The sexualisation of pop stars.
In this essay I will be talking about sexualisation of pop artists, looking at how the media betrays women. I will be specifically looking at how similar Billie Eilish and Britney Spears imagines are portrayed through media . I will be using a range of resources including books, articles, music videos and documentary’s.
Billie wears baggy clothes to help her get less sexualised because it wasn’t bout her body it was about what she comfortable wearing and not wearing . Billie knew that women get sexualised so she didn’t want that, that’s why she went with baggy clothes so no one could judge (ET Style, 2019). But because she still got sexualised she hated her body she had a toxic relationship with it. Her most recent music video (Lost Cause, 2021) is a lot more sexual, she wears tighter clothes showing more skin. What this say about the industry is that Is it an industry choice or artist choice?
With Billies new style change, she is making it clear that she is no longer letting toxic body stereotypes hold her back from feeling good about herself and what she leaves on the internet. While there are people who dislike her new style transformation, her career will only flourish as she dabbles in new styles.
“I feel more like a woman, somehow,” she explained. Billie Eilish has grown as both a person and as a music artist, and her recent changes are not selling out, but rather growing up. Eilish has not worried about what others have to say about her look and is only beginning to change the way society looks at sexualization.-(“carlson-2021”)
“Last month, 19-year-old music superstar Billie Eilish blew the internet away when she posted a photo of herself wearing an outfit far from her usual baggy clothing. She donned a fitted corset with over the knee stockings inspired by 1940’s women’s style. While people had a variety of opinions on the photo, it raises the question: is she selling out or growing up?”-(“carlson-2021”)
Britney Spears clothes are different in each video she wears a lot of revealing clothes and does a lot of dancing on other men or makes something sexual but in this she’s doing it to make herself feel good like in the scene in “toxic” where she throws the guy on the floor or when she pushes that man into the bathroom she’s telling us that women have power just like men.
The contrast between Brittany and Billies clothing choice is that billie wears baggy clothes and Britney wear tight “sexy” clothes but thought the years billie has gone into more revealing clothes and Britney is wearing clothes that cover her up bit more it like the have swapped over.
Britney spears, with her song ” baby one more time” she was 16 years. The title doesn’t actual mean any form “physical abuse or kinky s&m” although the music video and lyrical content suggest otherwise. (Stutz – 2015) Britney was saying in interviews how she was a virgin at 18 years old and on the other hand -0she hyper-sexualised her videos one as she was dressed as a school girl. Hit me baby one more time got the most sold and that’s because of what she wearing short skirts and a school top that was tide into a knot up above her belly Button just enough to cover her chest. Also with the song “toxic” is more revealing and more “sexy” this is because she wears a tight blue dress and kisses with the men on the plan and also at the end she makes out with a guy which she shows that she has the strength but she pulls one into the toilet and grinds on him. Then there’s a scene where she in all black and again very tight clothes with a man riding the motorbike and her creasing his shoulders and also with the see through bodysuit she wears with gems over it makes people want to watch it more because more of her skins out there.
Britney did a magazine cover with the rolling stoned and there was alot of obsession with her sexuality and virginity and breast implants.
Its sad how people know Britney and call her “sex-icon ” when she was never really happy about it but went on with it because it keep her music strong, she was often treated as an object like she wasn’t a human when she is. She was carved out to be a sex symbol which her team made her be. mixing child innocence with adult sexuality which this is of course not heathy. Britney didn’t want to be stuck in the same place which she wanted to grow as an artist.
Mara Wilson said -“The way people talked about Britney Spears was terrifying to me then, and it still is now” The fact Britney spears was at a young age when she started singing and became famous and she was only 15 when singing “hit me baby one more time” and her song “toxic” she was only 22 and it was very sexual and dancing in an inapproiate way but because of how she was dressed and performed the song blew up and she sold 200.000 copies. In April 2004, it was certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry.
Levin and Kilbourne (2008) comments on the media and music industry making a lot of money for using sex and violence to promote and profit off of their content to children no matter what race, what religion or gender and wether they can afford to buy a lot or a very few of these products. This is because children now grow up to this mind set and people need to teach people its not okay. Kids grow up to think there appearance is to be beautiful thin and sexy but its not how it should be it makes women feel very insecure about themselves like little mix they show women to love themselves and feel good about themselves but when the music industry does it, it makes people very insecure and bad about themselves they feel pressured.
In music industry they think its different because they show “body positive ” but they show ” body positive” about women who need to be skinny or have the right amount of weight so they have curves and look hot and wear clothes that show skin or that are very revealing, from this they make children think as they get old this is how its meant to grow up and look.
Clothing contributes to sex appeal in the music industry because it determines how much skin shows on the people wearing them . The music industry put women in “sexy ” clothes which are revealing, figure hugging. What the music industry get from this is they get more people intrigued into listening to more music they created because of the videos they make for it. (Levin and Kilbourne, 2008)
Its Two tailed in the music industry because there’s artists out there that want to make themselves look good and feel good and to make other women feel the same and not to be sad about how they look and what size they are, these aristocrat’s show expression and confidence but then again there’s people out there that show that you have to be a certain size and have to be pretty. The music industry feeds and thrives off of the female body. “When does it become exploitation or border on pornography?”(hully – 2019).
The reason its more of women that get sexualised in music videos instead of men is because women have more to show all men have to show is there abs or bum but women can show there chest, bum, arms, and legs which brings even more people towards it and women have to have a certain look when camera is towards them make them look very good looking in other words to the society “sexy”.
“The music industry is a vicious business. It chews women up and spits them out.”, says singer/songwriter Tori Amos. Much like the world of advertisements and fashion, female performers are hypersexualized and objectified. The music industry, being run by mostly men (producers, directors, etc.) make it very unlikely for a woman to succeed based on their talent, but more so because of the way they express their sexuality and flaunt their looks.-(“Tina-2019”)
Famous women who do music videos or even perform live, some of these singers don’t like to show there body but they do because it effects more people and then they gain more fans or followers which of course help them make money and support them and it makes there’s music go further it could help them reach “number one “on music billboard. Of course there’s also singers/bands that don’t mind wearing clothes that are revealing because they want to show women no matter size or looks you can ware what you want, without being judge.