Female Images Analysis In American Popular Lyrics (1960-2003)

The present study, unlike previous ones on female portrayals in popular lyrics, seeks to provide a fresh perspective by focusing on the synchronic and diachronic comparison of perceived female image (lyrical female portrayal) between woman solo performers, music groups with female vocalists or all-woman musical groups and man solo performers, musical groups with male vocalists or all-man musical groups. Based on the social identity theory and the relationship between gender & perception, the dissertation tries to testify that male singers'songs perceive and shape more stereotypical female images that are in favor of male group's self-evaluation, while it is the other case for female singers; and at the same time, against the American cultural and social background (1960-2003) and the relationship between culture and perception, tries to have a right look at lyrical female image development trend. The study thus hopes to provide a deep understanding of how female image perception (lyrical female portrayal) is affected by gender and culture. This study analyzes popular love/sex or erotic songs from 1960 to 2003, which is sub-divided into five periods with the interval of eight years. The following questions are supposed to be answered through investigation: Question 1: What are differences between the female image perceived by men and women singers in America in each period from 1960 to 2003? Question 2: Is there a decreasing tendency of stereotypical female images perceived in male singers'songs from 1960 to 2003 or vice versa? Question 3: Is there a decreasing tendency of stereotypical female images portrayed in female singers'songs from 1960 to 2003 or vice versa? Questions 4: What are differences between the female images perceived by men and women singers in America from 1960 to 2003? And then five hypotheses were formulated based on the above research questions. 125 popular hits involved in love/sex or erotic relationship in Billboard Top 100 chart between 1960-2003, with 77 sung by male , 48 sung by female singers,comprised a representative sample of songs in this study. The concept analyzed in the songs --stereotypical portrayals of women's role in love/sex or erotic relationships --was operationalized using six indicators: submissiveness, supportiveness, connectedness, dependence, sexual object and inequality. Likert-type, five-point scales were used to code the data collected. The data were analyzed using SPSS, Version 12.0. After analyzing the SPSS output, we've drawn the following conclusions: (1) Female portrayals in songs sung by men singers are not more stereotyped than those by female singers in each period over 1960-2003 as we expected. On the contrary, in each period, for variables with statistics significance, except sex object in the period of 1996-2003, female images portrayed in female singers'songs are more stereotyped than those by male singers. (2) There isn't a decreasing tendency of stereotypical female images portrayed in male as well as female singers'songs across the time as we hypothesized. (3) Over the whole period of 1960-2003, the hypothesis that female portrayals in songs sung by men singers are more stereotyped than those by female singers is disconfirmed. Significantly, more stereotypical female portrayal could be found for the variables of supportiveness, connectedness in female singers'lyrics, and for sexual object, female images were more stereotyped in male singers'songs. For other three variables, no significant difference is there. Since female image perception (lyrical female portrayal) in pop lyrics is not affected by gender and cultural evolution as we hypothesized, the dissertation draws out the implications or conclusions as follows: 1) Pop Singers are not typical representatives of gender group. 2) Popular lyrics give no indication to social, cultural or social change. 3) Music embodying favorable gender information is more valued by a specific gender group. 4) The public hear but don't listen to pop lyrics At last, the current study's limitation and further work are put forward.