Increasingly Sexy? Sexuality and Sexual Objectification in Popular Music Videos, 1995–2016

Abstract

We conducted a longitudinal visual content analysis of 462 popular music videos from 1995 to 2016 analyzing the depictions of sexuality, sexual objectification, and ambiguous sexual expression. Our analysis paid attention to the gender and race of the musical artist in each video, as well as the video’s music genre. Regression analyses revealed that depicted sexuality and sexual objectification did not change during the period studied. However, ambiguous sexual expression, including sexual gestures, sexual poses, and sexual facial expressions, did increase over time. Furthermore, female music artists were more often portrayed as sexually objectified than male artists. Male artists were more likely shown to objectify other individuals compared with female artists. Moreover, Black and non-White artists were more often shown presenting ambiguous sexual expression than White/Caucasian artists. No significant differences occurred when comparing music videos from the R&B/hip-hop/rap genres with music videos from the pop genre. Our findings are discussed in the light of objectification theory and social– cognitive theory leading to suggestions for future research.