Lyrics of Gender Well-Being: A Definition and Exploration of Well-Being Dimensions That Define Gendered Experiences

Abstract

This research introduces gender well-being, a novel framework that defines and structures gendered experiences of well-being through six core dimensions spanning individual and societal levels: safety, access, belonging, empowerment, agency, and health. Given music's cultural influence, the authors examine how these dimensions emerge in popular culture by analyzing lyrics from the Billboard Top 100 across seven decades. Using n-gram analysis and topic modeling, they uncover gendered patterns in musical expression: Male artists consistently highlight empowerment and health, while female artists emphasize agency and belonging. The study contributes to consumer well-being theory by establishing gender well-being as a critical construct to consider in research and practice. Researchers, marketers, policymakers, and artists can leverage these insights to design campaigns, interventions, and narratives that resonate with gendered experiences to achieve greater consumer well-being.