Body images in Lebanese music videos : social comparisons and perceptions of a Lebanese audience

Abstract

With a shift in the Lebanese music industry with an emphasis on the physical appearance of the artists, the body perceptions and satisfactions of a Lebanese audience are affected by the way the media portray artists in contemporary Lebanese music videos. The past of Arab music was one filled with "art", "enchantment", and "ecstasy"(Hammond, 2005). Female artists or singers were deemed talented for their exceptional vocals and their abilities to grab the audiences' attention. In fact, Racy (2003) expressed how the period of classical Arab music, which lasted between the 50's and 70's, was acknowledged as the "golden age." Yet that Golden Age music submerged from high-culture sound into the low-culture sounds of pop culture as Western pop merged into the production processes of Arab music (Hammond, 2005). Abdel Aziz (2010) suggests that one of the most vital features that contributes to the most success in the music industry is the physical appeal of the singers. The impact of media characters and their influence on the construction of self- image becomes an important question to ask. The media messages do not only have influence on ideas but on physical features as well (Thomas,2014). Using the social comparison theory, this study, therefore, examines the perceptions of both male and female members of the Lebanese audience on the body images of the artists in contemporary Lebanese musical video clips. The study mainly relies on the quantitative research method to survey over 300 Lebanese male and female audience members of all ages. The results of the questionnaire were entered into SPSS and were analyzed in the light of the literature review. The result found that Lebanese men and women are more likely to perceive that the artists' bodies in the Lebanese music videos represent the ideal body look. Female audience members were also found to be less satisfied with their bodies after having thought of the female artists, than men after thinking of the male artists.