Music as a Tool for Children: Reducing Violence Against Women

Introduction
Violence against women remains a prevailing issue in today’s Caribbean and African American communities. While Black people continue to tackle social issues like crime and violence in Black communities, not enough research has been conducted to establish the entire contribution of music on rape culture, and subsequent violence against women. It has also not been well established whether music could prove useful in the reduction of violence against women. In this essay, I will argue that prosocial music (produced by influential media figures) introduced during childhood may have significant impacts on reducing violence against women in Jamaican communities by strengthening people’s sense of acting together as a unit. In the context of this paper, prosocial behavior is defined as behavior which promotes social acceptance and friendship, and actions which favor collective goals. It is important to first explore how music has contributed to perpetuating rape culture because this highlights music’s socializing effects on gender norms. This paper will then explore how impactful media is during childhood and how exposure to different types of media could predict different patterns in adulthood. This also serves to highlight the influence of music. I will explore the potential for intentional prosocial development, starting in childhood for lifelong results. This paper also makes recommendations for the application of music in childhood and calls for more research to further understand the underlying mechanisms at play and to expand on the possibility of intentional prosocial development.

Background: Socializing Rape Culture
Popular music operates as a primary socializing agent by way of contributing to individual and collective identities, and by solidifying social values and norms (Hill, 2021). In this way, popular music also serves to validate and perpetuate gender norms (Hill, 2021). As a result, while popular music contains massive amounts of sexual violence against women, it serves to normalize sexual violence against women (Hill, 2021). In this context, sexual violence is defined as any gender-based violence that causes sexual, physical or psychological damage to women, and subsequently contributing to women’s loss of control of their sexual experiences. Sexual violence and the erasure of women’s ability to refuse sex are dominant themes of rock and metal music (Hill, 2021). Dancehall music is no different in this manner. Popular song by Aidonia, Ah You, include lyrics like “grab her, like me a rape or rob her,” and “take me cock out like a knife and stab her” (Youtube, 2011). These depictions compound to suggest that occurrences of violence are an ordinary part of relationships between women and men (Hill, 2021). Violent songs are often paired with violent imagery.
Research highlights how music videos serve as a major agent of sexual socialization for young people, including influencing how women and girls view themselves. Music videos are an excellent place to observe a society’s cultural values about masculinity and femininity (Aubrey, 2011). Dancehall music videos also exhibit similar influence. The popular music video by Vybz Kartel has 28 million views, one hundred and ninety thousand likes and almost three million subscribers, all while objectifying women’s bodies and implying they are interchangeable (Youtube, 2016). Dancehall music demands a certain adherence to a masculinist script and urges men to identify their masculinity through the sexual domination of women (Chunnu, 2020). Violent audio and visuals serve to perpetuate rape culture.
Popular music appears to have been perpetuating rape culture for a very long time (J, K., 2015). Rape culture is often described as a place where sexual violence against women is normalized and can be observed in media as a typical part of popular culture, and a place where rape is rampant (J, K., 2015). Rape culture may be perpetuated through “the use of misogynistic language, the objectification of women’s bodies, and the glamorization of sexual violence, thereby creating a society that disregards women’s rights and safety” (J, K., 2015). This type of media sets a certain discursive tone for violence by erasing women’s power and sovereignty, reducing them from humans to objects (Hill, 2021). This paves the way for insurmountable damage. If someone is not seen as human then it becomes easier to justify various atrocities against them. Therefore, while Dancehall music “has become highly popular, impacting many aspects of Jamaican culture, including ‘space, music, song, dance, fashion, language, art, embodied meanings, performance practice, attitude, politics, economy/industry, and style’ (Chunnu, 2020), it is arguable that Dancehall music works to erase women’s sovereignty and capacity to refuse sex in Jamaican communities. However, if media can insight violence against women, then perhaps it could be used as a tool to encourage unity between the sexes since what is introduced in childhood has long lasting effects.

Media Influence: Childhood predicting Adulthood
Previous research demonstrates that violent media in childhood correlates with very violent behaviors in adolescence and adulthood (Ybarra, 2022). After accounting for other factors such as exposure to caregiver spousal abuse, one’s propensity to respond with anger, association with delinquent peers, etc., research reveals that as a person’s violent media diet increases, their odds of seriously violent behavior also increases by seventy percent over time (Ybarra, 2022). Findings also revealed that listening to violent music in childhood may lead to seriously aggressive behaviors after just one year, and even into adulthood (Ybarra, 2022). Violent media messages suggest the idea that violence is an acceptable and normal way to express anger across varying stimuli and environments (Ybarra, 2022). However, music can also have the opposite effect on children.
Previous research highlights how joint music creation among children increases spontaneous helpful behavior and cooperation (Kirschner, 2010). Dance and music can be seen as effective tools for facilitating positive collective experiences among children, and ultimately creating feelings of bonding and community among participants (Kirschner, 2010). A possible explanation for this could be the fact that children have an intrinsic inclination for creating and enjoying music (Kirschner, 2010). “This proclivity together with music's efficiency in coordinating voice and action — thereby highlighting the shared intention of acting together as a “we” unit — encouraged the children in our study to behave more cooperatively and pro-socially towards each other” (Kirschner, 2010). Another possible explanation says that cheerful music may induce positive moods (Kirschner, 2010). Synchronizing body movements while playing instruments and dancing has been argued to induce positive emotions that break down boundaries between the group and the self, ultimately leading to feelings of group joyfulness that encourage and enable group cohesion (Kirschner, 2010). In other words, joint music creation not only increases levels of group coordination but also encourages the group to maintain audiovisual representations of group intentions and shared goals. It would appear that what is introduced in childhood (whether positive or negative) has lasting impacts on a person’s life and that childhood experiences could be predictive of a person’s prosocial development.
People who have had more enriched childhood experience tend to give more to charity, report more empathy for others in need and acquire higher scores on trait measures of prosociality (McCauley, 2022). Variations in childhood adversities are associated with adult prosociality, but so are variations in childhood enrichment (McCauley, 2022). Prosocial proclivities are more prevalent among people that were raised in collectivist cultures characterized by interdependence, interpersonal closeness and bigger family sizes (Van Lange, 1997). The prevalence of prosocial orientations are greater among women and that one's prosocial proclivities increase as the number of their female siblings increase (Van Lange, 1997). Findings also report that tools designed to facilitate prosocial and cooperative behaviors could teach children that empathy towards others is beneficial, which could in turn incite empathetic behaviors that last beyond childhood (McCauley, 2022). Therefore, it could follow that if boys are encouraged to form more meaningful relationships with girls in earlier stages of their lives then they could increase their inclination for prosocial behavior long term. Prosocial learning might be driven by “mechanisms that specialize in learning social expectations, norms, and locally optimal social strategies” (McCauley, 2022). While music already presents itself as a socializing agent, perhaps it could become a tool that is more intentionally used to eradicate harmful behaviors and values (such as sexism and violence against women) and incite more cohesion among boys and girls, and ultimately women and men.

Potential Prosocial Development
Group coordination is an important part of people’s daily lives (Stupacher 2017). “We coordinate our steps in crowded places, synchronize expressive gestures on dance floors, make music together, or play team sports” (Stupacher 2017). These activities require people to synchronize their movements on a millisecond scale (Stupacher 2017). Previous research highlights that a lot of human behavior is rhythmical and that such endogenous movements may be entrained to one another between and within people (Stupacher 2017). Previous research also showcases that the synchronization of such oscillations may raise cooperation, affiliation and prosocial behavior (Stupacher 2017). When groups of people move in time with music, they not only align their movements, but they also share emotional experiences together, such as cohesion and trust (Stupacher 2017). Vasopressin and oxytocin are neuropeptides that are believed to link shared emotional experiences, entrainment and interpersonal bonding (Stupacher 2017). In other words, group engagement with music is connected to neurophysiological processes and group expectations (Stupacher 2017). Music appears to be useful for joint action. The content of the music matters as well. Findings point out that there is a significant positive association between prosocial behavior and the prosocial lyrics of the songs played (Ruth, 2016). People who consume music with prosocial content are more likely to behave prosocially compared to people who consume music with neutral lyrics (Ruth, 2016). Other studies have also demonstrated the powerful effects of music.
Popular media figures are often seen as role models and as a result have huge impacts on youths' socialization. For example, popular Hip-hop personas have a major influence on young people’s confidence in tackling various social struggles (Anyiwo, 2021). Black youths who consume more Hip-hop and engage with Hip-hop artists via social media are more likely to engage in social justice activism (Anyiwo, 2021). These same youths who engage more with Hip-hop have a greater sense of racial inequality and are better able to address racism and participate in anti-racist activism (Anyiwo, 2021). Consuming Hip-hop via social media is likely to increase young people’s exposure to Hip-hop musician’s socio-political values since Hip-hop musicians often use their platforms to discuss critical political Black issues (Anyiwo, 2021). If influential musicians were to promote messages about the importance of reducing violence against women, then perhaps young people would learn to resist sexism more.

Recommendations
Sexual violence has been a persistent theme in Dancehall music. While this is the case, Dancehall music has played a part in reproducing violent gender norms. This is an issue worth addressing since approximately one in three women, worldwide (there appears to be a lack of data to reflect the rate of sexual violence in Jamaica), are affected by men’s sexual violence (Hill, 2021). However, the socializing powers of Dancehall music may be repurposed for implanting healthy sentiments in youths. Previous researchers hold that stereotypical character depictions have been changing more and more since the 1970 (Kimmel, 2017) and this implies that what it means to be a woman can be reinvented. It could prove beneficial to use music as a tool (for children) with the intention of eliminating misogyny and reducing violence against women by encouraging cooperative and empathetic behaviors between boys and girls. The results may be amplified if anti-sexist sentiments are simultaneously presented to children by popular media figures that are their role models. Further research is needed to explore this possibility and potential applications.
Educational boards may want to consider introducing joint music-making and/or other specially designed musical tools into school curriculums for the purpose of fostering social bonding and cohesion between little girls and boys.
Parents, caregivers and pediatricians might want to consider working closely together to manage children’s consumption of media, paying particular attention to including prosocial music and excluding harmful gender narratives.
While popular music does not directly cause rape, popular music’s misogynistic values should be called into question since it participates in minimizing sexual violence against women as common behavior (Kimmel, 2017; Hill, 2021). This paper seeks to challenge musicians to consider the representations they present in their artistry. There appears to be a general absence in music that presents women as educated, trustworthy, professional and/or independent (Kimmel, 2017). This is why it is vital to prioritize supporting truly feminist musicians and demand music that features uplifting music about women, and cohesion between the sexes (J. K., 2015).

References
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Chunnu, W. (2021). Battyboy must die! Dancehall, class and religion in Jamaican homophobia. European Journal of Cultural Studies, 24(1), 123–142. https://doi.org/10.1177/1367549420951578

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Kimmel, M., & Holler, J. (2017). The gendered media. Gendered society: Canadian edition (2nd ed., pp. 239–268). essay, Oxford University Press.

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YouTube. (2011, May 9). Aidonia: Ah you (HD 720p). YouTube. Retrieved February 23, 2023, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvS7VNtbtQw

YouTube. (2016, May 5). Vybz Kartel - Fever. YouTube. Retrieved April 4, 2023, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yw-8dD_6MmY