Posted on April 10, 2008
Is society obsessed with sex? Does the media have something to do with it? Singer/ songwriter Meredith LeVande’s multimedia lecture Tuesday night in Harrison Hall set out to answer these questions and many more.
LeVande’s presentation drew a connection between the deregulation of the media industry and the abundance of sexually saturated images present in today’s society. Paying particular attention to female pop stars such as Britney Spears, Lindsey Lohan and Christina Aguilera, LeVande concentrated her presentation on the corporate ownership of pornography and its representations of females.
Working under the theory that “sex sells,” media representatives have intentionally “sexed up” traditional programming in order to make it acceptable in mainstream society and protect their financial assests, Lavande said.
As a singer/songwriter, who started her career in the late ‘90s, LeVande watched as the music industry changed from a business promoting raw talent to one promoting sex appeal. She watched as groups such as the Spice Girls grew in popularity and waited for the pop trend to end; when it didn’t, she took the independent music route, always keeping her eyes open for sexual exploitation in the media.
LeVande found sexual exploitation in abundance. She said as the media became increasingly deregulated and as large conglomerates bought smaller businesses, the amount of sexual images present throughout society increased, making pop stars seem more like objects and less like people.
“Mainstream media and corporate ownership of porn almost guarantees that women will be seen as objects,” LeVande said. “If there is an opportunity available to take advantage of any woman out there, it’s taken and taken forcibly.”
This objectification of women has had an effect on society. According to LeVande, “There seemed to be a concept of sisterhood that we really don’t hear about anymore. By holding others to a standard you can’t even obtain, you’re starting a standard you can’t live up to.”
The best way to prevent this from happening, according to LeVande, is for media consumers to evaluate what they watch so that they don’t get used to traditional stereotypes.
“As a consumer of media, you really have to be critical of your choices,” she said.
LeVande also recommends that women change the way they look at both themselves and one another. While the media often portrays females as being in constant competition with one another, women need to break free of the stereotype by changing their own behavior.
“If you are trained to behave this way, you can un-train yourself to behave this way,” LeVande said. “We need to unlearn these behaviors and support other women.”
LeVande’s words resonated with many in attendance.
“The corporations profiting from pornography are profiting way more than I thought,” freshman
Liz McAlister said. “It makes you feel mad to see artists trying to break the mold who are selling so much of themselves.”
Senior Allison Beisler, president of the University Program Board, agreed. UPB brought LeVande in after being reminded of the presentation she gave on campus two years earlier.
“We thought it was a phenomenal idea to bring in something so educational and controversial,” Beisler said. “I was very impressed [with the program]. (LeVande) was very well spoken.”
