Violence Against Women In Music

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Violence Against Women In Music

Particularly distressing in today's society is the level of dysfunctional relationships. Values considered outdated and baseless, such as mutual respect, consideration for another person's feelings, and common courtesy, are becoming extinct human customs. Especially troubling are the violent misogynous messages infused in hard-core rock and rap music and their negative effects on today's youth.

Healthy relationships of mutual love, respect, and compromise between men and women of all races and social classes are instrumental to a sane and stable society. Respect and reverence for mother, sister, wife, and daughter as the nurtures of civilization are key to our survival as a species. Many youth today approach their relationships with the opposite sex, mimicking the attitudes of the rock or rap entertainer.

As a musician, I can appreciate all forms of music as legitimate vehicles of artistic expression, not simply attaching aesthetic value to what I prefer. True art forms should express the ugly as well as the beautiful in human expression. However, if the art form explicitly expresses a message of debasement, hatred, or violence without just cause, then I question the validity of the message. A counter argument might claim that violent messages expressed through music are just a reflection of conditions that already exist. Violence directed towards women is an option that misdirects the causes from where true powerlessness derive...

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...ent and sales of its product. Can the same standards of scrutiny be applied to any industry that promotes poor mental health? For the sake of entertainment, we have allowed ourselves to cross the line and permit the debasement of women and the promulgation of violence against them to become the norm. Parents, community leaders, educators, and entertainers must work together to demand maintaining the dignity of all persons addressed lyrically through music. The quality of intent should be carefully scrutinized in music especially targeted towards adolescents. If the intent is to debase, devalue, depreciate or diminish another human being or to create an atmosphere of senseless violence, we have a moral obligation not to support its marketing.

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