Codes and Conventions of R&B Music Videos

Males in R&B music videos are usually seen topless to appeal to the female audience. The clothes that the males wear are always very fashion forward, for example low baggy jeans which show their designer boxers. Many of the males seen in R&B videos also have tattoos. Tattoos are seen as cool and males with tattoos are desired by the female target audience. Male R&B artists also tend to wear jewellery, however their jewellery tends to be more subtle and lower key than jewellery worn by artists in the hip hop genre.

Males

Females in R&B music videos are usually seen in minimal clothing to appeal to the male audience as desired sexual objects. Accessories such as high heels and lots of big expensive jewellery are also worn. High heels are worn to elongate their legs, so that they appear taller and big expensive jewellery is worn to show the audience that they are desirable and not cheap. Females also always have flawless hair and make up to support the idea that they are perfect.

Females

Many videos in the R&B genre are sexual (showing males and females with little clothing). Older generations do not approve of many R&B videos, but the videos are aimed at the younger generation who like to break the rules. Many of these sexual videos are in a grey tone which adds to the mysterious and sexual atmosphere of the videos.

Sexual Videos

In R&B there are stereotypes depicting what males and females should be. However, the genre R&B is also about breaking the rules, so many R&B artists, mainly females, will break these stereotypes. One example of this is Beyoncé. Females in R&B videos are mostly only seen as sexual objects, but Beyoncé promotes herself as a strong and independent woman who is all for feminism.

Breaking R&B Stereotypes