The representation of sexuality in music videos

Ever since Elvis Presley shocked the world with his pelvis thrusting in 1956, the portrayal of sexuality has increasingly become much more acceptable in the media industry. It has now become a key aspect of music with many artists become much more provocative and open about their sexuality, with some songs being entirely based on sex. To a certain extent that has been useful as it can help give fans a sexual identity, with many music industries rebelling against conventional modes; for example Lady Gaga, Boy George and Madonna. However, there has also been debate over whether this is now having a detrimental effect on people’s perception of sex.

Music gives people the opportunity to explore different sexualities away from having a sexual partner; this is done through both the rhythmic and verbal context.  Popular music is mainly about giving and receiving love and affection, which has been a similar case for many years. However it has been a more recent development that actual physical sex has been a key concept in many songs. Examples of such songs are; ‘Bump ‘n Grind’ by R Kelly, ‘Birthday sex’ by Jeremih and ‘I want your sex’ by George Michael. Each of these songs were released after 1980.

Following John Friske's (1987) view that genres reflect popular opinions at that time (zeitgeist), the music industry reflects a developing view on sexuality. One aspect of this is as acceptance of homosexuality has developed, portrayal in music has increased too. For example, Macklemore's 'Same Love' song came about at the same time as same sex marriage was being debated in politics throughout many parts of the world. There is also an open acceptance of same sex couples being portrayed in music videos even if the song is not directly linked to homosexuality. For example, Ed Sheeran's 'Give me love' music video.

One disadvantage of the portrayal of sexuality in the music industry is that in certain cases it has been perceived as being too provocative for the target audience. This has at times resulted in the music video from being banned. An example of this is Bjorke's video for the song 'cocoon' that showed the artist singing naked, which was initially banned from YouTube. Also, a recent example of a music video that has caused outrage is Robin Thicke's unrated video for the song,'blurred lines' which has been seen to undermine women, portray them as sexual objects and reinforce sexist ideas. This video is now age restricted in YouTube and banned from being shown on music channels at certain times of the day.

In conclusion, the development of sexualisation in the music industry can be used in a positive way; to help people understand different sexualities, and to help people develop their own sexual identity. However, it can be taken too far and can be seen to include over sexualised content. This then leads to a problem with how to regulate the music industry to make it appropriate for the audience. Music industry regulation.