Unmasking the ideological work of violence in music videos: findings from ethnographic audience research into contemporary sexual politics

This article demonstrates how scripts of sexual attraction and interaction in contemporary music videos are enduringly formed from heteronormative and essentialist ‘natural order’ discourses of biological difference that (re)produce and legitimise existing and harmful power relations. Uniquely, this article identifies and interrogates examples of this practice through critical analysis of the use and meaning of male to female and female to male violence in music videos. We know from extant literature that representations inform social interaction and therefore this research has significant implications for real-life sexual interactions and importantly sexual assault and violence against women. By identifying and articulating the ideological work of violence in music videos, this article reveals its significance and meaning in heterosexual sex and relationships. This study is situated within a feminist theoretical framework that priorities participant voice and calls for social change.