On Black Males, Hip-Hop, and Misogyny in American Culture  

3/24/2008 3:32 pm	"Feminist critiques of the sexism and misogyny in gangsta rap, and in all aspects of popular culture, must continue to be bold and fierce. Black females must not be duped into supporting shit that hurts us under the guise of standing beside our men. If black men are betraying us through acts of male violence, we save ourselves and the race by resisting. Yet, our feminist critiques of black male sexism fail as meaningful political intervention if they seek to demonize black males, and do not recognize that our revolutionary work is to transform white supremacist capitalist patriarchy in the multiple areas of our lives where it is made manifest, whether in gangsta rap, the black church, or the Clinton Administration." --Bell Hooks on Black male sexism. Yet something is missing here though....mainly this: "We focus on the black artists, not the rockers and not even the white executives who are making the big money from this kind of music." "The public seems far more disturbed by misogynistic lyrics in the music of rap and hip hop artists who are largely Black than similar lyrics in rock music, perceived by most as a White genre." "The flamboyance of rock is understood as performance, rather than from the perspective of personal feelings," "These guys are seen as innocuous. They appear to be players in the fence of accumulating women in skimpy costumes, but they aren't necessarily seen as violent. The mainstream takes it (hip hop and rap) to represent real-life, so it's seen as more threatening than some of the angry, whiney white boy rock, ~even though the same messages and images are portrayed~." Moreover, in a piece titled C*ck Rock from the October 21-November 3, 2003 edition of the online music magazine, Perfect Pitch, it was revealed that when the Hustler founder and entrepreneur Larry Flynt wanted to combine the worlds of porn (the ultimate god of misogyny) and music he did not turn to rap, but rather to rock. It was stated that since porn has been mainstreamed, they wanted a more "contemporary" look - and when they looked for a contemporary look, did they seek out the likes of Nelly, Chingy, 50 Cent or Ludacris? No. Rock legend Nikki Sixx was chosen to "grace" the cover of Hustler's new venture along with his adult-entertainment and former Baywatch star girlfriend Donna D'Errico wearing nothing but a thong and Sixx's arms. It is my belief that this paradigm; this unjust paradox exists because of the media stereotypes of black men as more violence-prone, and media's disproportionate focus on black crime (which is confused with the personas that rappers adopt), contribute to the biased treatment of rap. The double standard applied to rap music makes it easier to sell the idea that "gangsta rap" is "more" misogynist, racist, violent and dangerous than any other genre of music. However, I believe that bell hooks conceptualized it best in her essay Sexism and Misogyny: Who Takes the Rap?: "To the white dominated mass media, the controversy over gangsta rap makes great spectacle. Besides the exploitation of these issues to attract audiences, a central motivation for highlighting gangsta rap continues to be the sensationalist drama of demonizing black youth culture in general and the contributions of young black men in particular. It is a contemporary remake of ‘Birth of a Nation' only this time we are encouraged to believe it is not just vulnerable white womanhood that risks destruction by black hands but everyone." "A central motivation for highlighting gangsta rap continues to be the sensationalist drama of demonizing black youth culture." Part of the allure of gangsta or hardcore rap to the young person is its (however deplorable) explicitness. The gangsta rapper says "bitches" and "hos," defiantly and frankly (once again... deplorable) and that frankness strikes a chord. However, it is not the first time that a young man or woman has seen society "treat" women like "bitches" and "hos." Like mother's milk, the American male in this country has been"nourished" on a constant diet of subtle messages and notions regarding female submission and inferiority and when he is weaned, he begins to feed on the meat of more exploitative mantras and images of American misogyny long before he ever pops in his first rap album into his CD player. Young people, for better or worse, are looking for and craving authenticity. Now, because this quality is in such rare-supply in today's society, they gravitate towards those who appear to be "real" and "true to the game." Tragically, they appreciate the explicitness without detesting or critically deconstructing what the person is being explicit about. There have been many who have said that even with the Don Imus insidence, the American public in general and the Black community in particular will still be inundated by the countless rap lyrics using derogatory and sexist language, as well as the endless videos displaying women in various stages of undress - and this is true. However, by that same logic, if we were to rid the record stores, the clubs and the iPods of all misogynistic hip-hop, we would STILL have amongst us the corporately-controlled and predominantly white-owned entities of Playboy, Penthouse, Hustler and Hooters. We would still have the reality TV shows, whose casts are overwhelmingly white, reveling in excessive intoxication and suspect sexual mores. If misogynistic hip-hop was erased from American life and memory today, tomorrow my e-mail box and the e-mail boxes of millions of others would still be barraged with links to tens of thousands of adult entertainment web sites. We would still have at our fingertips, courtesy of cable and satellite television, porn-on-demand. We would still be awash in a society and culture that rewards promiscuity and sexual explicitness with fame, fortune and celebrity (reference Anna Nicole, Paris Hilton, Britney Spears...*sigh*). And most hypocritically, if we were to purge the sexist and lewd lyrics from hip-hop, there would STILL be a multitude of primarily White bands and principally-White musical genres generating song after song glorifying sexism, misogyny, violence and lionizing male sexuality and sexual conquest. Anywhoot, ... The only thing that I can see in the way women are portrayed in rap videos in terms of perspective is the FACT that Mainstream media pundits should look at the violence perpetuated by their own racism and sexism and, thus, blow-up the myths, expose the lies and cast a powerful and discerning light on the ‘real' double-standards and duplicity of male misogyny in American culture. Much Love and Respect, Noni "Only a few things are really important." -- Marie Dressler
bluemango Ask me for a photo 3/24/2008 10:13 pm	ahhhhh, whhhat??
SailingNew Ask me for a photo 4 posts  3/25/2008 11:37 pm	Nah, black males, in the context you describe, take exploitation to another level.
NoniJuice4 3/26/2008 7:05 am	EXCERPT (and case in point): [There have been many who have said that even with the Don Imus insidence, the American public in general and the Black community in particular will still be inundated by the countless rap lyrics using derogatory and sexist language, as well as the endless videos displaying women in various stages of undress - and this is true. However, by that same logic, if we were to rid the record stores, the clubs and the iPods of all misogynistic hip-hop, we would STILL have amongst us the corporately-controlled and predominantly white-owned entities of Playboy, Penthouse, Hustler and Hooters. We would still have the reality TV shows, whose casts are overwhelmingly white, reveling in excessive intoxication and suspect sexual mores. If misogynistic hip-hop was erased from American life and memory today, tomorrow my e-mail box and the e-mail boxes of millions of others would still be barraged with links to tens of thousands of adult entertainment web sites. We would still have at our fingertips, courtesy of cable and satellite television, porn-on-demand. We would still be awash in a society and culture that rewards promiscuity and sexual explicitness with fame, fortune and celebrity (reference Anna Nicole, Paris Hilton, Britney Spears...*sigh*). And most hypocritically, if we were to purge the sexist and lewd lyrics from hip-hop, there would STILL be a multitude of primarily White bands and principally-White musical genres generating song after song glorifying sexism, misogyny, violence and lionizing male sexuality and sexual conquest.] Very true...qout; "Only a few things are really important." -- Marie Dressler
NoniJuice4 3/26/2008 7:07 am	"Only a few things are really important." -- Marie Dressler
peatt 3/30/2008 7:17 am	Are you doing Phd in sexology or finish with it?
NoniJuice4 3/30/2008 7:06 pm	Muah?? Nope. Loll...but I guess I should tone it down, huh? "Only a few things are really important." -- Marie Dressler