From Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to Frank Sinatra and Brittany Spears, music has always been sexual. Pop music and Rock and Roll are especially sexual. Popular music in recent years has perpetuated sexism in young people by showing women as more submissive and sensitive than men.

While it may be argued that women have a more dominate place in the music industry then ever before, the same perception that women are more romantic and submissive than men holds steady. Brittany Spears is one female artist that adds to the continuance of sexism in popular music. By means of her provocative manner in her dress and lyrics, she becomes a symbol of sex as a transitory pleasure, much like a prostitute. Simon Frith in his essay "Rock and Sexuality" states, "The prostitute can be treated with a mixture of condescension and contempt, as someone without an autonomous sexuality" (264). In that sense she becomes the man's desire without any fluency of her own. Therefore according to Frith, "Sex as self-expression remains the prerogative of the man; the woman is the object of his needs and

Bloom, Allan, "Music," from The Closing of the American Mind. Copyright 1987 by

"This one's going out to the strip joints...10 grand let me see you shake it like you got no bones in your body..." are the words issuing from the rapper Wyclef Jean in his song "Perfect Gentleman." The song goes on to refer to women as mere sex objects and having no sexuality of their own. Other songs, for example "I wanna lick you" by Ludicris, are solely about sex. Songs resembling these are found in abundance in popular music and can be heard constantly on the radio. It is hard to escape the frame of mind these songs suggest about males being the aggressor and females being submissive in sexual aspects. Another rap song by Outkast is "Miss Jackson." In contrast, this song doesn't promote sexism by showing the man as being the dominant sexual being, but as the woman being sensitive, "Never meant to make your daughter cry." She is not spending her time like one of the guys drinking or ogling the opposite sex, instead she is home crying, exhibiting the disposition that women are more sensitive than men.

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 767
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)