Among superior pleasers and heartbreaking seductresses : a discourse analysis of constructions of masculinity and femininity in contemporary reggaetón lyrics
Abstract: The Latin American music genre reggaetón has since its very recent emergence gained massive audiences, and is today widely listened to all across the region. The song lyrics have, however, received criticism for allegedly reinforcing stereotypical gender roles built on machismo and sexist values, partly because of the majority of reggaetón producers and performers being men. This thesis aims to examine not if this is de facto true or false, but the actual constructions and portrayals of masculinity and femininity in the lyrics of 16 contemporary popular reggaetón songs. What constitutes the gender ideals in these reggaetón narratives? How do women and men interact, and what roles do they fill gender-dynamically? With a gender- and feminist- theoretical perspective, and by using discourse-analytical tools, I dissect the lyrics to find the most common thematic components of each gender, highlighting especially the within reggaetón central aspect of sexual relations but additionally looking into hegemonic masculinity and betrayal. Whereas many depictions do display stereotypical elements, making the man the dominant, good-hearted womanizer and the woman merely an object to the male gaze alternatively a betrayer, interesting dimensions are revealed in deeper analysis; desirable femininity is perhaps not as passive as is usually assumed, and masculinity relies, in fact, simultaneously on female response and the man’s own assertion of his self-confident masculine self.
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