Sexism & Misogyny in American Hip Hop Music
Introduction
Sexism, is the discrimination based on sex also carries the meaning “behaviour, conditions, or attitudes that foster stereotypes of social roles based on sex.” Closely related is the term Misogyny. In the realm of hip hop music, sexism and misogyny are shown in lyrics, music videos, or any form of visual/auditory representation that glorifies the idea that belittling women is acceptable.
Background of Hip Hop
Hip Hop culture started in the Bronx, New York, in the late 1970s. Hip Hop is an umbrella term that comprises the subculture of hip hop music, but also encompasses other factors such as fashion, art, style, beat boxing, street talk, and overall a historical movement. Since becoming so prevalent in our music culture, the derogatory, dangerous and vulgar messages spread through this medium can and have deteriorated the mass efforts put forth for gender equality in North America today [1].
Misogynistic Themes
The recurring misogynistic themes often portrayed in songs and music videos are the degrading naming and shaming of women, the normalization of violence against women, and finally the sexual objectification often shown in media, where women are only seen for their bodies instead of as equal and multidimensional human beings.
Female Sexual Objectification
In the mass media, the female body is an object presented purely for male contentment. The idea that 'sex sells' is not unheard of, making females as the objects of many campaigns and music videos in the hip hop industry a rising controversial issue. Women are objectified and required to look a certain way, and meet certain standards to be 'attractive' in a music culture that places a high importance on physical attributes, such as rapper 2 Chainz's preaching, "All I want for my birthday is a big booty hoe", among many others. In a 2009 study by Weitzer. et al. found that sexual objectification occurred in 67% of the misogynistic lyrics in the study's [2] sampled songs. This depicts a growing mindset where women's entities are useful purely for a man's satisfaction.
50 Cent's "Candy Shop" music video focusses intensely on the female body, with an erotic focus on flirting, sexual favours, and seeing what what so many girls can do with their bodies.
"Candy Shop" Music Video:
Songs promoting this blatant disrespect toward women have become far too common, with Dr. Dre's "Bitches Ain't Shit" also screaming misogynistic slurs in its explicit lyrics, "B*tches ain't sh*t but h*es and tricks / L*ck on these n*ts and s*ck the d*ck / Get the f*ck after you're done / And I hops in my ride to make a quick run."
Sexual Violence and Domestic Abuse
The musical genre of hip hop, often referred to as rap, also promotes sexual violence against women, as well as sexual abuse by showcasing women as individuals who are 'lesser than' or unequal to men. This attitude promotes the mistreatment of women, but because it has become so intertwined with a popular music genre, many find that this increasingly encourages men to not treat women with respect. Adams and Fuller [3] (2006) asserts that rap music reduces women to objects that are only good for sex and abuse, which perpetuates ideas, values beliefs and stereotypes that debase women. Some examples are artists like Rocko in the song U.O.E.N.O, who sing lyrics like "Put Molly all in her champagne, she ain’t even know it/I took her home and I enjoyed that, she ain't even know it.", fully promoting drugging and rape culture.
Sexual violence and domestic abuse are two serious concerns that usually are brought up when conversation is sparked about some artists' very deceiving lyrics. Sexual Violence continues to be a a serious health and human rights issue, one that encompasses both short and long term consequences on the physical, mental, emotional and reproductive health of the women involved. Similarly, domestic violence [4] is when a partner in an intimate relationship abuses the other, which includes behaviors that intimidate, manipulate, humiliate, isolate, frighten, terrorize, coerce, threaten, blame, hurt, injure, or wound someone.
An incredibly controversial music video that exemplifies females being belittled, lifeless dolls is Kanye West's "Monster." As HuffPost stated, the lifeless women in this video are depicted as sexual objects that Kanye manipulates on his bed. Towards the end, a scene where he places a woman's lifeless head on his lap is shown. According to their political analyst Zerlina Maxwell, this is "a rape scenario set to a soundtrack". This video sparked outcry and backlash, with individuals begging to know why Kanye and producers felt that the female lifelessness, deathly compliance and passiveness were twisted to be erotic. This video was banned from MTV, and taken off youtube for glorifying sexual violence against women.
Distrust of Women
Male rappers preach about females as suspicious and devious beings. Often portrayed as 'gold diggers' or 'femme fatales', women are painted as evil deviants that will only ultimately bring men unwanted trouble. Females whose primary interest in a relationship is material benefits, or who fosters a relationship to obtain wealth, are "Gold Diggers" . Kanye West also sings "Gold Digger", where he critically analyzes a man married to a manipulative woman for financial gain as a disastrous situation. There is a loss of respect for both individuals, as men and music will say they should know better than to end up with a gold digger.
A Femme Fatale is a seductive woman who lures men into dangerous or compromising situations, or a woman who attracts men by an aura of charm and mystery, and has become an iconic figure in the media and music. She describes the kind of evil that men are inherently seduced by and attracted to, but she simultaneously conveys the danger that she will ultimately destroy them.
Female Rappers' Stance
On the flip side of this controversy, female rappers have been trying to pave way to a resistance by using their own platforms advantageously. Artists like self identified feminist, Cardi B, have sought to fight this heavy sexism. Cardi fights to shed a different light on the conversation by empowering herself and other women to own their bodies and do whatever it is they want with them. Cardi B provides a different perspective by not portraying females as victims, but rather as strong individuals who are in control of their promiscuity, sexiness, and desirability, and they can do with their bodies and sexuality whatever it is they like. She said, "Ever since I started using guys, I feel so much better about myself. I feel so damn powerful" and on the topic of her profession, "People be asking me, 'What do you does? Are you a model? Are you, like, a comedian or something?' Nah, I ain't none of that. I'm a hoe. I'm a stripper hoe. I'm about this shmoney."
It is also important to note, however, that women have not been the only feminist voices fighting to influence the sexist Hip Hop influence. While the dialogue is largely masculinized, there remain some anti-sexist men who stand with women, and fight against these slurs. Ultimately, Hip-Hop as a genre is complex and contradictory [5], as a field with that started with roots stemmed in oppression, but has now become the most influential music genres for popular culture.
See Also
Exploitation of Women in Mass Media
References
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3. Adams, T. and Fuller, D. (2006). The Words Have Changed but the Ideology Remains the Same: Misogynistic Lyrics in Rap Music- Journal of Black Studies. [online] Journals.sagepub.com. Available at: http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0021934704274072
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