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Are higher status cultural tastes in the modern United States better described as being inclusive and broad or exclusive and narrow? We construct an original dataset in response to conflicting answers to this question. We fill a major gap in the literature on cultural tastes by simultaneously considering taste for both musical genres and artists within genres. By examining the compositional balance of respondents' taste portfolios, we reconcile seemingly incommensurate theoretical frameworks of class homology and omnivorousness. The results indicate that an omnivorous disposition to music is a relatively middle-status position in the social structure. In contrast, positions characterized by higher levels of cultural capital map onto exclusive and narrower tastes for consecrated culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our study investigates the presence of verbal objectification in Rap, Country, Adult Contemporary, Rock, Rhythm & Blues (R&B)/Hip-Hop, and Pop music lyrics through a content analysis of the top 20 U.S. Billboard songs in each category from 2009 to 2013. Using objectification theory, we assessed the inclusion of body objectification, gaze, and attractiveness themes in music lyrics, genre and gender differences in the prevalence of objectification, and self-objectification. In support of previous research on objectification, our findings document clear genre and gender differences. Rap and R&B/Hip-Hop featured significantly more objectification than other genres. Women are the most frequent targets of objectification within music lyrics, and female artists are more likely than male artists are to objectify themselves. However, the greater frequency of top 20 songs by male artists indicates consumers are exposed to more messages about men objectifying their own bodies. Future research areas are proposed with an emphasis on the continued investigation of verbal objectification in music lyrics. Practical implications are discussed based on the findings, and the potential impact of objectification in music on audiences. The authors highlight strategies, such as media literacy training, to address this topic in young audiences that may be useful to many types of professionals, including therapists/counselors, activists/social policy makers, instructors, and organizational administrators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2004, reggaeton exploded upon the U.S. popular music market with its danceable rhythms and catchy hooks. It quickly cultivated a significant pan-Latino audience in the United States composed of youth from a variety of Latino backgrounds - Puerto Rican, Mexican, Colombian, Dominican, Venezuelan, and more. But this is the not the first time that popular music has fostered a sense of pan-Latino pride in the States. In this article, I trace some of the ways in which reggaeton shares commonalities with salsa's construction of, and engagement with, a pan-Latino U.S. audience in the 1970s. Drawing on an analysis of music, lyrics, and music videos, I argue that both salsa and reggaeton have been specifically designed to reach the widest possible Latino demographic in two significant ways. First, both genres are influenced and composed of a diverse array of musical styles, allowing people from different Latino backgrounds to relate to, and enjoy, the hybrid musical elements. Secondly, both genres feature lyrics that reference issues faced by different Latino communities and explicitly call for the development of pan-Latino unity. This article touches on the relevant ways in which reggaeton has succeeded in fostering a sense of pan-Latino pride by providing a socio-musical community that Latino youth participate in together, highlighting the similarities, rather than the tensions, between different Latino groups in America. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]