Jessica F. pointed out an interesting graphic at Fleshmap. They looked at which body parts are emphasized or referenced in different genres of music.
From the website:
Fleshmap is an inquiry into human desire, its collective shape and individual expressions. In a series of studies, we explore the relationship between the body and its visual and verbal representation.
You can also click on the genre headings and go to a larger breakdown of what percent of songs reference each body part.
I find this fascinating, in that it gives us some indication of which body parts might be considered particularly important for defining attractiveness to artists and listeners of various genres…and also which body parts are most likely to be criticized or ridiculed. After all, a reference to a body part may be mocking as well as complimentary.
Of course, there are always issues with dividing artistic works into genres (Who defines the genres? How do you decide which genre songs go into if they have things in common with things in more than one genre?). And while the website provides a methodology, it could definitely be clearer:
Based on a compilation of more than 10,000 songs, the piece visualizes the use of words representing body parts in popular culture. Each musical genre exhibits its own characteristic set of words, with more frequently used terms showing up as bigger images. The entrance image shows how many times different body parts are mentioned; the charts for each genre go into more detail, showing the usage of different synonyms for each part.
They don’t specify how many songs were in each genre, how they were assigned to genres, or what the compilation of 10,000 songs is. I wish we had that info. Still, it does tell us, generally, about some interesting patterns that show how different groups construct–and appreciate–the body differently.
Gwen Sharp is an associate professor of sociology at Nevada State College. You can follow her on Twitter at @gwensharpnv.
Comments 26
surprize — September 16, 2009
maybe make the images big enough to see what the hell you put on them next time?
why hello there — September 16, 2009
cool, but for some reason they separated "ass" booty" and "butt", as well as "tits" "breasts" and "boobs". So the graphics are much harder to understand than they first look.
distance88 — September 16, 2009
Also, what about metaphors and indirect references to body parts? The science seems pretty squishy (the website says it is part of an "artistic study", and depending where you click, the site is NSFW), but it's still interesting how eyes, hands, and face/head were prominent across all genres of music.
Allie — September 16, 2009
Hmm..It seems that all music is about White People?
Annoyed — September 16, 2009
I noticed ass and booty were female but butt was male. It would really be cool if they were representatively referencing the gender that was sung about, but I doubt it.
kobebrons — September 17, 2009
ri
Rachel — September 17, 2009
Belly should be fat, not flat! Boo
Jackie — September 17, 2009
Just a thought--some names of body parts could be misrepresented. For example, "Head" is a popular choice among all the genres, but could it mean head as in the body part as well as head as in RE: the "act of giving fellatio"? In which case it might be represented in some genres more often than others.
ms liberty — September 20, 2009
I also notice that apparently .62% of gospel songs contain the word "ass?"
???
Louisa — September 22, 2009
Maybe they meant donkey, lol.
Katie — October 18, 2009
Did anyone else notice that the Gospel section had "ass" in 0.62% of its songs? I lol'd :)
Steven Sanders — March 28, 2022
I don't really care about this difference. I just love listening to music. I usually download my favorite music as ringtones for my phone here: https://dzwoneknatelefon.com/
Casemilo — December 14, 2022
I enjoy playing guitar the most. This is an easy-to-use instrument sonneries mp3. Lots of famous nokia ringtones created by guitar. Also I can create recordings to be used as ringtones
Billard Opera — March 4, 2023
Der tägliche Genuss klassischer Musik erfordert nicht, dass Sie Ihr Gehirn mit solch subtilen Unterscheidungen belasten, aber es wird Ihnen sicherlich helfen zu verstehen, dass klassische Musik eine lebendige Tradition ist, die jeden Tag neu definiert und neu definiert wird. Obwohl Bach, Mozart, Beethoven und ihre Zeitgenossen immer stolz auf ihren Platz in der Welt der klassischen Musik sein werden, beginnt die lange Geschichte dessen, was wir heute als klassische Musik bezeichnen, nicht mit ihnen und endet definitiv nicht mit ihnen.
Die Tradition der klassischen Musik lebt insofern weiter, als Komponisten Musik für Orchester, Kammermusikgruppen, Solisten – und an unerwarteten Orten – schreiben. Auch https://klingeltondownload.comwenn Sie noch nie „klassische Musik“ gehört haben, hören Sie ständig Musik, die von der klassischen Tradition beeinflusst ist, von präzise komponierten Videospiel-Soundtracks über Beatles-Songs, die von Avantgarde-Komponisten beeinflusst wurden, bis hin zu Heavy-Metal-Gitarristen, die Akkorde stahlen (vielleicht sogar ohne wissend) von Richard Wagner.
Ich bin gerade als digitaler Produzent zu MPR Classic gekommen; Sie werden hier meine Autorennamen sehen, und Sie werden bald die Namen der Autoren sehen, die ich rekrutieren werde, um zu unserer Berichterstattung beizutragen. Zuvor war ich Kunstredakteurin bei Twin Cities Daily Planet; Bei MPR werde ich auch mit studentischen Musikjournalisten zusammenarbeiten, die für unseren Local News Blog schreiben werden.