Comments on: Sexualized Violence in a Lady Gaga Video

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 05:01:53 +0000

Really interesting images – thanks for the link. I think if one is to think “sociologically” about images, some reference to the notion of cultural reference is in order, re: these images take up an aesthetic that is circulating in culture, or rather, transform images that are circulating in culture INTO an aesthetic, which is what makes them clever – and dare I say it – “artistic” (in a decidely narrow, art-for-art sake sense of the word, which does not foreclose on other possible meanings and social values of art and its various practices…)

The point is, it makes little sense to read a kind of social content or ideology BACK into images that are all ABOUT coping a look – a style. Popular culture is littered with these kinds of images – both still and moving – ineviatably, its going to turn into a “look” – think fake wood panels on the sides of station wagons…Style, no substance – Form, not function. It’s ART (of a particular sort).

By: logotrix

logotrix — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 04:51:12 +0000

thanks very much for this

By: logotrix

logotrix — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 04:50:02 +0000

The difference with Lady Gaga’s use of “convention” of sexual violence against women in music videos is the effect of her sensibility on how it comes off – stylized to such a hyberbolic degress that the reference is transformed into parody (which is always transgressive, when done successfully) and that to me, is the real genius, which is to say – genuine intelligence and originality of her shtick.

By: Trivializing Domestic Violence: “A Kiss with a Fist” Video » Sociological Images

Sun, 28 Mar 2010 15:47:10 +0000

[...] commenter Dave gave us a link to a recent discussion of this topic at Jezebel. Also see our post on sexualized violence in Lady Gaga’s “Paparazzi” video. var addthis_language = 'en'; 7 Comments Tags: gender, gender: violence, music, violence [...]

By: Juli

Juli — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 16:05:27 +0000

To me the video shows that GaGa’s character, not really herself, just a character in the whole story, had suffered a homicide attempt by her boyfriend, whom she deeply trusted. The boyfriend knew they were being photographed by a paparazzi and, knowing how disturbed the media is, threw her off the balcony so both could become more famous and appear on magazines headlines, but he only asked her if she trusted him, he didn’t have her consent in the action nor did he know if she would survive or not, but all he cared about was fame, which is even the name of her album (“Fame”). But she really didn’t like it since she almost died and he couldn’t care less if she did, so she killed him and the media, once more, instead of talking about how sickening the whole situation is, only glorifies her and is glad “she’s back”.
I always thought Lady GaGa wasn’t a role model and neither did she try to be, but that she had always tried to show how deeply problematic the media is by making these videos that don’t obviously tell it as it is, but makes it in a gory way. She has also made a video that mocks the romours that she had male genitalia by showing off her female one and getting comments like “oh, so she doesn’t have a penis” or something of the sort. The video shows her doing something she shouldn’t do, just like “Paparazzi” when she kills her boyfriend instead of going to Justice, but she does it to mock the media and rumours and how society loves all of this sh*t. I just think this shouldn’t be the way to mock it, but then I think her actions on videos are so blatantly wrong that she just thinks no one will think she is encouraging it and if anyone does think she is, they’re just too stupid anyway. And now I’m the one making assumptions… but it’d be hard to believe that she didn’t know there would be people thinking she does encourage such actions. It’s easier for me to believe that she laughs at people who can’t see all of the mockery she makes at the media and at our modern society. To me it seems like a way of coping from all the sh*t society and the media have become, as if having an “at least I have fun mocking the whole thing” attitude.

By: An interesting link « Theory into Practice

An interesting link « Theory into Practice — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 04:48:02 +0000

[...] http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2009/05/31/sexualized-violence-in-a-lady-gaga-video/ [...]

By: Lady Gaga’s Disability Project » Sociological Images

Lady Gaga’s Disability Project » Sociological Images — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 16:17:03 +0000

[...] featured Gaga’s video for Papparazi before (to highlight it’s sexualized violence), but I thought it was worth re-using in this context [...]

By: hi

hi — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 23:01:40 +0000

u suck

By: tammy

tammy — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 02:13:03 +0000

Hi Karma, no I definitley didn’t mean that men deserved to experience the same brutality as women do in the media. Though it would be fair, why is is always the woman who is getting killed. I am not a feminist activist I just kind of don’t like my position of being of the sex that is portrayed violently in the media, whereas men are not depicted in the same way, they are usually the perpetrators against women. I don’t know what conclusions we can draw about our society based on this.

By: Sex and Power » Sociological Images

Sex and Power » Sociological Images — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 07:42:35 +0000

[...] conflations of sex and power here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and [...]

By: MTV worries me… Part 1; Glamorous Pain « Uplift Magazine

MTV worries me… Part 1; Glamorous Pain « Uplift Magazine — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 17:13:14 +0000

[...] Images published a brilliant blog (although, when are their blogs anything but?) that pointed out the sexualised violence in Lady Gaga’s Paparazzi video. It should never have been surprising that this video was going to be controversial, since it was [...]

By: Karma

Karma — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 21:38:28 +0000

That is such a harsh way to put things. Are you saying that because women are overly exposed in the media as abuse targets, that it’s mens turn? I’m a woman and i’m just as scared of abuse as anyone else out there, but i don’t have bad feelings against men and i don’t want to hurt any of them in any way. Some men are sick, moreso than women, but just because women are main abuse targets, doesnt mean that all men in the presence of a women are evil.

By: Tammy Mears

Tammy Mears — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 14:55:53 +0000

I think that the world is coming to an end. Or what I actually mean, trying to psychologically analyze the social impact that the media has on our youth and society in general, I being female find it so disturbing that it is always women in every csi show that are having their throat slashed etc. Why is it that we don’t constantly depict men suffering the same violent demise as women? And there is some sexual thrill that is enticed by these movies, videos and shows. From a religious standpoint I believe that this is part of satan’s war to take humanity down, another one of his strongholds, he will try to get some of us by drugs, crack cocaine for the black community, “ice” for the white community, hip hop with sexually graffic lyrics for the youth and then for the young adults we have sexually explicit media. I really believe that the downfall of humanity is in satan’s hands, I don’t think that God is going to let him win this war and I don’t want him to win so I will just do my part to maintain a level of sanity and sit back and watch the morals of society disintegrate until the next catclysm of our planet. Whoever disagrees with this and wants to take up for the dark side, be careful. I am a light worker.

By: (Weird) Sex Sells? « I Don’t Drink But I Do Bathe In Flowers

(Weird) Sex Sells? « I Don’t Drink But I Do Bathe In Flowers — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 22:58:14 +0000

[...] we’re well-acquainted with the sexualized violence in MTV music videos. As Sociological Images asserted, it’s very probable that sexualized violence is one of the contributing factors to the [...]

By: Jillian C. York

Jillian C. York — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 17:46:18 +0000

(I should have added some lyrics:

For nights I was calling my darling and he did not come
He doesn’t ease my mind and doesn’t know what’s happening to me
What can I do? I love him so much
Woe is me oh my fire
When I see his image before my eyes all day and night
What can I do? I love him so much
Woe is me oh my fire
When I see his image before my eyes oh what’s with me?

Then why is he hiding his feelings like this
And he is unaware like this
And I don’t know
Why is he confusing me
And why is he running away from me
And I never cross his mind)