Images of women in Arab music videos. Case study: Arab Gulf states music video

This study focuses on the images of women in Arab music videos. The music video has been chosen because it is a new phenomenon in Arab culture, particularly in Arab Gulf countries. This study examined the representation of women in Arab music videos, a practice which started in the 1990s. The researcher asked four questions as tools to provide direction for this study: How do Arab music videos represent women? How do Arab audiences read and interpret these images? How do producers who work with these videos interpret these images of women? and How do Arab female performers interpret their images and roles in Arab music videos?;This study is important because using female performers in music videos has increased dramatically since 1990, and because these videos emphasize women's bodies and beauty. Published women's studies in Arab region are rare; there is an urgent need for this kind of study into how women's stereotypes are promoted in Arab media.;Studies of American women's images in music videos have been reviewed in this study because of the lack of such studies of Arab women. These American investigations provide a frame work for this study.;This is a descriptive study. Three approaches have been used. These were descriptions of music videos contents, focus groups, and in-depth interviews.;This study argues that Western feminist theory is difficult to apply to Arab women's position because of the realities and circumstances which Arab women experience and their differences from these of Western women.;The study found that images of women in the Arab music videos reinforce some stereotypes of women. Arab women were represented from the perspectives of sex and beauty. Arab audiences and producers believe that women are symbolic of these elements. These images and perceptions of women in the Arab music videos reflect the notions of Arab culture about women.