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36 J. Broad. & Elec. Media 209 (1992)
An Investigation of Sex-Role Stereotyping in Music Videos

handle is hein.journals/jbem36 and id is 219 raw text is: F__. An Investigation of Sex-Role Stereotyping in Music Videos Steven A. Seidman This study investigated sex-role stereotyping of occupational roles and the behaviors of music-video characters in a random sample of 182 MTV music videos. It was found that both male and female characters were shown in sex-typed occupations. Male characters were more adventuresome, domineering, aggressive, violent, and victim- ized than female characters, while females were more affectionate, dependent, nurturing, and fearful than males. It was also found that a large percentage of female characters wore revealing clothing and that they initiated and received sexual ad- vances more often than males. MTV (Music Television) has been described as a 24-hour flow of advertise- ments - for clothes, soft drinks, songs, and the channel itself (Kaplan, 1987). Music videos not only appear to reflect society and its norms, but may also help socialize young people by communicating ideas about proper behavior and the selection of career paths, as well as influencing males and females to develop distinct personality characteristics (see Bennett & Ferrell, 1987). This study investigates the sex-role stereotyping of occupations as well as the affective behaviors and manifestations of male and female characters shown on MTV. Begun in 1981, MTV quickly spread to over 1 7 million U.S. homes in two years and to 28 million by early 1986 (Cocks 1983; Kaplan, 1987). However, MTV's expansion began to slow and its Nielsen ratings declined dramatically, which may have caused executives at Viacom (which had just purchased MTV) to alter the channel's format to include less album-oriented rock music (Denisoff, 1988). Even MTV Chairman Tom Freston admitted that the audience was bored ... with clips that featured heavy-metal music, smoke-filled sets and pretty girls in revealing lingerie - but not much imagination (Polskin, 1991, p. 7). Freston and his associates turned, in part, to rap music to reinvigorate their music-video channel, with lyrics reemerging as important in rock music (DeCur- tis, 1990). This study takes a look at the content of MTV just before the change. Steven A Seidman (Ph.D., Indiana University, 1982) is Associate Professor and Chair of the Corporate Communication Department at Ithaca College. His research interests include sex-role stereotyping and the use of music and visuals in the communications media. The author would like to thank Amy Brayford, Lawrence Jones, Susan Mason, Susan Osinchak, John Payne, and Jocelyn Steinke for their assistance in conducting and completing this project. This manuscript was accepted for publication January 1992. 0 1992 Broadcast Education Association

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