube comments:
LuIIabye (a member of the female audience) says:
“YES for the first timea video filled with naked, perfectly muscular, handsome men!!!!! I wonder if all
men now feel slightly intimidated” and conversely
munirah0709 (a member of the male audience) says:
“I hate this video! all men look like they are the slave for the women. it is not good”
Lullabye makes a good point by saying that the men may now feel slightly intimidated because the
tables have been turned on the common gender roles within music videos. My research shows
however that some of the males in my research group enjoyed the video saying that the women
looked “sophisticated” but predominantly the audience is female.

I've been thinking about
How you've been messing around
Why do you get your kicks from hurting me?
I've tried on giving you up
But now it's time to stop
'cause boy I see that you're no good for me
If you really wanted my love so desperately
Then you should have taken time and try to rescue me!
[Chorus]
Sorry, no can do
'cause you're never really gonna make it better
So forget forever
Now it's time to face it boy we're through
'cause I ain't got time for your conversations
So sorry, no can do
Sorry, [x4]
Don't try to sweet talk me no more
'cause I've heard it all before
What makes you think I'd want you back again?
And now my mind has been made up
And I have had enough
You've had your chance and now this is the end
You could've handled things a little differently
But now you're on your own and you'll be missing me!
[Chorus]
It don't matter what you say
'cause I've gone my separate way
There is nothing you can do to make me change my mind
It don't matter what you do
'cause I'm done with loving you
Don't you bother turning back the hands of time
[Chorus]
Don't try and even call me on the telephone
It don't mean a thing 'cause I'm on my own [x6]
Sorry no can do
Sugababes ‘No Can Do Lyrics Analysed
Overall
•There is a subtle change
after the first verse of this
song as the tone changes
from indecisive and
stereotypically female
reliant on the male to
strong, empowered as they
realise that they can
survive on their own.
• Fits in with the visuals of
the music video as they
command the male
attentions.
•Different from Britney
Spear’s lyrics by the fact
that they are not begging
for attention and are not
giving in to the audience or
the man.
Being empowered
and strong taking
over their own lives.
Although being empowered they
are still saying that the man is
stronger and they as women need
rescuing.
Female’s are in control
Repeated
messages of
strength and
empowerment.
Makes a
transition from
slightly
submissive to
empowered on
their own!

Robyn’s Video
36.84%
52.63%
10.53%
Male opinions of Robyn's music
video
negative
positive
inbetween
9.09%
81.82%
9.09%
Female opinions of Robins
music video
negative
positive
inbetween
This video was the most popular with both sexes perhaps due to the fact that Robyn is
very androgynous and her videos are unique, and different meaning that they have
enough interest to keep the audiences attention without any nudity, and because they do
not contain any nudity it is not creating a female or male gaze in so doing widening its
audience demographics to both genders.
Although it does appeal to a wider audience the female audience still had more positive
things to say about the video, whereas some male participants thought she was
“rubbish” and “annoying” which is not a reflection of the video but of Robyn herself. She
obviously annoys some audiences.

Robyn’s Video
This video does according to one participant create an image of Robyn as a “pseudo–
feminist”, this viewpoint can be seen when looking at the lyrics, because as Amanda
Marcotte so eloquently puts it in her blog:
“Once again, I feel that the music industry is cleverly positioning songs that kind of sound
powerful but re-inscribe traditional female passivity as a substitute for songs that might
actually give women ideas.“
For whilst Robyn is saying no to the man she is still reinforcing the role of the male as the
money provider ‘Livin large with your crib and your cars’ who can take her ‘shopping’
which is a stereotypically feminine past-time.
On the other hand Robyn just like Annie Lennox appears more androgynous and by
doing so is pushing the boundaries of femininity and in this way they are representing
themselves as individual, strong and empowered.
YouTube comments don’t reflect this though and the majority say:
Musicissoul: “she looks like aman lol but the song is great”
The same goes for The Eurythmics ‘Sweet Dreams’ song on YouTube, the comments
involve people pondering whether she is male or female. This representation that Robyn
and Annie Lennox have chosen, although challenging the gender stereotypes also serve
to reinforce them as to appear more empowered and strong they have to look more
masculine.

Yeah, I heard about some guy that you beat pretty bad and got in the papers
Sure, you own a cool bar and I hear you get far with every waitress
Yeah, I saw you on the poster your song is the bomb and you're outrageous
Sure, I see you're living' large with your crib and your cars
and that's just great but..
Let me tell you how it be
You won't get with this you see
Cause you can't handle me
Yeah, you make your big move and I see you're not used to being rejected
Sure, you making' that call to your guy and I'm sure you're well connected
Yeah, judging from that line you just passed you are well known and respected
Sure, would me and my girls come participate in something you directed
[Chorus]
Let me tell you how it be
You won't get with this you see
Cause you can't handle me
It's a simple fact
that you can't seem to handle me
No matter how you act with them
you can't handle me [x2]
You got to make me feel you got my back
but you're a selfish narcissistic psycho freaking bootlicking Nazi creep
and you can't handle me
Yeah, I think you're kind of cute when you try and act like you isn't looking'
Sure, I think you're kind of fly and your ride sure is off the hooking
Yeah, bet you could take my mind off things for some time and take me shopping'
Sure, you writing' those rhymes and the acts you produce are really kicking'
but
[Chorus]
Yeah, I heard about some guy that you beat pretty bad and got in the papers
Sure, you own a cool bar and I hear you get far with every waitress
Yeah, I saw you on the poster your song is the bomb and you're outrageous
Sure, I see you're living' large with your crib and your cars
and that's just great but..
[Chorus]
Robyn’s ‘Handle Me’ Lyrics Analysed
Overall
•Robyn portrays
herself to be a self
reliant woman who
doesn't need a man
and furthermore no
man is good enough
for her.
•These lyrics are
different to Britney’s
song because
throughout she is
strong and although
tempted she says no
to the man
consistently just like
the Sugababes lyrics.
The difference is that
she portrays herself
as more androgynous
to get this message
across!
Empowered woman saying no
to the man = strength = roles
reversed.
In contrast with her androgyny
these typical female past times
like shopping counteract this
and the fact that he takes her
shopping and provides the
money shows he is the boss
with money. However she says
no and thus represents herself
as empowered.
By saying ‘you cant handle
me’ makes her sound
volatile and scary which are
typical female qualities thus
making herself more
androgynous.
Traditional male values
– strong, aggressive and
the ‘money maker’

Overall
By reviewing all the things I have discovered from looking at and
juxtaposing these three different popular modern artists, I hope to answer
my initial question of, how female artists represent themselves in their own
videos and why?
•I have discovered that it is very difficult to totally disregard stereotypical
views on gender and to do so is to alienate oneself from the audience.
Thus female artists represent themselves in the manner that best befits a
modern woman.
•In so doing female artists are keeping the traditional stereotypical values
but are reflecting the modern culture in the way that they act and dress. So
if they are wearing less clothes it is because the audience wears less
clothes and thus this is socially acceptable to them and does not remove
the artist from their target audience.
•However some rare artists are beginning to push the boundaries even
further, (like Robyn acting more male) but their reception and popularity
depends on whether this sort of behaviour can be accepted by the
masses.

Conclusion
• Overall female artists pigeon hole themselves into certain stereotypes and often
mix several together in their music videos, for example Britney Spears degrades
herself as a mans toy and Robyn is colourful extravagant and androgynous.
However occasionally artists step over these lines and either create a new
identity for themselves just as Britney did by changing from a cute school girl to
a promiscuous dangerous woman, or they transform themselves on a one off to
challenge the audiences perception of the artist.
• I also believe that all music videos reflect certain aspects of society and so in
today’s upfront, open culture, where sex is referenced extremely regularly;
music videos like Britney Spear’s is not even pushing boundaries as the society
we live in is already desensitised to violence and images of sex.
• However I do not think the content of the artists video is their own creation but
instead is down to the director who is hired, although I am sure if the artist had
any problems with taking their clothes off and preserving their dignity the
director cannot argue.
• Essentially, as advertisers say, sex does sell, and it is this fixation with status
symbol, material wealth and attractiveness that many media such as T.V.
programs like 90210, films like The Girl Next Door, almost all modern songs,
and the majority of music videos use to promote, create fans and ultimately to
make money.

Bibliography
• http://www.starztv.co.uk/SongDetail.aspx?SongID=1
062&ArtistID=558 – Sugababes Lyrics
• www.youtube.com is used for all showings of
videos.
• http://pandagon.net/index.php/site/faux_feminist_po
p_music_be_gone/ - Amanda Marcotte’s blog
• http://artists.letssingit.com/robyn-lyrics-handle-me-
cdwd194 - Robyn lyrics
• http://www.mp3lyrics.org/s/sugababes/no-can-do/ -
Sugababes lyrics
• http://artists.letssingit.com/britney-spears-lyrics-
gimme-more-wpvh4fv - Britney lyrics

Powerpoint Investigation Summer

More Related Content

What's hot

Similar to Powerpoint Investigation Summer

Recently uploaded

Powerpoint Investigation Summer