‘Miley
is a whore! She should look like Hannah Montana in her videos.’ [1]
How has the introduction of the internet impacted upon the
representation of women in the music industry in texts such as Miley Cyrus’
‘Wrecking Ball’?
Over the last
few decades the music industry has been significantly changing. The way Female
celebrities have been portrayed are confronted through “sexuality”[2].
Due to the emerging of the latest technologies in the 21st century as “52
million Americans went online each day”.[3]
This leads to a lasting impact on modern female celebrities today positively
and negatively in the music industry in texts including; e-media, print and
broadcast. It will be heavily focussing on the pop sensation Miley Cyrus when
she came in like a ‘Wrecking Ball’ in her new music video. As she has had a
“transformation from sweet teen to sexpot”[4]
The internet has
impacted upon the representation of women in the music industry as social
networking sites such as YouTube and Facebook share music videos. This may be
very influential to women as they want to mimic what they’re seeing. This goes
in line with Katz and Lazarfeld’s Hypodermic Needle as the internet has
impacted Miley Cyrus due to a relaxation of censorship, people are becoming desensitised.
This encourages Cyrus to push the boundaries, by producing sexually appealing
videos to attract a mass audience. On 26th December she released her new
video “I Adore You” this “sent her number 1 on social 50 Chart”.[5] This
demonstrates how popular the video is even though Miley Cyrus was “clad in just
skin-coloured undergarments as she stimulates masturbation”.[6] This
evidently connotes that people are no longer shocked at the scenes and perhaps
are immune to relish this.
In the media
Cyrus has become very successful, she’s “like a little Elvis. But what people
don’t realize about her is she is such a fantastic singer and songwriter.”[7] This
is one aspect how Cyrus is being expressed from the book “Miley Cyrus: a
bibliography”[8] by
Kimberly. However, many people would disagree with this statement including
Cyrus’s new apprehensive signature look, her ‘twerk’.
Cyrus first
began her career in the hit “Disney show, Hannah Montana”[9] at
a young age. However, the show ended and Cyrus was growing up and came in films
and created new music. Despite the fame it wasn’t a success, which influenced
Cyrus to change in to a particular controversial extraordinary sexual public
image. Such as one of her latest explicit songs: ‘Wrecking Ball’ which became
“number one hit on the U.S billboard”[10].
Levi-Strauss who argued that all narratives could be reduced down to binary
oppositions, is shown in terms of Cyrus as there’s a huge difference from the
time when she was young and innocent to 21 and naked in her music videos. Sir
Cliff Richard “a British pop singer”[11]stated
“I just hope she grows out of it”[12].
He’s not the only one who’s disappointed, girls are being force-fed the notion
that “being hot”[13]
is all that they should aspire to. A survey this month by parenting website
Netmums showed strong parental disapproval over sexualised content in many
music videos. “Sexually explicit music videos ‘should have ratings system’”[14] This
connotes how distraught the conventions of her videos are but the question is,
is this only selling point to seek fame. As the author Kimberly did state she’s
a ‘fantastic singer and songwriter”[15]
As web 2.0 has
become very popular amongst billions of people worldwide, it has changed the
way people interact with one another. Despite Twitter coming after Facebook, it
has been highly successful amongst professionals, politics and celebrities.
This is one of the ways in which celebrities promote upcoming concerts such as
Miley Cyrus tweeting about her latest music video “#Adore You premieres
Thursday, Dec. 26 at 7a PT/10a ET, on VEVO! Pic.twitter.com/EdBltyoPx6”[16].
190 million people use twitter daily, this is a positive aspect in which Cyrus
can use as her fans are able to interact with her. This excites fans to
purchase the tickets, that leads Cyrus to a sold out tour as she does have “16,
461,917 followers on twitter”[17].
This brings a positive outlook to having internet in the 21st century, as
without it would be difficult in theory for females to present their music
videos and gain a mass fan base. This shows what the system rewards, which
isn’t freedom but a strategy which is entitled patriarchal bargain. Lisa
Wade a sociologist stated that “Cyrus’s particular bargain- is the accepting of
sexual objectification of women in exchange for money, fame, and power is a
common one.”[18]
However, there
are shortcomings of having internet as it impacts a negative representation of
women in the music industry. One way is through social networking sites such as
Twitter. Fans are able to view her individually, as whatever she tweets will be
judged and determined by the public who are watching her closely. Cyrus
has already had issues, for an example she had a row which escalated all around
Twitter with Sinead O’Connor. Cyrus mocked her mental health problems, O’Conner
responded saying Cyrus has been “irresponsible for her behaviour”[19].
Cyrus doing this affects her reputation within the society. Stuart Hall who is
a cultural theorist’s dominant type of reading comes in line with this. Due to
the audience decoding the messages Cyrus’s tweets and the fans agreeing with
this. As, her tweets become full of UGC and trending topics agreeing with
Cyrus, this encourages her to do more of what she does.
As this century
is becoming more sexualised, the images of women are becoming more powerful: “Scholars
have examined the sexualisation of women as part of a broader cultural
‘backlash’ against the gains of second-wave feminism and women’s increasing
power in society”[20].
They link this to the Rolling Stones magazine covers which is sexually appealing
and covers superstars. Celebrities show a saucier and sexual side to them,
which encourages the public to buy the magazine.
This reveals
that women reveal themselves only because they know that this is what will sell
thousands of copies. This relates to the theorist Laura Mulvey who suggests
that the “male gaze denies women human identity, relating them to the status of
objects to be admired for physical appearance”.[21]
As women are being portrayed as sexually tempting: “images of women used by the
media present women as sex objects to be consumed by the male gaze”[22].
Women instantly have the male fan base they are seeking for through there
explicit shots.
When it comes to
feminism Cyrus thinks she’s the biggest feminist, as women are afraid and can
get weak due to relationships, health problems and money. It can break them and
affect them in the long-term. ”I don’t actually walk around all day twerking
with my tongue out dressed as a teddy bear.”[23] Cyrus
doesn’t worry if people think badly of her controversial performances because
she knows she is a good person. This clearly connotes a different side to her
that what she commercially shows on TV isn’t the person she is. However, people
cannot distinguish the public from the private of Cyrus’s life. This relates to
the theorist Judith Butler as she believes there is an “unwitting regulation
and reification of gender relations”[24] also
she trusts gender roles are a performance and that male and female behaviour is
socially constructed rather than the result of biology. Therefore, in a sense
Cyrus feels she’s ‘allowed’ and wouldn’t be judged through her visual actions.
She is influencing woman as she is showing you should be who you are and not
become dominated by another human being. Even though people judge her through
how she is presenting herself in a number of explicit acts over the internet,
Cyrus is not concerned on how she is viewed by her performances. As she
believes she is creating a type of ‘art’ and delivering this type of message to
all her fans. Celebrities “feel the need to strip down to their underwear and
stimulate sex acts on stage”[25] but
is this the only way to show maturity. Cyrus has also gone to another big step
and “smoked marijuana on stage”[26]
But this isn’t part of an act or ‘art’ this is the real Cyrus, who wants to
follow the ghastly crowd.
The mass media
has reinforced a supreme image that girls are to attain. They therefore place
an awful amount of emphasis upon good looks opposed to good works. “By the age
of 13 53% of American girls are unhappy with their bodies; by the age of
seventeen, 78% are dissatisfied”[27].
This clearly shows how artists have a big impact on teenagers by explicitly
revealing themselves in a sexual manner, leaving women to have considerably
high expectations on how they are supposed to physically look resulting in
beauty and diet. The Bobo Doll Experiment which was conducted by Albert Bandura
links with this, as teenager’s will imitate celebrity’s sexual antics through
the internet as explicit videos are not blocked. When women start to physically
work whilst they’re married they are particularly judged: “when women struggle
or fail, their actions are seen to constitute ‘proof’ that for women the ‘work
life balance’ is really an impossible one”[28].
This evidently presents them as weak.
Miley Cyrus has
matured in her performance, this is shown through two of her smash hits ‘”We
can’t be tamed”[29]
and “We can’t stop”[30]
have presented her in a different light with wild partying. The style of the
video is narrative/abstract, in the video Cyrus is symbolising destruction
which is the action or the process of causing so much damage to something that
it no longer exists or cannot be repaired, which is a metaphor for her
emotional distress. She is visualised here as an “out of control female
celebrity”[31].
In Wrecking Ball
“already broken the VEVO record for most views in 24hours”[32], with
Cyrus being nude in the video she’s responded saying “I think the video is much
more if people get past the point that I’m naked, If you actually look at me
you can tell that I actually look more broken than even the song sounds. The
song is like the pop ballad that is one of those songs everyone is going to
relate to, everyone’s felt that feeling at some point”[33].
This links to the theory of Blumler and Katz as it creates a sense of ‘personal
identity’ to the audience due to women being able to relate to a similar pain
from a huge artist. The use of colour white is becoming a norm and identity of
Cyrus’s, as it was shown in ‘Wrecking ball’, in clothing and setting, which is
representing her new beginning as a different person from being Disney’s Hannah
Montana. In Wrecking Ball the close ups on her face are very intense and
emotional, and this allows the audience to see the pain she is trying to get
through, this is significant when she is naked, as we can Identify that it is
meant to be a statement about vulnerability, rather than sexuality.
In the early
60’s, women had started emerging from social roles. They stopped trying to fit
into the stereotypical housewife, and started to embrace their sexuality, as
well as demanding equal rights in working outside the home and contributing to
society, with controlling their finances and body. Since music videos didn’t
really start to exist until MTV came out in the 1980’s, sexualisation in songs
was, wrapped up in the lyrics which millions enjoyed listening to in the
1960’s. Such as Love Man by Otis “Make love to you in the mornin’ make love to
you at night, now make love to when you think about it”.[34]
Which was released in the late 60’s. There was an opportunity for females to
become successfully known by sexually appealing themselves to their fans, as
Otis’s song was very popular. This has been a norm since 3 decades as; “For
more than 3 decades there has been an imperative to look beautiful and be
willing to emphasize sexuality in order to sell their music.”[35]
Today, artists such as Fergie “teases her presumed male audience repeatedly
telling them how tasty, delicious and hot she is”[36].
Doing so celebrities know how prominent they’ll become.
In the 60’s “use
of birth control pills”[37] were
available for women to use, from this day onwards there was no fear of
pregnancy. Joni Mitchell was a singer who was trapped of the dilemma in wanting
a man but at the same time she needed to be free. She knew how to sing about it
and demonstrated that she was capable of earning a living through selling her
‘creativity’. She was the woman who represented how all women were like
at that time trying to come to terms with her identity. In the 70’s there was a
pattern where it was evident women stayed at home and looked after the children
whilst men were working to generate ‘political structure’. Due to living in the
modern century no more than 5 women have been appointed heads of any UK based
record companies. Women in the music industry get frustrated of working in a
record label company where it’s dominated by males. “To be a successful
mainstream artist it’s normal to have to compromise but women have always had
to do it to a far greater extent.”[38] As
the internet usage is disseminated, younger stars are finding it important and
necessary to sell sex above music which is stronger than ever. Which is what
the mass media love. Spice Girls were famous in the early 90’s who demonstrated
and sang female solidarity, “demanded the ability to control their
relationships, and voiced their sexual desires”[39].
As it became common in the mainstream women were becoming less afraid.
The economic
crisis and recession made it difficult for women to spend their money
optionally. This limits access to economic power and has made it hard for women
to function in the music sphere as musicians, band leaders. Men are the ones
who determine what happens in the music industry because they finance the music
projects; therefore it makes it difficult for women to come in the music
industry without the backing of powerful men. The independent writer justifies
this today as she states “women are outnumbered by men both in print and at
music events, from gigs and showcases to music conference”.[40]
Thankfully the internet has impacted singers effectively such as: Lily Allen
and Kate Nash. Thus, “body is the ultimate expression of the self”[41].
In order for them to become a success and attain a fan base, it is a norm to
represent them in a sexually appetising way.
Cyrus did not
have a hit record set until 2 years which led to a lot of pressure held upon
her with high expectations. She’s had a very close relationship with her fans
through ‘Twitter’ where she uses #wreckingball and starts a countdown to excite
her fans. As the internet has impacted “deployment of new media including
haptic technologies that promulgate fantasies or enhanced intimacy with fans.”[42]
The introduction
of the internet has impacted upon the representation of women in the music
industry vastly. Instagram is very popular amongst celebrities in whom they
have posed with: boobs out, tongue action and pole danced half-naked. This
connotes how the society has emerged and there has been a new sexualised era
has arrived. Rashida Jones tweeted “But I think we ALL need to take a look at what
we are accepting as the norm”. [43]
This inclines how we as a society have accepted the pornification of pop music.
From the guardian, Kitty Empire who is a music critic and a feminist states “it
depressed me deeply that female pop performers find it difficult to market
their songs without licking mallets in the buff (as Cyrus does in the video for
Wrecking Ball)”.[44]
Within today’s society, women are often portrayed in a lower status than men.
Perkin’s theory goes in line with this as Cyrus has been through a radical
change from being a Disney princess to acting like a ‘whore’ which shows that
she has remained affected by the society itself and has been seen to have
a lower status than men themselves. Cyrus’s “fan base has made an incredible
shift in age”[45].
To have a widespread fan base women in the music industry know “that sex sells”[46]
and “no one can really define where that degree starts and where it ends”[47]
so women carry on in exploiting provocative demeanour.
Mulvey’s theory
comes in line with this as it creates a male gaze as women are there to be
looked at, this strongly creates a larger fan audience for females today. David
Austin, assistant director of classification guidance from BBFC is responding
to the pressure from parents who are deeply worried about the sexual imagery
freely available to children. Therefore, music videos are going to introduce
age ratings on April 6th. However, currently there is a moral panic which
the theorist Stanley Cohen states as the coming society of parents with young
children, are frightened due to their kids acknowledging explicit sex on the
internet. Therefore the question is who are they going to look up to as a
positive image, rather than females who are represented sexually in the media
industry on the internet?
[2] http://metro.co.uk/2014/01/01/miley-cyrus-experimenting-with-her-sexuality-after-kiss-with-britney-spears-dancer-goes-viral-4246382/
[3] http://abs.sagepub.com/content/45/3/383.refs
[4] http://www.boston.com/ae/celebrity/gallery/mileytransformation/
[5]http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/5855157/miley-cyrus-adore-you-video-sends-her-to-no-1-on-social-50-chart
[6] https://music.yahoo.com/news/miley-cyrus-pleasures-herself-39-adore-39-151054888-rolling-stone.html
[7]
Summers, Kimberly Dillon. Miley Cyrus: a biography. Santa Barbara, Calif..:
Greenwood Press, 2009. Page 2
[8] ibid
[10]
http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/5812407/miley-cyrus-wrecking-ball-swings-back-to-no-1-on-hot-100
[11] http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/artists/b5c2fdfc-d037-45b8-84f9-09ebb7ff8aa1
[12] http://www.heatworld.com/Celeb-News/2013/11/Cliff-Richard-is-worried-about-Miley-Cyrus-I-just-hope-she-grows-out-of-it/
[15] Summers, Kimberly Dillon. Miley Cyrus: a
biography. Santa Barbara, Calif..: Greenwood Press, 2009. Page 2
[17] ibid
[19] http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-24395755
[20] Eans, Mary, Gender, Abingdon: Routledge,
2011. Page 1
[21] http://www.slideshare.net/christimothy12/laura-mulvey-the-male-gaze-26381318
[22] <http://revisionworld.co.uk/a2-level-level-revision/sociology/mass-media-0/media-representations-age-social-class-ethnicity-gender-sexuality-and-disability>.
[23] http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/rockandpopmusic/10445850/Miley-Cyrus-Im-one-of-the-worlds-biggest-feminists.html
[26] http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1717450/miley-cyrus-weed-ema.jhtml
[28] Holmes, Su., and Diane
Negra. In the limelight and under the microscope: forms and functions of
female celebrity. New York: Continuum, 2011. Page 2.
[30]
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=miley+cyrus+we+can%27t+stop
[31] Holmes, Su., and Diane
Negra. In the limelight and under the microscope: forms and functions of
female celebrity. New York: Continuum, 2011. Print, P.3
[40]
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/where-are-the-women-to-rock-the-music-in.dustry-2009515.html
[43]
https://twitter.com/iamrashidajones/status/391710967748247552
[44] http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/oct/07/miley-cyrus-music-business-women-sinead-oconnor
[45]
http://www.iowastatedaily.com/opinion/article_7cd0f640-9731-11e3-824b-0019bb2963f4.html
[46] Ibid
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Gender, Abingdon: Routledge, 2011.
Holmes, Su.,
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Summers,
Kimberly Dillon. Miley Cyrus: a biography. Santa Barbara, Calif..: Greenwood
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