es and is especially rampant on a channel like MTV, which caters, primarily, to adolescents. The MTV that initially brought us Culture Club, Beat It, and Cindy Lauper switched to, under the influence of market research, to one of the most relentless showcases of misogyny in America (Douglas1994).In an interview with Will Smith during the mid-1990s, the famous actor and rapper noted that he did not feel comfortable in the rap music field due to the direction the artists have taken (Holsey, 1996). Smith said that rap has taken a negative turn and simply glorifies ignorance, violence and misogyny (1996). Many agree with his assessment. The nineties did see a change in respect to how women are portrayed and this is just one example. There are many others. Some are subtle. Even an Offspring song released in the late nineties, entitled "Pretty Fly for a White Guy" contains misogynist undertones, hinting that rap has become more mainstream and invaded white culture to boot. Also, not long ago, their popular Self-esteem song was representative of the male attitude and the double standard still persistent in a purportedly equal society. Further, other bands in the alternative rock genre, such as Guns N Roses, have produced material which may be degrading to women and in fact, lead singer Axl Rose had himself been accused of violence against an ex-girlfriend. In more recent times, Godsmack has targeted women as smothering and manipulative. Still, rap dominates the area when it comes to the dominance of women, low self-esteem and violent sexuality. And some band members too, along with making rap music, often have "rap sheets" where some of the charges are for acts of violence. Women have made some strides in television as noted. However, as seen in some shows that continue to feature women as sex objects like Howard Stern's, or The Man Show, and the obvious misogyny in music and music videos, it becomes clear that women are objectified or portray...
