DISCOURSE AND IDENTITY: REPRESENTATIONS OF WOMEN IN LITTLE MIX’S SONGS BY ALYA AISYAH BINTI AMRAN INTERNATIONAL ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY MALAYSIA 2020 DISCOURSE AND IDENTITY: REPRESENTATIONS OF WOMEN IN LITTLE MIX’S SONGS BY ALYA AISYAH BINTI AMRAN A Final Year Project submitted in fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of English for International Communications Kulliyyah of Languages and Management International Islamic University Malaysia JANUARY 2020 ABSTRACT Discrimination against women is a global issue and has been for years. Even in developing countries women experience biasness on the basis of their gender. The study aims to identify the different social roles and traits of women that can be found in song lyrics. Past studies explored various issues of what women face in their daily lives whether it be in education, social relationships and decision making in context of gender discrimination that are present in the media and songs. This is an exploratory study on representations of women in songs. The artist chosen for this study is the United Kingdom’s all female group, Little Mix. A qualitative research approach was used to fulfill the objectives of this research. A total of 29 Little Mix songs were chosen as the data and Membership Categorization Analysis was used as the framework of this research. Based on the analyses, a total of five social roles and three traits were found shared among women that were present in the songs. Women were represented both positively and negatively in Little Mix’s songs. The study may contribute to future studies that uses Membership Categorization Analysis as their framework of study. ii ACKNOWLEGDMENTS I would like to give my biggest thanks to the Almighty for giving me this life and opportunities and for always answering my prayers whenever I needed help. Secondly, I want to thank my parents, Mama and Abah for giving their endless love and support in everything I do. I hope I am able to keep making you proud and I pray that Allah S.W.T. will always keep you strong, safe and healthy. Next, I would like to give an appreciation to my lecturer, supervisor, and advisor, Madam Diebaa who has helped me grow since the first class until the very end. Thank you for never giving up on me and for always encouraging me to keep going. To all my friends that have been with me since day one of this degree, I would like to give a big shout out to them for being there with me throughout this stressful yet beautiful journey. Last but never the least, I would like to thank myself for staying strong physically and mentally until the very end. I pray for Allah S.W.T. to keep everyone of us safe always. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract ................................................................................................................................ ii Approval Page .................................................................................................................... iii Declaration .......................................................................................................................... iv Acknowlegdments .............................................................................................................. vi List Of Tables ..................................................................................................................... ix List Of Abbreviations .......................................................................................................... x CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION .............................................................................. 1 1.0 Overview Of The Chapter .................................................................................. 1 1.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................ 1 1.2 Background Of The Study .................................................................................. 3 1.3 Statement Of The Problem ................................................................................. 4 1.4 Research Objectives ........................................................................................... 4 1.5 Research Questions ............................................................................................ 4 1.6 Operational Definitions ...................................................................................... 5 1.7 Importance Of The Study ................................................................................... 7 1.8 Report Outline .................................................................................................... 8 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................ 9 2.0 Introduction ........................................................................................................ 9 2.1 Discourse And Identity ....................................................................................... 9 Membership Categorization Analysis ............................................................. 10 2.2 Representation .................................................................................................. 11 2.3 Earlier Studies On Representations Of Women ............................................... 12 2.3.1 Women in Developing Countries .......................................................... 13 2.3.2 Male dominance in textbooks ................................................................ 14 2.3.3 Women and Power ................................................................................. 15 2.4 Women In Media .............................................................................................. 15 2.4.1 Representations of Women in Songs ..................................................... 16 2.4.2 Solidarity between Women .................................................................... 17 2.5 Current Study ................................................................................................... 18 CHAPTER THREE ......................................................................................................... 19 3.0 Overview Of The Chapter ................................................................................ 19 3.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................... 19 3.2 Research Design ............................................................................................... 20 3.3 Data .................................................................................................................. 20 3.3.1. Data Collection Process ........................................................................ 21 3.4 Data Analysis ................................................................................................... 25 vii 3.4.1 Identification .......................................................................................... 25 3.4.2 Interpretation .......................................................................................... 26 3.4.3 Explanation for Identities ...................................................................... 32 3.5 Reliability and Validity .................................................................................... 32 CHAPTER FOUR: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION .................................................. 34 4.0 Overview Of The Chapter ................................................................................ 34 4.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................... 34 4.2 RQ 1: What are the social roles identified for women that can be found in little mix’s songs? ........................................................................................................... 34 4.2.1 Social Role 1: Sister ............................................................................... 35 4.2.2 Social Role 2: Queen ............................................................................. 37 4.2.3 Social Role 3: Fighter ............................................................................ 41 4.2.4 Social Role 4: Leader ............................................................................. 44 4.2.5 Social Role 5: Heartbreaker ................................................................... 46 4.3 RQ2: What are the different traits of women that can be found in Little Mix songs? ..................................................................................................................... 48 4.3.1 Trait 1: Confident .................................................................................. 48 4.3.2 Trait 2: Independent ............................................................................... 51 4.3.3 Trait 3: Weak ......................................................................................... 53 4.5 Discussion ........................................................................................................ 57 CHAPTER FIVE: CONCLUSION ................................................................................ 60 5.0 Overview Of The Chapter ................................................................................ 60 5.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................... 60 5.2 Conclusion ........................................................................................................ 60 5.3 Limitations Of Study .......................................................................................