Skip to main navigation menu Skip to main content Skip to site footer

Articles/Articoli

Vol. 13 No. 2 (2022): Special Pedagogy and Special Didactics for an innovative school and an inclusive education

Sexism and Traditional Masculinity in Country Music: Practicing Inclusivity and Innovation in Research and Education

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3280/ess2-2022oa14508
Submitted
agosto 21, 2022
Published
2022-12-20

Abstract

This paper discusses an effort in inclusivity and innovation in (higher) education by reporting on the results of a research study on popular culture that was conducted jointly by a student and a professor. The study focuses on sexism and traditional masculinity in contemporary country music lyrics to examine the portrayal of conventional heterosexual relationships and its potential impact for gender relations. The methodology involves an analysis of the lyrics of the most popular country music songs in 2019 and 2020 to investigate the presence of benevolent sexism, hostile sexism, traditional masculinity, and heterosexual relationships. Additionally conducted was an analysis of the relative proportion of sexist songs and its distribution by gender of the performing artist. Results show that a majority of contemporary country songs display sexism and, even more so, traditional masculinity. While songs by female country artists were found to oftentimes rebuke sexism, songs by male country artists promote them. Through its successful execution, this collaborative study shows the value of practicing inclusivity and innovation in research and education, which institutes of learning should promote.

References

  1. Andsager J. L., and Roe K. (1999). Country music video in country’s year of the woman. Journal of Communication, 49(1): 69-82. Doi: 10.1111/j.1460-2466.1999.tb02782.x.
  2. Annenberg Inclusion Initiative (2019). No country for female artists: Artist and songwriter gender on popular country charts from 2014 through 2018. USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, Research Brief, 1-5. https://assets.uscannenberg.org/docs/no-country-for-female-artists-research-brief_2019-04-04.pdf.
  3. Apple Music (2019). Country Hits: 2019 (playlist) [MP3]. Retrieved October 2020 from: https://music.apple.com/us/playlist/country-hits-2019/.
  4. AZLyrics website. Song Lyrics from A to Z. Retrieved October 2020, from: https://www.azlyrics.com/.
  5. Deflem M. (2017). Lady Gaga and the sociology of fame: The rise of a pop star in an age of celebrity. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
  6. Deflem M. (2019). The new ethics of pop: Celebrity activism since Lady Gaga. In M. Stramaglia (Ed.). Pop Cultures: Sconfinamenti Alterdisciplinari (pp. 113-129). Lecce-Rovato: Pensa Multimedia.
  7. Deflem M. (2020). Popular culture and social control: The moral panic on music labeling. American Journal of Criminal Justice, 45(1): 2-24.
  8. Deflem M. (2022). Celebrity activism on racial justice during COVID-19: The death of George Floyd, the rise of Naomi Osaka, and the celebritization of race in pandemic times. International Review of Sociology, 32(1): 63-87.
  9. Fischer P., and Greitemeyer T. (2006). Music and aggression: The impact of sexual-aggressive song lyrics on aggression-related thoughts, emotions, and behavior toward the same and opposite sex. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 32(9): 1165-1176. Doi: 10.1177/0146167206288670.
  10. Genius website. Song Lyrics & Knowledge. Retrieved October 2020 from: https://genius.com/.
  11. Glick P., and Fiske S. T. (1996). The Ambivalent Sexism Inventory: Differentiating hostile and benevolent sexism. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 70(3): 491-512. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/0022-3514.70.3.491.
  12. Glick P., and Fiske S. T. (2001). An ambivalent alliance: Hostile and benevolent sexism as complementary justifications for gender inequality. American Psychologist, 56(2): 109-118. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/0003-066X.56.2.109.
  13. Jones N.C. (2022). Sexism and traditional masculinity in country music: Characteristics and impact on the ‘ideal’ heterosexual relationship. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the South Carolina Sociological Association, Florence, SC, February 26, 2022.
  14. Leap B. (2020). A new type of (white) provider: shifting masculinities in mainstream country music from the 1980s to the 2010s. Rural Sociology, 85(1): 165-189. Doi: 10.1111/ruso.12276.
  15. Luft T., Jenkins M., and Cameron C.A. (2012). Rural adolescent girls negotiating healthy and unhealthy romantic relationships. Canadian Journal of Counselling and Psychotherapy, 46(3): 259-276. https://cjc-rcc.ucalgary.ca/article/view/59878.
  16. Mura A., Zurru A.L., and Tatulli I. (2019). Theoretical and methodological elements of an inclusive approach to education. Education Sciences & Society, 10(2): 123-136. https://journals.francoangeli.it/index.php/ess/article/view/8654.
  17. Paulson K. (2020). Country music sexism: Women fight for equality on the airwaves, and country radio shrugs. USA Today, February 24, 2020. Retrieved September 26, 2022 from: https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2020/02/24/country-music-sexism-women-artists-fight-discrimination-column/4820142002/.
  18. Rasmussen E.E., and Densley R.L. (2017). Girl in a country song: Gender roles and objectification of women in popular country music across 1990 to 2014. Sex Roles, 76(3-4): 188-201. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1007/s11199-016-0670-6.
  19. Rogers A.S. (2013). Sexism in unexpected places: An analysis of country music lyrics. Caravel, Fall 2013. Online: https://bit.ly/3CdPYVM.
  20. Rogers A.S., and Deflem M. (2022). Doing gender in heavy metal: Perceptions on women in a hypermasculine subculture. London; New York: Anthem Press.
  21. Salam M. (2019). What is toxic masculinity?. The New York Times, January 22, 2019. Retrieved September 26, 2022 from: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/22/us/toxic-masculinity.html.
  22. Spotify (2020). Hot Country: 2020 (playlist) [MP3]. Retrieved October 2020 from: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/37i9dQZF1DX1lVhptIYRda.
  23. Stack S., and Gundlach J. (1992). The effect of country music on suicide. Social Forces, 71(1): 211-218. Doi: 10.2307/2579974.
  24. Taste of Country (2020). Top 40 Country Songs for January 2020 through September 2020. Retrieved October 2020 from: https://tasteofcountry.com/.
  25. Tyler L. (2019). Reba McEntire calls out the ‘bro trend’ in country music. Yahoo! Entertainment, March 27. https://www.yahoo.com/now/reba-mcentires-problem-bro-trend-country-music-054946377.html.
  26. University of South Carolina. Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. https://sc.edu/about/offices_and_divisions/diversity_equity_and_inclusion/index.php.
  27. University of South Carolina. Office of Undergraduate Research. https://sc.edu/about/offices_and_divisions/undergraduate_research/.
  28. Watts C. (2018). 3 years after ‘Tomato-gate,’ there are even fewer women on country radio. The Tennessean, June 10, 2018. Retrieved August 18, 2022 from: https://www.tennessean.com/story/entertainment/music/2018/06/10/women-country-radio-tomatogate-music-row-kelsea-ballerini-maren-morris/675471002/.
  29. Watson J. (2019). Gender on the Billboard Hot Country Songs Chart, 1996-2016. Popular Music & Society, 42(5): 538-560. Doi: 10.1080/03007766.2018.1512070.
  30. Wilson J. (2000). Women in country music videos. ETC: A Review of General Semantics, 57(3): 290-303. https://www.jstor.org/stable/42578019.
  31. Wikipedia (2021). List of Billboard Number One Country Songs of 2020. Retrieved October 2020 from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Billboard_number-one_country_songs_of_2020.

Metrics

Metrics Loading ...