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In the lyrics of male R&B/Hip-Hop artists in the early 1980’s, there is a noticeable shift in the language used to portray women and then themselves. The language shift is in choosing words that are filled with love and emotion to overbearing words that aim to separate men and women by social status. During the 1980’s, many of the popular songs by male hip-hop artist tend to focus on the relationship aspect of male and female interactions. This observation is similar to Frith’s (1986) finding, where most successful pop songs centers around being “happy in love”, “frustrated in love” as well as having sex interests. The “happy in love” factor that Frith notices in pop songs is seen in early R&B/Hip-Hop music. Instead of using derogatory terms …show more content…
Today many of the songs by male hip-hop artists use derogatory terms to objectify women by placing themselves in a hierarchal and controlling positions. In the song “Broccoli”, D.R.A.M. labels women as “lil mama”, “bitch”, and “baby mama”. “Lil mama” is mostly used by young men who are trying to get a young woman’s attention. On the other hand, the negative connotation that has been placed on the label, “baby mama”, is used to categorize women who happen to be the mother of a man’s child and nothing more.The label, “Baby mama”, is used in several modern R&B/Hip-Hop songs to refer to women who happen to be the mother of a man’s child and nothing more. A woman is then stripped away from potentially being seen as anything more than a mother. After having the child, a woman‘s individuality, character custom values is soon neglected by society. As a result, she is only commonly seen as the “baby mama” of a man, which further reinforces the stereotype of a woman’s societal role. ”, is used to categorize women who happen to be the mother of a man’s child and nothing more. “Bitch” is one of the many over-used derogatory terms that have been defined by Adam and Fuller (2006) as “a woman who thinks of no one but herself and is willing to do anything to obtain material …show more content…
In other words, through music, men are retaining the line that separates them from women by fortifying male supremacy. The inferior roles that were given to women have been internalized by adolescents, which studies have found to be affecting their interaction styles as well as their beliefs of gender limitations. According to the study conducted by Ter Bogt et al. (2010), women were more inclined to listen to R&B/Hip-Hop music which reinforces the idea that female adolescents are more often exposed to the normalized stereotypical gender roles in music lyrics. Although many of the modern R&B/Hip-Hop music by male artist stigmatize women, there were some that actually put forth the effort to uplift them. Wale, a well-known Nigerian-American rapper, used his lyrical creativity in “PYT” to change the standard course of hip-hop music. In the lines, “I just wanna see you shine/ nothing makes a man feel better than a woman/ Queen with the crown…” Wale talks about a woman who he labels as a Queen with her own spotlight. In this particular line, Wale goes against the norm of male-dominance and male-hierarchy as a step towards building gender equality. Within in R&B/Hip-Hop community, there seems to be an ongoing lyrical battle between actions towards retaining the norms and actions towards
In his most recent album, Kanye West raps, “Now if I fuck this model/ And she just bleached her asshole/ And I get bleach on my T-shirt/ I 'mma feel like an asshole.” He suggests that it is the girl’s fault for getting bleach on his tee shirt, which she only did to make herself more sexually appealing. This misogyny in hip-hop culture is recognized to bring about problems. For instance, the women around these rappers believe they can only do well in life if they submit themselves to the men and allow themselves to be cared for in exchange for physical pleasure. In her essay, “From Fly-Girls to Bitches and Hoes”, Joan Morgan argues that the same rap music that dehumanizes women can be a powerful platform for gender equality if implemented correctly.
In The Venus Hip Hop and the Pink Ghetto, Imani Perry argues that the over-sexualized, unattainable bodies of black women in popular culture will lead to the breakdown of feminism and the positive body image of the everyday black women. As hip hop music continues to become more popular, the sexist messages presented in lyrics and music videos are becoming more common to the everyday public, including young black girls developing a self-image. Instead of these girls being exposed to healthy, positive role models who encourage individuality and that there is more to a woman than her body they are given hip hop video models whose only purpose is to look sensual on screen. The strong women that do exist in the hip hop genre are pushed to sexualize themselves or their lyrics to sell records or stay relatively unknown. Although Perry’s arguments are logical, I believe that she is creating a slippery slope of logic. A genre of music cannot destroy the self-image of black women that has existed for generations.
In the article “ From Fly to Bitches and Hoes” by Joan Morgan, she often speaks about the positive and negative ideas associated with hip-hop music. Black men display their manhood with full on violence, crime, hidden guilt, and secret escapes through drugs and alcohol. Joan Morgan’s article views the root causes of the advantage of misogyny in rap music lyrics. In the beginning of the incitement her desires shift to focus on from rap culture condemnation to a deeper analysis of the root causes. She shows the hidden causes of unpleasant sexism in rap music and argues that we need to look deeper into understanding misogyny. I agree with Joan Morgan with the stance that black men show their emotions in a different way that is seen a different perspective.
There are many instances of degrading and misogynistic lyrics in country music, both historically and contemporarily. There are differences in the lyrics of this genre based on the gender of the artist: gender roles, hypersexuality, and in the resistance or conformity to rigid gender-based stereotypes. The main points of my argument will include how country music lyrics have historically and contemporarily conformed to and defied gender roles and misogynistic stereotypes. This paper will then examine how men are portrayed as sexual oppressors and exploiters to women. As well, I will discuss the lyrical differences between men and women in this genre, including the limiting role of women as objects as opposed to subjects. Next, this essay will address in my paper the unhealthy environment country music lyrics creates for women. Country music lyrics currently and historically portray stereotypical gender roles, and women have limited roles within country music songs as subjects and objects.
In the predominantly patriarchal history of the world masculinity and what it means to be a man have differed from culture to culture. When it comes to African American culture, particularly what it has meant to be a man has no clear set of universal rules or guidelines. There are a few different sources such as hip hop and television many young black men across America draw their sense of masculinity from. While hip hop music in particular has had and continues to have a very strong influence on both masculinity and femininity of the youth, young black youth in particular has been affected the most .
Women in popular music have created a tremendous history in the wake of feminism. They have made their presence visible by identifying themselves as feminists. Being a woman was hard during that stage. Women were not allowed to do many things due to gender inequality such as the right to vote and to own a property. Therefore, from that moment onwards, women decided to stand up and make some changes. During the early stage of feminism, women developed their skills in popular music to create awareness. They associate popular music with feminism. Although there were racial issues between the black and white during that time, both sides continued to establish in different ways, through different genres of music. Black women focused on ‘black genres’ such as blues, jazz, and gospel, whereas white women performed in musical theatres. Female artists such as Lilian Hardin, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, and Nina Simone were among the notable exceptions of female instrumentalists during feminism. In this essay, I will assess feminism focusing on the second-wave.
“The widespread perception of Black women is based on mainstream misogyny” and because it is main, a social norm, and a way for young Black people to be unified “[Black females] accept stereotypical views and unconscious behaviors that devalue women and esteem men”(Henry, West, & Jackson 245). As long as hip hop continues to thrive on misogyny and people continue to ignore that it is an issue Black females will continue to reap the internal and sometimes physical
Hip-hop and rap music are commonly criticized for its anti-feminist lyrics and degrading exploitation of women in music and music videos. (Sharpley-Whiting ) Many feminists have taken action against the music industry, which produces these messages in the music they release. However, in the hip-hop genre there are plenty of successful female rappers promoting feminist views, artist such as Queen Latifah and Mary J. Blige have made the choice to condemn the derogatory culture towards women. (Oliver, 382–384)
Most R&B/Hip-Hop songs by male artist in the early1980’s use affectionate terms to address women as well as lyrics that diverged from the normalized ‘masculine’ characteristics of a man. Among the 10 songs that were analyzed, some of the most common terms that were used to refer to women were “lover”, “baby”, “girl”, and “honey”. Each individual song either used one or two of the affectionate terms when referring women. With the exception of two songs, each song described a relationship a man has with a woman, who happens to be his lover. One of the song exceptions was “Jojo” by Boz Scaggs, where the male character, Jojo, is described as a pimp who has a gentle and soft exterior but would quickly take someone’s life without hesitation. The
It is obvious that content within the music media matters regardless as to how it is presented. Decades ago lyrics were not as demeaning for women or men, but with music evolving the way it has, it is important to analyze each part of the lyrics to understand the effects. Society is surrounded by music and has very little influence as to the subject or what is being said. However understanding what the messages are is a start to prevent the misogamy, the idea of male dominance and sexual references or acts.
Women have consistently been perceived as second-class citizens. Even now, in times when a social conscience is present in most individuals, in an era where an atmosphere of gender equality 'supposedly' exists, it is blatantly apparent that the objectification and marginalization of women is still a major social issue. In reality, progression in terms of reducing female exploitation has been stagnant at best. Not only is the degradation of women a major problem that to date has not been eradicated, but it is actually being endorsed by some music celebrities. There are a growing number of people who purchase rap albums that support the fallacy that women are mere objects and should be treated as such. As the popularity of rap continues to climb at unprecedented rates, so too does its influence on the perception of women. In the vast majority of hip-hop songs, the depiction of women as sexual objects, the extreme violence directed towards them and the overall negative influence these lyrics have on the average adolescent's perception of women make rap the absolute epitome of female exploitation.
In the Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, sociologists Ruby Gourdine and Brianna Lemmons conducted a study of college students, predominantly African-American students, to find out how they felt about misogynistic lyrics. They found that female rappers are seen as being empowered when they use strong lyrics such as the ‘‘B-word’’ by making the word their own (61). Although Gourdine and Lemmons feel that this kind of language may allow women to be portrayed as being abused and symbolizing persons who can be mistreated by males, giving a troublesome message to the youths (70), Minaj understands that if she is to be seen as empowered, she must fight fire with fire. Particularly, when Minaj raps, “Come through and f*** ‘em in my automobile,” it’s easy to see how misogynistic language has been turned against the man, and it is the female who is dominating the
As one moves past the initial onslaught of rhythmic beats that calypso has to offer, it is difficult to miss the way in which it reverberates with negative and demoralizing images of women to their male counterparts. Whether it is within the lyrics of Sparrow’s “Drunk and Disorderly” or Square One’s “My Ding-a Ling”, an ample number of verses are often dedicated to making lewd comments about the female body and the suggestive body language described through thinly veiled rhymes and puns, can be offensive depending on the listener. The half naked models being displayed on the various album covers of calypso, soca and rap mix tapes further reinforces these negative connotations. This bandwagon has been jumped upon by many, including the rap genre in the last two decades, wanting to capitalize on a marketing strategy that generally purports to flag consumer attention, playing on their sense of eroticism. The sections titled “Music, Sex, Sexism” and “Woman Rising” within Peter Manuel’s text: Caribbean Currents, dive into the many issues surrounding gender within music as well as female portrayal specifically in calypso. Observations can be made simply by reading through the textual comparisons. Many aspects of this subject area allude to the fact that the issue of gender portrayal in music can be construed differently depending on who the critical listener happens to be. With the increased awareness and heightened sensitivity to the way in which females are portrayed in popular media, it is important to reflect on the impact these lyrics have on male-female relationships within the communities who most often enjoy this music genre.
When I first came into this class, I did not fully understand genre and what exactly it meant. I was aware that genre exists in music, such as rap, hip hop, R&B, classical, rock, etc. Going off of my knowledge on that, I thought that genre was similar to a subcategory. I thought that genre was the smaller parts that construct a bigger idea. Other than that, I did not have a really clear definition of genre.
The negative perception of women throughout popular culture in the form of music has greatly impacted the portrayal of women on today’s society. This study involves on examination of sexist ideologies in dancehall lyrics that portray women in stereotypical and negative manner. This particular king of music explored in the study is dancehall music, a popular genre in Jamaican culture today. The primarily focus is on the effect of popular songs have on women in society, as well as how song lyrics can cause objectification of women and how are the roles of men and women reflected.