Over the years, music videos predominantly showcased conventional beauty standards, especially for women. But with the evolution of MTV, YouTube, TikTok, and Spotify, artists have begun to challenge these standards and present more diversity based on their artistic backgrounds. For instance, Lil Nas X's "Montero", showcases a lot of LGBTQIA+ elements, a reflection of the artist's sexuality.
While music videos can do a lot of good for artistic expression, and normalize less accepted themes, the issue of female sexualization is an often recurring theme. Many music videos have and continue to objectify women, perpetuate stereotypes, and reinforce beauty ideals. Robin Thicke's "Blurred Lines" shown below is a perfect example of this.
However, recently a call for better representation has been answered. Artists and music directors globally are using their fame and popularity to advocate for more diversity within the music industry. Beyonce's music video for "Formation", for example. The music video is all about Black people being proud of their heritage and culture. A lot of people saw it as "anti-police" or "anti-white", but the representation it brings isn't about that, it's about being pro-black. Music videos like these can help break down prejudices, and even educate people while showcasing music.
With the increased usage of social media like TikTok and Instagram, conversations about representation in the music video have been put on full volume. Artists are being held accountable by their fans in comment sections, and the idea of cancel culture prevails as people begin to demand better representation from their favorite artists.
Even though the music industry has become more accepting of different topics, the fight for more representation in music is ongoing, and viewers must hold big labels and artists accountable, and champion positive representation of all cultures and sexualities in order to wholly celebrate all that music has to offer.
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