STEREOTYPES IN MUSIC

After learning about stereotypes this week, it made me think about music, and how strong stereotypes are in music. For every genre of music, there is a stereotype that is attached. For example, A country singer is a white, blonde, thin girl from the mid-west. A rapper is an African American gangster male who wears baggy clothing. A pop singer is a not-so-bright white girl. The list goes on for a while.

Why do all genres of music have to have a stereotype attached? Like for some reason a black male cannot be a country singer, or a white female cannot be a rapper. It seems to me that if that person either wants to rap or sing country, it shouldn't matter about their race or their gender.

There are a few acceptions to these stereotypes, however. These people include Eminem; a white male rapper, Nikki minaj; a black female rapper, N'Sync; a white male pop group, etc.




However, just as stereotypes of women are used in everyday life; they are also used the same way in music through music videos. These include using women sexually in videos. "Video vixens" dance in an extremely provacative manner on the sets made to look like clubs in barely there clothing. After learning about stereotypes this week, I notices that Latinas are treated in a similar manner through their stereotypes. With the stereotpes that they are "lovers" and "sensual and sexy" all the time.

Overall, there are many stereotypes in music that say that an artist has to look a certain way in order to sing a certain genre, with only a few exceptions. Even in music videos there are stereotypes of women that are used. Luckily, he music industry is changing, and different genders ans races are being able to adapt and breakthrough the different stereotypes.