The woman as a male fantasy

What is typically male? What is typically female? To answer this question, young people like to orientate themselves on music videos and compare themselves with the men and women shown in them. What world are they shown? Women are underrepresented in the videos, but they are often sung about.
But then they are usually subordinate to the man: The woman is the man's fantasy. As in the case of rapper Flo Rida, who sings in front of wide-legged women in thongs, or R&B singer Robin Thicke, who sets the rhythm for half-naked women dancing on high heels. The camera focusses on the buttocks and breasts and only takes in the woman's body, without the head.

«The media help define how women and men should be».

Media expert Michael In Albon

There are also major differences in the depiction of power: men are portrayed as saviours in various scenarios - as saviours of the world, animals, other men and numerous women; women's power usually lies in arousing the man or pushing him away. Think of Miley Cyrus and her twerking - a dance style that consists of wiggling the buttocks in often lascivious poses.
Oversexualisation is particularly evident in hip-hop videos and the market is dominated by sexism. For young people, these role models are important teaching material for their own identity formation. The media helps to define how women and men should be. How can you as parents change this image?

A healing look behind the scenes

Help your child to look behind the scenes of music videos. This will help them to learn to deal critically with the stereotypes portrayed and to develop and protect their own body confidence.
Also remember that not all music videos are harmful to self-esteem and an interest in music and dance can have a positive physical, mental and social impact. So praise good examples and share what makes good clips good.
Talk about how the videos were probably shot and who was involved - from scriptwriters to make-up artists, costume designers to the people responsible for the special effects and camera work. There are good examples among the music videos. Adele is leading a trend here: she avoids bare skin in her videos and favours personality instead. Watch her videos together and talk about what sets Adele's music videos apart from those of other artists.

Watch music videos together

Ask your child which videos they like and which they don't like. Talk about the role of men compared to the role of women - what message is being conveyed here? Ask your child how they feel when watching the videos and what impact the videos could have.

On Medienstark you will find tips and interactive learning modules for the competent use of digital media in everyday family life. swisscom.ch/medienstark