Survey Results & Conclusion in Music

Total surveys: 23

1. What is your gender?
Males:7
Females: 16

2. How would you describe your viewpoints?
Liberal: 6
Moderately liberal: 8
Middle of the road: 4
Moderately conservative: 4
Conservative: 0

3. Do you feel women are portrayed negatively in music?
Yes: 19
No: 0
No comment: 0
Neutral: 3

4. Do you feel men are portrayed negatively in music?
Yes: 9
No: 8
No comment: 1
Neutral: 5

5. What types of music do you feel portray sex and gender more negatively?
[Open ended question]
Out of 21 responses, all 21 mentioned rap and/or hip hop. Two mentioned pop along with rap and one answered rock alongside rap.

6. Do you think that portrayals of sex and gender are improving compared to within the last few decades?
[Open ended question]
Somewhat: 2
No: 13
Yes: 6
Answer was irrelevant: 1

*Note: Many of the questions had at least 1 person skip it.

In conclusion, a majority of the people surveyed believe that rap/hip-hop portrayed women and sex/gender in the worst light. Over the years, the majority also believe that these portrayals have not gotten any better. Surprisingly, a lot of people thought music portrayed men in a negative light. I should have probed further to see what this reason was, as it is obvious to why women are seen as portrayed negatively. I believe that music portrays women in a more negative light and is either getting worst or staying at an equally bad level. Even if women are in the spotlight and are making music, they are usually seen as sex symbols since that is what sells.

I would have liked to touch on the fact that the transgendered and gay community is becoming more accepted in some genres, however the amount of questions I already have did not allow for me to survey that. However, since I go to/went to a large amount of indie, hardcore, and pop-punk shows throughout the semester and over the summer, I noticed that these communities are more accepted and it's not as "weird" to see them around. Musical artists such as Jeffree Star drew a large crowd at Warped Tour over the summer, and when she was signing at her tent, it was impossible to walk by because kids were everywhere just trying to meet her. I also noticed that it's alright in these scenes for men to be a lot more feminized. It is alright (and attractive to some) for boys to wear tight pants, have long hair, and be more "emotional," hence the title "emo boys." These communities are still hated on by others who are not involved in the scene, but I believe it is getting better because I noticed that a lot of boys are starting to wear tighter jeans. However, in the bigger picture, I believe that this generation could do much better portraying sex and gender and being more open about it, no matter what it may be.

-Tepthida Tan