Black Women In Music Videos Black Women In Pop Culture Introduction Thesis: Through music videos, black women are hyper-sexualized, perpetuating the sexual objectification of the Female Black body while also contributing to the negative stereotype of the Jezebel, which is tied back to times of slavery Lily Allen- Hard Out Here Miley Cyrus- We Can't Stop • The sexual assault and violence during slave times conceptualized the Jezebel stereotype, as by defining Black women as “sexually promiscuous and immortal” the sexual violence was seen as reasonable. • This image gave the impression that Black women could not be rape victims because they always desired sex. • Contemporary jezebels can be found jiggling and gyrating in hip-hop music videos. …show more content…
Portraying Black women as stereotypical sexual objects under the control of male authority helps justify Black women’s oppression. These controlling images are produced to normalize and legitimize the subjugation of Black women. The identification of Black womanhood as hyper-sexualized “hot mammas” are rooted in the maintenance of hegemonic power and serve to justify the continued marginalization of Black women. 50 Cent’s video overemphasizes on Black women’s physical bodies (Collins 10). The selling of Black women’s body images through the music video constructs Black women as objects of male desire. Black women are not represented in their full capacity. Consequently, their misrepresentation renders them invisible and invisibility reproduces inequality (Collins …show more content…
“At the same time, the hip-hop genre and the music videos that are used to promote records and performers have been harshly critiqued for the antiwoman (specifically anti-Black woman) messages and images contained within them. Critics have pointed out that many discourses in hip-hop culture reproduce dominant and distorted ideologies of Black women’s sexuality” (Emerson 116). This impacts womanhood as a whole because Allen is giving into the societal norms of objectifying women. She draws upon the notions of patriarchy through her disempowerment of women, which becomes evident by her representation use of women in her music
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.
A careful examination of the sexual violence against african-american women in this piece reveals imbalances in the perceptions about gender, and sexuality shed that ultimately make the shift for equality and independence across race and class lines possible during this time period.
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.
The first mythology that the slave woman faced was that of Jezebel. Jezebel was in every way the counter image of the mid-nineteenth-century ideal of the Victorian lady. (White, 29) She was defined as one that explored the sexual exploitation of the African American women. The Jezebel image was seen the way it was because it was assumed African woman were naturally promiscuous, and d...
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.
When looking at the landscape of Hip-Hop among African Americans, from the spawn of gangsta rap in the mid 1980s to current day, masculinity and an idea of hardness is central to their image and performance. Stereotypical to Black masculinity, the idea of a strong Black male - one who keeps it real, and is defiant to the point of violence - is prevalent in the genre. This resistant, or even compensatory masculinity, encompasses: the hyper masculinity rife in the Western world, misogyny, and homophobia, all noticeable in their lyrics, which is in part a result of their containment within the Black community. The link of masculinity and rap music was established due to this containment, early innovators remaking public spaces in their segregated neighbourhoods. A notion of authentic masculinity arose from the resistant nature of the genre, but the move to the mainstream in the 90s created a contradiction to their very image - resistance. Ultimately, this in part led to the construction of the masculinity defined earlier, one that prides itself on its authenticity. I’ll be exploring how gender is constructed and performed in Hip Hop, beginning with a historical framework, with the caveat of showing that differing masculine identities in the genre, including artists
The Jezebel was another origin of the hypersexual nature of African American women. This stereotype developed after Sarah Baartman era. The term jezebel is heard in the Bible.“The negative jezebel stereotype also has a long history in American culture. She is usually a young, exotic, promiscuous, oversexed woman who uses sexuality to get attention, love, and material goods”(Tyree, p.398). Being defined as one’s body was not enough, the jezebel ideal elevated. Sexual assault took over and women were left dealing with the title of, jezebels who wanted this type of behavior happen to them. Understanding that rape was not illegal when the victim was an African American woman. History points to the fact that “white men were probably never convicted
In mainstream America, black women are often stereotypically portrayed as sex workers, welfare queens, blue-collar service workers, video vixens, and entertainers (Collins 2004). Within these stereotypical depictions, black women are viewed as loud, angry, ghetto, hypersexual, and sometimes violent (Chavous et al. 2004; Childs 2005; Collins 2004; Nguyen & Anthony 2014; Wilkins 2012). In contrast, positive stereotypes of black women showcase them as strong, independent, resilient, loyal to their families and romantic partners, and responsible for sustaining the African American family. These images promote constructive illustrations of black women, even though popularized images negatively portray black women (Chavous et al. 2004;
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.
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)
In “Mammies, Matriarchs, and Other Controlling Images,” by Patricia Hill Collins, she argues that controlling images such as mammies, matriarchs, jezebels, and the welfare queen which are all stereotypes generated by White Americans, produce and reinforce
Since the first black woman to be played in the media, the way that black women are portrayed in the media has changed quite significantly, yet, black women in the media are still being objectified in one way or another. This needs to change, not just for all women, but for all people. Although this study is only focusing on heterosexual black women, I do recognize that this affects all types of people, but because of time constraints, it was decided to focus only on this particular group. We will begin by discussing the ‘Pros and Cons’ of the transformation. We will then reiterate some sociological terms so that everything is understood in terms of this particular study.
She argues that there are four different controlling images that black women face not limited to but including, “the mammy, the welfare queen, the matriarch, and the jezebel” (Collins, 81-90). Each is a result of ideologies formed in the slave era that have persisted and manifested and are used in an attempt to control black women to satisfy the dominant group’s desire to subdue black women (Collins, 79). The mammy figure consists of a domestic servant, an image used to justify the exploitation of the black female (Collins, 80). This image is made to shape how black women care for their children as well as to prolong the oppression of gender and sexuality (Collins, 80-81). Serena recently had her first child, Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr..
During the course of the music video, Allen is repeatedly seen in the kitchen washing car rims as a resemblance to washing dishes in the kitchen. Allen’s purpose for presenting these actions in a kitchen shows that women in pop culture serve stereotypical roles because the kitchen stereotypes women as housemaids. Allen suggests that women are constantly playing roles that stereotype women that further reduces equality for women because they are being restricted to specific and inferior roles when compared to men. Women and men should have an equal role in pop culture because equality for women and men apply to music videos, inclusive, while stereotyping women diminishes decades of movements that support equality. The setting automatically grabs viewers’ attention because the setting translates from the dance floor to the kitchen, thus creating a realization that Allen referencing women as being stereotyped.
Unlike their male counterparts, female artists are defined by their appearance. Constantly under the microscope of the media, female artists are publicly chastised for every outfit worn and each selfie posted. The standard of media scrutiny placed on these female artists not only affects these specific women, but this sexist attitude is then transferred over to our society. Through demeaning lyrics, sexually objectifying music videos, and the prevalence of internalized sexism, music media’s current portrayal of female artists perpetuates a societal norm of sexism in our society.