The Nigerian Music Industry and Women Objectification
Abstract
From the time before colonialism to the early 21st century, role and the status of women in Nigeria has been continuously evolving over time. In social, political, economic and religious sphere, these roles have been portrayed and have also been shaped by the image of oppression, helplessness, marginalization as well as other aspects, which has a greater influence in the society. In social activities, women have also been evolved and they are deemed to perform a certain role in the image to society. In the division of labor line, women have control over the process and this includes roles such as parenting, weaver, food making and other roles that are gender geared. In the music video industry, the role of women has experienced a greater change and this has lead to the shift and changes in the accrual roles that are supposed to be performed. These roles include a representation that is sexually geared and leading to the erosion of morality in society. This paper has covered the introduction to the role of Nigerian women in the 21st century towards body representation, the theoretical framework towards the approach, agreement to support the idea and in the end, a conclusion statement concerning the perceived issues in the society.
Introduction
Women in every music video industry have a specific role they perform towards creating the image of the video and increasing the number of view of such a video. Since the 1970s, feminist discourse, the representation of women in the media and gender role stereotyping has remained among the dominant critical issues. Increase in contemporary issues amongst women in the society has also lead to a platform where an image of representation through the body shape and style have created a form unto which women have to portray in a music video. In the music industry, women are given sensitive roles to undertake, especially when the image is supposed to sellout more through video views. Through the kind of clothes that are worn in the video, an image that portrays sexuality in the female character, kind of movement and the other roles to be performed has created an increased sense of video representation through the body in such kind of videos. However, the most glaring stereotype representation of women in the media, needless to say, is to be seen in the audio-visual media, whether television or films (Arugu & Ihejirika, 2010). Through such representation, women in performing certain roles give an outstanding communicative strength to a certain class of video as well as audio in the media industry. Nigeria is one of the countries with the largest population. It is in such a society where morals and principles are well stimulated to create a strong image representation where the dimension of gender stereotype is strong. The identified sex-role as a dimension of this gender stereotyping which the author saw as being “more deeply woven into the fabric of video and music programming than the obvious numerical distinction between the sexes suggests. Don't use plagiarised sources.Get your custom essay just from $11/page
Music video industry is one of the multi-million dollar projects in Nigeria. From this perspective, the cost of creating such representation to such a project will need a body representation from female characters, which needs to work towards creating a dominant mainstream culture that works in the amenable social platforms. In today’s society, videos do not only have a local reach but is a global reach aspect where its representation should work towards creating more views and increase the revenue in the industry (Adegoke, 2011). Body shape from female characters is geared towards impression and creates a wide view base from the audience. The extent of such representation is determined by the acceptance of the media industry as codes and ethics shapes release of such projects. Men see and behave towards them when such a representation is made in the video. There is a positive coloration between misogynist thinking and consumption of music videos with contents that debase women, that is images and body representation that is geared towards men. This, in other words, means that the content of such nature could engender or be engendered by misogynist orientation.
Background
Over the years, marketing and advertising have become one of the expensive aspects that need to be adopted in the music industry. When one is working on a multibillion-dollar project, there is a greater need in the society that the image should as well bring the same return on its investment. This has, therefore, increase the global look for music actors and participants towards creating an image where the right actors and body representation is well placed in the video. Image from the body as well as the kind of sound has an impact on the sale and view of the video. Through such representation, higher media needs and global reach should be created with an intention towards meeting the social outlook (Oyesomi & Salawu, 2018). The psychological theory of selective perception is one of the frameworks that should be created as a representation of the study of such a nature. A link towards perception and image representation should work in the society and media industry when images are to be represented. Viewers with the intention of having a repeated view are always captured by the presenter and the creator of the video through having female representation in the video. In this case, men are created to view and see. They tend to be geared towards having a dominant character in the video that they always have alike and in many cases, such representation captures their mind. In such a case, having a model with a female body repetition will increase the sale of the video and create an image and reputation about the artist of the video. This is one form of advertisement and marketing in the media industry (Chari, 2008).
Theoretical framework and arguments
This framework will approach the body representation from the female character through the use of the psychological theory of selective perception. The theory is psychological theories, which are perceptions geared to create a relationship between the look and the perception in the mind of every viewer in a music video.
One of the major arguments that stand out in Nigerian music is the eulogies and idolizations of womanhood and femininity. Most of the lyrics that major within Nigerian music tend to center around women with a particular reference directly mentioning all the observable attributes and body features that make a woman including their breasts, waist, butt and so on. From a woman’s point of view, one can easily identify with the fact that the musicians only tend to play out fillings of intense admirations as well as fantasies of men by objectifying women. By making them the object of worship and fantasy he can market and popularize his music without that much effort (Oyemade & Abodunrin, 2019). This can often be defined as glory in damnations, which a very significant factor is considering the fact that the surface eulogies tend to dominate almost the entire musical pieces that exist within the region. Praise in damnation not only objectifies people but also creates false forms of empowerment, which plays its role to secure the women as an object of satisfaction for men as well as providing fulfillment. Most of the music, for example, flavour, exposes the society to strong words that have been disliked by many. Ashawo in Nigerian slang means Slut while Ara Dara Ada adago, on the other hand, means “flaccid breast that cannot be made firm.” To a sane mind, this is extremely derogatory, distasteful, insulting and debasing for the female gender (Onanuga, 2017). The songs do appreciate women but by looking deep into the lyrics all he aims at doing is to carry them home in that all he likes is just their bodily features and has no intention of understanding or glorifying their state.
Most of the videos have been made in such a way that they idolize and eulogize the female gender to simply woo them for sex with some being extremely naughty and filled with trashy lyrics (Chierike & Uchenna, 2019). Despite the corrupt lyrics most of the music tends to shower women with praises of admiration, however, the state in which this is done is often distasteful. This is ironical considering the fact that they can define someone as adorable and still sponsor nudity and tag the same person in the song.
To effectively market music the videos are required to have a certain level of explicitly. However, most of the videos are made in such a way that they dig into the deep fantasies of men as soon as the first round is played. Most tend to stress parts where they have to sleep with the ladies, the waist and the breasts, by doing so they try to impersonate how guys in the wider Nigerian society tend to try and entice women.
According to most viewers, one can infer that most musicians try to act out the dominant male method of enticement towards women, which is acceptable by society. By doing so, the woman’s body is defined as a site of performance, desire obtainment men’s pleasure. Most societal members when confronted concerning the music video industry, they tend to distance themselves claiming that the women in the videos are the ones being objectified. However, this is absurd based on the fact that women tend to be treated as a collective unit.
Irrationally if asked to define whether how women are portrayed defines their attitudes one can state that music is just a fun aspect, which the society only listens to without paying any meaning to the deep meanings. Even at surface value, one can identify with the fact that the videos alone appear derogatory and extremely sexually explicit. To the musicians, music is just music and most just make up words to sell songs and make money at the expense of the female unit and societal value. According to them, people don’t pay to listen to the words or pay attention to the message; instead, they dance to the beats and sing along to the lyrics not paying attention to what they echo.
Conclusion
Once can effectively conclude that such portrayals do not actually empower women and instead what they do is debase and exploit their unit. However based on the fact that it’s in Nigeria where male chauvinism is still rampant some of the music does help women. Within the Nigerian society, women are considered to be under men as objects for sexual satisfaction. The new music industry has played a major role in giving a woman place within the community in that by discovering their power, they can know the strengths that they hold over men. Women are considered stronger than men based on the fact that it just takes them having sense and feminine touch to get a man to humble himself. However, this does not hide the fact that most of the videos created only aim at objectifying women while few give them a sense of belonging.
Annotated bibliography
Dunu, I. V., & Ugbo, G. O. (2015). Women in Nigerian popular music: empowered or debased. Global Journal of arts humanities and social sciences, 3(5), 35-52.
The author uses flavours music to define the position of women within society and the role that his music plays within society. Close attention is paid to the lyrics and ways in which the female gender is exemplified within the productions. The authors find their hypothesis strongly supportive of the state within the current Nigerian society whereby women are being objectified daily in the name of praise damnation.
Onanuga, P. A. (2017). Of Commodities and Objects: Women and their Representations in Nigerian Hip-Hop. Muziki, 14(2), 81-108.
The authors have made use of data from national surveys to try and analyze the state of women in terms of music productions and how they are used as objects in creating musical commodities. Using the data, they aim at establishing whether women are objectified positively or negatively. In contrast, an earlier study by Onunga that proves that women despite being praised in these songs, they are simply used as an object to market their music products.
Arugu, C. I., & Ihejirika, W. C(2010). Sexual Objectification in Online Nigeria Pop Music Videos.
The authors have used their data to define the existence of objectification within the Nigerian music industry. By studying the Nigerian culture they have identified with the situation and provided an in-depth analysis based on already existing music videos and the effect that they have had in society. The authors have established their theory in contrast with an earlier study conducted in Ghana that proves music as a voice channel for the female gender.
Dunu, I. V., & Ugbo, G. O. (2015). Women in Nigerian popular music: empowered or debased. Global Journal of arts humanities and social sciences, 3(5), 35-52.
The authors have utilized information from past articles and recorded statistics to determine how women have always been portrayed down the lane in Nigerian music. Their research paper is recorded in a comparing manner as they try to prove whether women are debased or empowered by how they are portrayed in their music.
Oyesomi, K., & Salawu, A. (2018). Influence of sexualisation of women in music videos on the body image of Nigerian female youths. Gender and Behavior, 16(3), 12059-12072.
Within the current music industry music producers have become the hunters and the viewers their prey. Through sexual objectification, they are able to sore to higher levels and all this through the use of mind manipulation. By identifying the manly desires they are able to provide what the men want and come up with the perfect mental definition that can exist within a general population. The authors have provided research on how the body image plays a big role in video production and how it affects the existing female youths at a young age.
References
Adegoke, A. A. (2011). Language and identity representation in popular music. International Journal of Innovative Interdisciplinary Research, 1(1), 150-164.
Chari, T. (2008). Representation of women in male-produced “urban grooves” music in Zimbabwe. Muziki, 5(1), 92-110.
Chierike, I. P., & Uchenna, O. C (2019). Gatekeepers or the Consumers? Questioning the Survival of Sexually Explicit Contents in a Depressed Economy: The Nigerian Music Industry Experience.
Oyemade, O. O., & Abodunrin, M. (2019). Misogyny In Nigerian HIP-HOP: A Critical Discourse Analysis Of Selected Songs Of Olamide And LIL KESH. Jadavpur Journal of Languages and Linguistics, 3(2), 13-28.