The document discusses the portrayal of women in various media over time. It argues that women have traditionally been portrayed as sexual objects meant to appeal to a male audience. While some modern portrayals show women gaining independence from men, other media still relies on displaying women in revealing or sexualized ways in order to seem "popular" or sell products, showing how engrained these perspectives remain. The document analyzes several music videos to illustrate its points about both traditional and evolving portrayals of women.

1. By Shannon Nash

2.  For many years women have been portrayed/displayed in certain ways to fit what
the “mass media” believes they are like. Through various magazine adverts for
make up and music videos, women have always been shown to be sexual objects or
sexualised to sell a certain product. In the 1950’s women traditionally wore red
likes and gold jewellery this showed them to be wealthy and not afraid to stand
out, could this be a cover up of how they actually may have felt? Did they feel as if
they were just objects and not really taken seriously, this is all possible because
they haven’t had the right to express themselves. As time has gone on women are
still victims of the Male Gaze a theory derived from Laura Mulvey, a feminist who
believes that women are only placed into media products as objects for males. In
music videos particular genres reflect how women will be perceived, for example
in RnB videos women are sexual objects and are dressed provocatively and in pop
music videos women are seen as constantly wanting to fall in love.

3.  In this music video the female protagonist(Taylor Swift) is seen being obsessed
with a boy who likes her but is in love with someone else she sings the line “say
you'll remember me” this is showing how she is dependent on a man which lives
up to the stereotypical view of women. With her obeying to this patriarchal society,
this makes women fall to the bottom of the hierarchy and it leads them to being
the weaker person with in society. With particular music directors making these
music videos women never have the chance to change the opinions of people.
However at the end of the video she sings “wildest dreams” whiles she is leaving
that man behind who broke her heart, this highlights how this could all be in her
dreams and that she doesn’t need this man to rule her life but it shows how she
can be independent, displaying a better portrayal of how women aren’t ruled by
men.
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdneKLhsWOQ

4.  This video is the perfect portrayal of how women have changed over the last 100
years and how women finally have the voice to stand up for themselves. In the
first line of the song they sing “they’re looking for recruits” this show how women
can stand up against being oppressed, it is highlighted in further parts of the song
they repeat the line “representing all the women” but with them dressed in
revealing clothing it hinders what they are trying to say because they are
standing there half undressed and saying how they can stand up against men that
see them like that. This shows how the media have got it engrained into peoples
minds that in order to have any popularity that you have to be “pretty” and
“popular” just to have an opinion on the matter.
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kjpa0SMOug0

5.  In this stripped back video, Jess Glynne is just standing/sitting singing to the
camera, now this seems harmless and stands like it is giving off a good image of
women, yet she is naked, even though we don’t see anything this is showing that
she must be that way just to highlight that, that shows how natural she is but if
this was a male music video showing them upset they would purposely just be
sitting fully clothed and singing to the camera but for a women they still have to
wear nothing because it appeals to a male audience. However the positive
message this shows is how even after rejection women don’t need to “doll”
themselves up just to please someone compared to other videos where women are
always seen to have to wear loads of make-up just to make themselves feel
“normal again”
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ebfSItB0oM