In my diploma thesis I researched how sexism was expressed in the lyrics of the foreign songs most frequently listened to in the 1960s and how it was expressed in the lyrics of the foreign songs most frequently listened to in the 2010s. I further researched the differences in expressing sexism between the two eras. I opted for the qualitative type of research, as I was interested in verbal descriptions rather than numbers.
The theoretical part begins by dealing with concepts used in my thesis. In the beginning I start by defining gender and gender relations. I then proceed by defining sexism as the central issue of my thesis. Much attention is devoted to emancipation processes in the history and societal position of women. The cultural context of emancipatory processes and popular culture is also carefully scrutinized. I touch upon the concept of popular music and explain the distinction between pop and rock genre in short. The societal position of women in popular music and the way they are dealt with in the lyrics of popular music are extremely important; the theoretical introduction therefore also covers both topics.
The empirical part of my thesis presents the results of the research, during which I analysed one hundred foreign songs most frequently listened to in the 1960s and one hundred songs most frequently listened to in the 2010s – 200 songs altogether. The manner of how sexism is expressed towards women is apparent from the topics covered throughout my analysis. This presents the case of stereotyping men and sexism expressed towards men. It was determined that the songs in the 1960s deal with the following topics: stereotyping women, desire for female obedience and stereotyping men. In the 2010s the topics deal with sexual objectification, a woman submitting in a relationship, violence, desire for female obedience, desire for male domination, expressing contempt for women and stereotyping women. In the 2010s the topic of sexual objectification of men also occurs. Unfortunately, fundamental differences in expressing sexism between both eras could not be accurately defined, as the songs in music charts in the 1960s offered insufficient material to provide analysis. Furthermore, the number of sexist expressions was too scarce. In 2010s, however, there were quite many sexist expressions in the lyrics of the songs most frequently listened to. Despite a long lasting fight for rights, the women nowadays are still the victims of different types of sexism – in music as well. They are most commonly exposed to sexual objectification, contempt and stereotyping; moreover, they are placed in inferior position and remain victims of violence. Women are often expected to be obedient and submissive. Men express their desire for gender domination. During my research a number of new issues emerged, according to which the relevance of subsequent research of this particular field is emphasized by the suggestions provided.
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