Representation in Music Videos

Gender

• Woman normally get objectified and are displayed as sex objects. This can be seen in many male artists' videos (such as 50 Cent's video Candy Shop where the artist is shown as being in a brothel and he is fully clothed but the women in the video are in sexual clothing e.g. lingerie) but recently female artists have begun to use it to sell their videos as they have realised they can use the male gaze to their advantage. An example of this is Nicki Minaj's Anaconda video where the artist and the supporting dancers are commonly in little clothing and are making constant sexual references such as when Nicki gives Drake a lap dance.
• However, sometimes men are displayed in a sexual way to serve the purpose of the female gaze. For example, in Panic! At the Disco's Girls/Girls/Boys video, the video purely consists of the lead singer standing and singing whilst naked.
• Sometimes both these stereotypes are challenged. So, girls can be shown dressed stereotypically like boys or vice versa. An example of this is Ingrid Michaelson's Girls Chase Boys video.

Age and class

• Teenagers are often portrayed as fun loving and carefree. They are normally shown as being very attractive and having enviable lives. This can be seen in One Direction's Live While We're Young video.
• Other times we are shown the more gritty side of youth. For example we are shown the daily grind of their lives. This is shown in The Streets' Has it Come to This? video.

Ethnicity

• African American rappers are normally shown as pimps or drug dealers e.g in 50 Cent's P.I.M.P video.
• With the rise of urban and R&B music institutional racism is rejected and some artists emphasise success or call out this racism. For example Jay Z's 99 Problems video shows this as the lyrics say the boy got pulled over by the police officer because he is black.
• More black and white artists are collaborating especially from different genres to widen their audience. For example, Dr. Dre's I Need a Doctor video has two rappers of different ethnicities then a white female mainly pop singer.

Region/Place

• LA is shown as the place where the American Dream is realised. This is shown in Lady Gaga's Paparazzi video.
• London is normally shown as being quite grimy and maybe a little run down. For example, Britney Spears' Criminal video shows the nice and the dodgier parts of London. Also, Skepta's So Alive video shows the grimy parts. Plus, Lethal Bizzle's POW 2011 video shows London looking more like the US.
• New York is shown as an exciting place to explore that is full of opportunities and diversity. Jay Z's Empire State of Mind video shows this.
• Ibiza is shown as a den of iniquity and as a place for people (particularly young adults) to party and have fun without responsibilities. Mike Posner's I Took a Pill in Ibiza video shows this well.