Does Music Influence Sexuality - Research Paper Example

This paper will explore the question as to whether music, or indeed any other media art form, has the power to influence sexuality and bring about sexual expression in its audiences. Discussion Music, like any other art form, is eminently able to evoke emotions in us. That is why you find people moved to tears by violin concertos or entranced by the lifting spirit of trumpets and cymbals in a March composition. Music is a language by itself, but while it has the ability to thrill you or move you emotionally, I have hardly ever heard it being able to stir sexuality in the human mind or body.

We may refer to a particular music video as sexy or provocative, but hardly rate its music as so. Take any video by Shakira, or Madonna, or Britney Spears for example. While people talk about it in hushed tones, and berate its sexually explicit content, few would say that the music itself was sexy. The oohs, aahs and other gushes of excitement are linked to our memories of what was transpiring in the videos of the particular song at that moment. It is the video that is sexy, not the music. The notion that sex sells has been used to sell everything from cigarettes to cars, so why leave out music.

And right from the time that Queen created ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, the very first English music video, music videos became a more and more important art form. There was even a time when the music didn’t really matter, the videos did. You could have the crappiest music and lyrics, but if you had a good video, with handsome boys and sexy girls doing their thing without a second thought, you had the makings of a hit on MTV. Take Lady Gaga and her ‘Bad Romance’ video. I don’t think I could come up with a worse video if I searched for years.

Yet she is a top selling artist, even more famous than Avril Lavigne or Taylor Swift, whose songs and music definitely have more merit. Let us now consider the argument often put forward by parents and politicians that sex and violence has been the mainstay of music videos for some time now. Most likely this started with videos by Madonna, or Prince, or Shakira, in which sexual content and contentions are the order of the day. Look, sex sells and while such videos have often been used by upcoming artists to increase their publicity and shock value, the effect is fleeting.

That is because airplay is limited, and competition is fierce in the music industry. Right from the time Madonna burst on the music scene with Like a Virgin, she has been ‘using sexual innuendo to shock audiences’ (Streitmatter, 34). It is like monkey see, monkey do. If we take the lyrics of Shaggy’s ‘It Wasn’t Me’ or Pink’s ‘Fucking Perfect’ or Akon’s ‘She’s Getting Naked’, most of the 40 plus crowd will be shocked to hear the lyrics, much less see the songs on MTV.

Yet most of us hardly react with a shrug. It’s all make-believe, we say, and our kids should know that. But do they really? Let’s say some Lothario or super vixen wants to act this out in real life. Does it catch on, and how bad would it be? I would say the effect would be limited. No one wants to make a fool of themselves or be taken advantage of, no matter what they are doing in the music videos. I for one believe that music does not influence sexuality and sexual expression. There are many positive things that music can do to you.

It can lift up your spirits, help you