Discrimination Against Women in Songs

Women are still stereotyped today and often portrayed as helpless victims. Our songs represent gender stereotypically as the American White Male keeps the humankind safe from democracy as women are degraded to a second class. The stereotyping of women is seen in several areas of the media, in the lyrics to our popular songs and in our movies.

Our children have become so exposed to songs and their lyrics that degrade women that many young adolescents think the song, I am a Barbie Girl is just a song sung by the Ken doll as a reflection of what Barbie’s plastic world is all about. But I have a hard time tolerating some of the sexist issues. That actually goes along with the image of Barbie in this song. This song suggests that blondes can not think for themselves. Therefore Barbie must do things like beg on her knees to get her male partner’s attention. The song states to young children that, you, as the owner of Barbie, can make her perform. “You can undress her anywhere, you can brush her hair, and you can even run your fingers through her blonde hair.“ These words send a powerful double meaning to young girls listening to this song. Young girls get the image that they too can be a, “Barbie Girl and live in this Plastic W

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Barbie replies to Ken’s request by saying, “You can touch, you can play, if you only say I am yours. I feel this sends a very powerful message to the girl’s who idolize this Barbie doll and worship her image of the All-American Girl. ” Again this statement suggests to girls everywhere that they should let their boyfriends touch and play with them as long as they pledge to their boyfriends that they are theirs.

Towards the end on this song, Ken states to Barbie, “Come on jump in, be my friend, let’s do it again, hit the town, fool around. This whole song sets a tone of how a girl should act if she desires a man and his attention. Barbie is an image to many young girls, and this image is not a good healthy image. The lyrics also suggest that her only role in life is to pleasure others. ” Again the image is that all this male has to do is say jump and she will obey him. But actually what this song is teaching young women is to let someone else lead you, you can not think on your own, and this is because you are a woman and as a women remember you have no personal rights. Her image that a woman must be perfect, her hair must be neatly brushed, and to get something all she has to do is to beg on her knees.

Barbie states to her doll owner, “make me walk, make me talk, do whatever you please.

Although this song to a young teenager is about a plastic doll named Barbie, the hidden messages are very clear to a mature adult. Barbie sings about herself as being a girl in a fantasy world. The image of Barbie set according to the lyrics in this song is that of a brainless blonde who only knows how to use her body to get what she wants. Even hanky panky, young teenage girls just need to roll with it and feel the pain.

Approximate Word count = 820
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

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