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Gender issues in hip hop
Social constructs of masculiniy
Social constructs of masculiniy
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Recommended: Gender issues in hip hop
Hegemonic Masculinity in the Jay-Z/Nas Beef
A conversation between two men often seems shallow and unimportant. However, male conversation can actually provide good insight as to what men feel is masculine. As Jennifer Coates explains in her book Men Talk: Stories in the Making of Masculinity, one can determine what masculine behavior is by observing dialogue between males. She points out, “in friendly talk men position themselves in relation to hegemonic masculinity” (41). This also holds true in unfriendly conversation, which is a more frequent occurrence in the rap world. Rap songs that serve to “diss” other artists often expose the actions of their targets as being the opposite of masculine behavior, and in turn they disclose what the artist feels is masculine. Jay-Z and Nas do just this in a series of songs that have become known as one of the most famous rap beefs of our time. Jay-Z’s song “Takeover” lashes out at rappers Nas and Prodigy (members of Mobb Deep). In response, Nas recorded “Ether”, and Jay-Z then countered with “Super Ugly”. Throughout each of these songs, Jay-Z and Nas both compliment themselves and insult each other. The lyrics of their songs show that physique, achievement, competition, authenticity, and heterosexuality are all masculine characteristics.
Physical size and strength has always been a way of determining masculinity. Jay-Z plays on this concept several times in “Takeover” by saying that he and his label Roc-A-Fella Records (R.O.C.) are big and strong. He raps, “R.O.C. too strong for y’all…/ Roc-A-Fella is the army, better yet the navy”. Jay-Z continues to call Nas and Prodigy small and weak with the lines, “Your peeps ain’t strong enough, fucka…/ we kill you motherfuckin ants with a sledgehammer,” and “You little FUCK, I’ve got money stacks bigger than you.” By saying that he (Jay-Z) is bigger and stronger, he tries to physically intimidate his targets. In nature, the larger, stronger males are more dominant, and so Jay-Z is trying to emphasize his physical dominance over Nas and Prodigy. The last line of the example has a dual-purpose, as it also contributes to one of the main masculine-building characteristics of rap: the emphasis on achievement.
Achievement is one thing that both Jay-Z and Nas use effectively to establish their masculinity. Their achievement comes in the forms of success, money, and women. In “Takeover” and “Ether” both artists claim to be the best.
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 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.
J Cole begins to point out how hard he had to work to get where he is. For 11 winters straight he took on New York’s climate (lns. 51) and while climbing the ladder of success, he rose the standards “…so high that you gotta get Obama to fore the air force to find it” (lns. 53). This hyperbole is not only a form of bragging, but by including the metaphor of the ladder to success, he lets his audience know that he is not trying to be just another famous rapper. He is trying to be so good that he changes the standards of what people consider to be a successful
In the 1992 drama Boyz N the Hood Furious Styles, the father of main character Trey Styles, is in Compton, California giving a speech on a hill to the local residents of the neighborhood, which include the elderly, middle class workers, and youth. During his speech Furious asks the small crowd, “Why is there a liquor store on every corner in this community?” He then answers his own question: “I’ll tell you why, for the same reason that there is a gun store on almost every corner in the black community. Why? They want us to kill ourselves. The best way you destroy a people is if you take away their ability to reproduce themselves.” That is a bold statement to make, and it is also a statement that provides an example of the Marxist theory of
The article discusses the fact that hip hop “provides a lens [through which white students and faculty at institutions] interpret Black culture” and that because of this not only is the Black female’s view of herself being manipulated, but black males expect what is being promoted by hip hop culture from them, and so does every other person (Henry, West, & Jackson 238). A professor at North Carolina Central University spoke about how he dislikes how hip-hop has influenced the way his students dress, he said “ They look like hoochie mamas, not like they’re coming to class” (as cited in Evelyn
Hip-Hop became characterized by an aggressive tone marked by graphic descriptions of the harshness and diversity of inner-city life. Primarily a medium of popular entertainment, hip-hop also conveys the more serious voices of youth in the black community. Though the approaches of rappers became more varied in the latter half of the 1980s, message hip-hop remained a viable form for addressing the problems faced by the black community and means to solve those problems. The voices of "message" hip...
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
This simultaneously puts down woman through sexual objectification while he puts men on a pedestal as the gender that must be catered to. A lyric that particularly stands out is when Brown says, “Do what he wants, give what he wants, respect will come to you and then you can hold your man, you can hold your man” (Brown). This line can be interpreted as Brown saying that respect can only be earned through a woman’s ability to appease her man. Unfortunately hypermasculine themes have also made their way into hip hop music, only now they are even more explicit and this theme shows no sign of stopping anytime soon. The film Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats & Rhymes highlights some of the contemporary issues in hip hop music and two of those issues include the glorification of hypermasculinity and misogynistic views through hip hop lyrics, performances and videos. Author, teacher and radio host Michael Dyson says, “When you think about American society,
Rappers who have been considered soft have always been the victim of humiliation from others, in the documentary “Hip-Hop” Beyond Beats & Rhymes” Byron Hurt captures a scene at a rap concert rapper 50 Cent questioning the manhood of another rapper Ja Rule. He’s projected onto a screen and says to the crowd, “Ladies and Gentleman it has come to my attention that you guys don’t know what bitch ass niggas look like. Take a look at this” Appearing on the screen is a video of Ja Rule crying with watery eyes and a single tear streaming down his face. 50 continues to talk to the crowd when he says, “I know that’s not hip hop. You know that’s not hip-hop” (Hurt, Hip-Hop Beyond Beats & Rhymes) During this time 50 and Ja Rule were in a beef with each other. By questioning Ja Rule’s manhood especially in front of thousands of fans, Ja Rule was never the same. Ja Rule didn’t follow the masculine characteristics which is meant to be followed by all rappers and to 50, Ja Rule doesn’t represent hip hop. Although in reality both Ja Rule and 50 both came from hard upbringings but the reason Ja Rule got made fun of is because he tried to show his soft side and guys like 50 who showed no emotion were quickly to point out Ja Rule and discredit him as a rapper. To me the same thing that happened to Ja Rule is now happening to Drake meaning that Drake shows his emotions but the
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.
Misogyny and degradation of women is present in almost every genre of music, yet the one genre that completely revolves around demeaning women is rap. Over the years rap and rap music videos have continually become more sexual and degrading towards women. Rap has been criticized numerous times for this reason, and that is because rap is one of the most popular genres of music for the younger generations. It is more than a genre of music, it is a complete industry filled with clothing and other merchandise. The reason this constant demeaning of women exists is because rap as a genre that rewards the objectification of women. The excuses used to justify the misogyny in rap are incomplete and lack accurate support. The most effective way for this continuous cycle ends, is if the fight and protest comes from the women themselves. Men are the problem in the objectification of women but in order for it to stop, women need to step up and take control of the situation.
Jeffries, M. P. (2011). Thug Life: Race, Gender, and the Meaning of Hip-hop. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
The cultural theory helps expand the knowledge of “hip hop” as an idea and influence on society. Mark Anthony Neal discusses the development of the understanding of hip hop by dissecting the layers and complexities of the culture, “Hip-hop music and culture emerged as a narrative and stylistic distillation of African-American youth sensibilities in the late 1970s,” within What the Music Said (Woldu 18). Urban history is a large, yet vital characteristic throughout the study of hip hop and its progression; Russell Potter shows how critical the representation of black musical expression and the “history of vernacular speech” is for the hip hop community in his book, Spectacular Vernaculars (Woldu 19). As decades pass and the hip hop scene expands, the history of this culture becomes influenced by more historical movements and creations. However, that is not the only historical significance that runs deep within the hip hop culture. The history and influence of the black feminist movement within the hip hop scene became a demanding characteristic in the development of the hip hop culture. As the gender divide became an evident aspect through the hip hop generation, women, especially female rappers,
'Til the vocal cords don't work in her throat no more? Shut up slut, you're causin' too much chaos.” (Eminem, Kill You) However, these pejorative lyrics are not unique to male rappers. Nicki Minaj could be considered just as obscene, if not more, than any of the top male rappers.
It is no secret that gender inequality is still prevalent in modern society. With women earning about 79 percent of men’s wages in the United States due to a number of factors, it is obvious that our historically patriarchal society has yet to completely evolve (Hill, 2016). It is no wonder that so many people of the dominant class feel threatened by empowering women such as Oprah or Beyoncé, who have made substantial earnings for themselves. Not only does gender inequality persist as a social problem in America today, but it is also reflected in and influenced by hip-hop culture.