Me and Panashe looked into how Women are objectified in Mainstream Television

1. Panashe Nyamariwata and Temi Ayadi
How women are objectified in mainstream television
Introduction
Throughout this assignment, we will be writing about how women are objectified within media,
using the example of music videos. This relates to the male gaze theory, which was introduced
by Laura Mulvey in 1975. The theory states that women are represented through voyeuristic,
fetishistic elements (Including camera work, costumes and mise en scene).Laura Mulvey
believes that the audience have to view the subject in the clip from the prespective of a
heterosexual male.
Camera Positioning
The positioning of cameras within music videos objectifies women within media, because the
main focus is the female body and features of the face (E.g. Lips).
The above screenshot is an example of the camera work focusing on a female’s lips and facial
expression. The facial expression in the above image presents the woman as a highly
sexualized individual. This is because of the way she gazes at the screen and her finger in this
scene looks like it is about to do a ‘come here’ gesture to the viewer. This may connote her as
easy and willing to do anything sexual with a man who is in her presence, without caring about
how others view her, like it is okay to be perceived as ‘easy to get’.
Costumes
The way females are costumed and presented to their audience affects how objectified they
become, because some females may be more clothed than others, as the less clothing they
wear increases how sexualized and easy they become from a males point of view.

2. Panashe Nyamariwata and Temi Ayadi
Below is a screenshot from a music video called ‘Trampoline’ This shot shows an image
of a sexualized female in a slight bent over position. She’s also covered up, however the
clothes are very tight; which brings out her figure. The main reason I used this image
was due to the female’s position and her face. She has her back to the camera which may
mean that she's only in the music video for her body. Also there’s a mask covering her
face which may indicate that her identity does not need to be acknowledged by society.
The reason she is objectified is because her face is covered by a mask, which may
connote that male does not care about the beauty of the females face, but are more
interested in the female’s body (E.g. Bum and breast).
Acting and presentation
These are other examples of how girls are presented in some music videos. The manner the
women above are presented in represents them as sexual objects who are not worthy of true
love and emotion, but only worth physical gain and entertainment. This is supported by the
picture on the right which shows a man disrespectfully opening a woman’s legs which would not
be allowed in a normal society. The facial expression of the female in this image doesn't show
any distress or anger, the reaction to this situation according to her facial expression shows that
she doesn't care.

3. Panashe Nyamariwata and Temi Ayadi
As we come to a conclusion, we have realized that the objectification of women has become
more acceptable in modern society. We believe this is due to the developments of media over
the years, increasing how sexualized women are presented to viewers which have made the
sexualisation of women in media and reality, more acceptable to the public.
By Panashe and Temi