How Women Are Represented in Music - A Study

In 2024, women dominated British music. They topped the singles charts for 34 weeks - the highest figure ever. They also won big at the Brit Awards, where Raye’s six wins capped a triumphant night for female and non-binary artists.

But while there have been great strides to improve the representation of women in the music industry, is this being reflected in lyrics? 

We like to think we have our finger on the pulse of music. This doesn't just include the latest releases and genre trends, but the social context around it, too.

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Our study.

With International Women's Day coming up, we conducted a study of 600 chart-topping songs across six decades to find out how women have been represented in lyrics in that time. While lyrics reflect the culture in which the song is set, they also have the power to shape culture, influence perspectives and normalise beliefs.

Analysing a seed list of 61 words that can be used to describe women, we categorised words in each song into neutral, positive and negative feminine nouns to highlight the changes in how women have been represented in music between 1974 and 2024.

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What did we find?

Our study reveals that up until the early 2000s, derogatory language toward women was relatively rare in songs. However, there was a striking shift from 2004.

In the 100 songs analysed from this year, there were 89 negative words used to describe women in lyrics, up from just six a decade earlier in 1994. That’s a 1,383% increase.

In the decade following 2004, this trend persisted in popular music but reduced slightly – with 78 and 75 negative words recorded in 2014 and 2024, respectively.

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What negative terms have seen the biggest rises and falls?

Interestingly, most negative words used to describe women only began featuring in lyrics post millennium. While the word freak first appeared in song lyrics from 1984, the use of 60 other terms, including b**h(es), p***y and h*e(s), became prevalent from 2004. 

B***h has had the most startling increase in use over the past few decades. In 2004, the word was featured in songs 18 times, but this nearly doubled in 2024 to 34 times. Kendrick Lamar’s hit song, Not Like Us, which recently won five GRAMMYs, uses the word six times within the song.

Freak was most popular in 2014, being used 30 times in the top 100 songs. However, that’s where its popularity seems to end, dropping to just seven times in 2024. H*e has seen a similar trend; its popularity peaked in 2014 and featured 18 times in songs, but it was used just five times in the top 100 songs in 2024. 

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What about the positive terms?

Our study also found a steady decline in positive language used to describe women in lyrics between 1974 and 2024.

The words baby and love, used as terms of endearment, have experienced spikes and dips in popularity over the decades but have remained popular overall. Baby appeared 145 times in the top 100 songs of 1974 and reached its peak in 2004 with 229 mentions. Although its usage has declined slightly, it still appeared over 150 times in 2024.

The use of love peaked in 1974 when it was used over 250 times in songs, but it has experienced a steady decline. By 2024, it was used 118 times in songs.

However, other positive terms have seen a considerable drop. The word honey, once a staple in romantic lyrics, was used 53 times in 1974 but appeared only eight times in 2024. 

Similarly, beautiful and beauty were featured 67 times in 1974 but only 10 times in 2024—an 85% decrease over five decades.

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On the other hand...

One critical factor to consider is the evolving gender dynamics of the music industry. While negative language toward women has increased over time, so too have the number of female artists in the charts. In 1974, there were 265 male artists, compared to just 19 female artists. By 2024, this shifted dramatically. The lyrics studied were by 111 male and 58 female artists.

It may be that fewer male artists are using more negative language, or female artists are reclaiming these terms in response to wider cultural movements. In 2024, female superstars like Beyonce and Taylor Swift both used the term b***h in their respective hit songs Texas Hold ‘Em and I Can Do It with a Broken Heart.