What's in a Name? Gender & Power in Popular Music, 1960-2019

Bibliographic Data

ID4477922
AuthorsChandler Fairbanks (0000-0002-9614-1910, Department of Sociology & Criminology, Buffalo, NY, USA), Mary Nell Trautner (0000-0002-7889-4257, Department of Sociology & Criminology, Buffalo, NY, USA, corresponding author)
Year2025
Publication date2025-09-26
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueMen and Masculinities (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1097-184X • E-ISSN: 1552-6828
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/1097184x251382568
OpenAlexW4414535792
LanguageEN
References cited35

Media studies reveal that popular culture often objectifies, sexualizes, and degrades women more than men. In song lyrics, these portrayals frequently stem from men's use of slang and nicknames. But what happens when men artists sing about a particular, named woman? Does this differ from how men artists sing about a particular, named man? This study draws on four domains of power conceptualized by Patricial Hill Collins-structural, disciplinary, hegemonic, and interpersonal-to explore how men artists attribute power to named men and named women in song lyrics. Analyzing 373 songs over 60 years, we find that named men are more likely to hold and wield diverse forms of power than named women, whose power is typically tied to interpersonal relationships. These findings not only illustrate how men artists' attribute power to named men and named women in popular music but also demonstrate how various forms of power are used to reinforce hegemonic masculinities

Hegemonic masculinity · Hegemony · Interpersonal communication · Popular music · Slang · Gender Roles and Identity Studies · Gender, Feminism, and Media · Music History and Culture