Sexuality and Portrayal of Women in Rap and R&B Videos.
Sexuality in music has been part of popular culture for the entirety of human culture. But, each age and each culture infuses music and dance with different levels and nuances of sexuality that range from only a hint of affection toward the subject of the music to outright intercourse. While sexuality is part of the lyric of a song, since 1980, when MTV hit the air, sexuality has been part of the image of a song as well. Different genres of music employ sexuality in different ways. Metal, Grunge, Industrial, and other rock-Variant music tends to use very little sexuality - and when it does, it does so in an aggressive or 'I've been shamed by the girl' manner. Rap and R&B, however, when they deal with sexuality, it is to do so in a very assertive, self-confident, I'm-going-to-make-you-want-me kind of approach. But, there are very marked differences between the sexuality in lyrics and videos of Rap songs and R&B songs as a whole. This commentary is in no way meant to cast a blanket of generalizations over this issue. Instead, it is the purpose of this paper to examine the expression of sexuality in the lyrics and videos of six songs (three Rap and three R&B). The exploration will pay particular attention to the treatment and portrayal of women in these images and what they seem to be saying about gender and society.
