A Texas Tech study led by Eric Rasmussen, Ph.D., a professor at Tech’s College of Media and Communication, found that country music songs studied from 2010 onward objectified women more than in country songs studied from the 1990s and 2000s.
Country songs from the last six years compared to decades before them talked more about women’s appearances, talked more about women in tight or revealing clothing, compared women to objects more often, referred more to women by slang instead of real names, talked less about women being empowered and talked less about women in non-traditional roles.
All of the above criteria were true for modern country songs sung by men, but not by women. But, modern songs sung by women were more likely to refer to women as distrustful or cheaters than songs in the 2000s.
In an interview with “Texas Tech Today,” Rasmussen said he blames the rise of Bro-country and pop’s crossover into the genre.
“You hear about crossover country where it has incorporated lyrics and beats and other characteristics of pop,” Rasmussen said. “Country music is not that old, but it’s not steel guitars anymore. It doesn’t have that twang anymore. It’s more pop, more mainstream and the ratings are driving it.”
Rasmussen, a father to four girls, also said he started the study because “research shows this type of music can have an effect on people. If this is the message they hear, they’ll think it’s acceptable and normal, and people normally try to go with the flow and match their attitude to what they think is acceptable in society. But we want to educate people about what’s happening, that the media does have an effect and that it’s not OK to demean women in this way.”
Jake Harris
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