Sexual Themes in Music

There has always been an association between music and sex, but in the past decade or so this connection has tested the limits of what is acceptable in our culture. Newer songs, mostly rap and hip hop, which talk about topics like rape and murder, have stirred up much controversy across the nation. Using women as sexual objects has become common in modern day music. This is done for one simple reason, sex sells. Women are constantly sexually exploited in order to accommodate our country’s sexual culture.

In our society there is a steady depiction of girls, particularly African American girls, as sex objects which sends a message that some people in our society find extremely offensive. There is a distinction between a music video “fantasy” and reality, but many people believe these songs and music videos depict real life. Although people most certainly do mistreat women, these ridiculously sexist acts seen in music videos are not common in our country. This is where the problem arises. Many children are not mature enough to understand the difference between “fantasy” and reality. They very easily could believe that mistreating women is acceptable and common in our culture. This problem is magnified even greater when the artist himself can’t seem to tell the difference between music “fantasy” and reality. Artists sometimes turn this “fantasy” into a reality and treat women like they own them. Obviously, these are not the types of acts that children should be exploited to, as they may start to act this way themselves.

The one thing that I find particularly interesting about this entire topic is the fact that rappers sometimes rap so fast that there is a chance that people might not even be able to comprehend these offensive lyrics. Also, our society is so accustomed to hearing songs with that talk about drugs, sex, and disrespecting women that people may not even pick up on what is actually being said anymore. The fact that these types of songs are accepted has lead to problems, but the fact that people listen to these songs and try to imitate what they hear is a huge problem. Women are constantly Exploitation of women has become an accepted part in the music industry, for both the artists and the public. These explicit lyrics commonly lead other men to think that treating women disrespectfully is tolerable. Why is this? Because hip-hop and rap music promotes degrading women. Even though rap is extremely well known, it has developed a reputation by some people as being explicit, violent, and disrespectful. Since the beginning of rap music, artists have used derogatory lyrics about women. Today, these degrading lyrics have become more brutal, and more common to hear.

Rap music is definitely the most influential and powerful part of the hip-hop culture, and the fact that it is encouraging the disrespect for women is concerning.
These artists are role models to people throughout the country, including children. These rappers are well respected in our culture by some and some even look up to them, wanting to imitate their actions. These children are of a new generation, and they have already been exposed to these sexual and derogatory songs about women. The longer we allow women to be objectified against, the longer it will take our culture to get rid of this idea that women are sexual objects.

Blog 1- Music's Future

The act of illegally downloading music has officially spread throughout the world. According to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), 40 billion (billion!) songs were illegally downloaded in 2008 and about 95% of all music downloads in the past 2 years have been illegally downloaded. This is how I see it: As long as people can get away with illegally downloading music, these numbers will continue to grow into the future. The music industry in my opinion is in trouble. Every single person in the music industry will be affected by these illegal download numbers in the future, if they are not already feeling tremendous effects from it right now.



The new talent of music is suffering, and will continue to suffer. This up-and-coming talent are finding it extremely difficult to break into the business and make it big themselves thanks to record companies' revenues declining every year.


Although the actual music industry might suffer, music fans might benefit. Since the music industry does not have as much money as in the past, it is possible that only the elite artists will actually make it. This would result in the actually quality of music improving.

I am not saying that recorded music will disappear altogether. Music is far too popular this to happen. Plus, as the amount of illegally music downloaded rises, the amount of legally downloaded music will increase too. The music industry will never make the money it did in the "pre-illegally downloaded music era," but it will still make money. Recording companies will never again be monopolies of the industry, but recorded music in itself will never completely disappear.

The future of recorded music is without a doubt not as bright as it was just a few years ago, but music will always be around and will always be popular. With music being downloaded illegally it will be harder in my opinion to get a record deal, but with "American Idol" and other music shows present, new talent (elite talent) will be introduced every year to the world. The music industry will never stop making music and recorded music will always be around.