"Booties, Thongs and Hoes: The Representation of Women in Music Videos," was sponsored by UNC's Advocates for Sexual Assault Prevention, the Sonja H. Stone Black Cultural Center and Theta Nu Xi multicultural sorority.
The discussion is only one of a number of events being sponsored by the BCC this month, leading up to the ceremonial groundbreaking of the freestanding cultural center April 26.
"It's pretty controversial but could spark a lot of discussion," said graduate student Tina Yuen, referring to the discussion's topic. Yuen, along with senior Kathryn Kooistra, facilitated the informal discussion in conjunction with the 24-Hour Rape-Free Zone in Polk Place Wednesday.
"The theme for the 24-Hour Rape-Free Zone is the media and the portrayal of women and its impact on society," she said. "We wanted to also incorporate aspects of pop culture into the discussion, and music videos were the perfect medium."
During the discussion, an eight-minute clip from the documentary "Dreamworlds 2," showed scenes of women and explored how the media reduce women to objects of sexual desire.
Afterward, a question-and-answer session opened the floor to student discussion. "I feel like music videos set a standard about how women have to be," said senior Shana Stovel. "I feel like that they even have some relation as to how we have to act sexually with a guy."
Wednesday's discussion was one of many BCC-sponsored events this month that will culminate with the BCC Groundbreaking Ceremony Week from April 23 to 26.
Harry Amana, interim director of the BCC, said many of the events this month are part of an ongoing series but that the week of the groundbreaking ceremony will hopefully bring a "renewed interest" in the BCC.
The BCC, currently located in the Student Union, will move to a three-story, 36,000-square-foot building located between the Bell Tower and Coker Hall.
