I feel that rap music is disrespectful toward woman. I normally do not listen to rap music, but the other day while driving I decided to listen to the radio. Various top 40 songs play and then a rap song is aired. I am listening to the lyrics and hearing words that no one should say about anyone. The song was objectifying women by their body parts and the music was all about sex with women. Not only that, but the raper was calling "his girl" a female dog. I was in complete and utter shock of the content that was coming through my ears! Then later that night I am with my friends and music videos were being played on VH1 or MTV. A rap video comes on and to my surprise the language is the same that I had heard earlier that day. Not only that, but the music video featured women practically naked! After hearing and seeing all this I began to think of what our world has come to. Years ago a television show could not even show actors playing husband and wife in the same bed together fully clothed. Now you can turn on the television see women practically naked and the males in the video rapping about how he wants to have sex with her. I am in disbelief of what the world has come to today. Does anyone else feel the same way?
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I completely agree with your points. However, I do not think that it is limited to rap music, but is seen in most genres. In addition, I think all media from television to movies are concentrated on selling based on sexual appear. I share your disappointment with what the world has come to. Even more disappointing I think is the consumer support that allows and encourages the production of what we are now listening to on the radio, seeing in the theaters, and reading in magazines.
Great article! : )
Not all rap music is disrespectful to women. A lot is but there are rappers out there who don't do the sterotypical rap songs.
It is true, about not all rap music is being rapped about disrespecting a women or her features. Rap music though does consist of the rappers experience that they had while trying to survive where ever they are from. In doing so, they tend to portray the women figure into their lyrics. At times none of them or some of them had a women figure to look up to. So it may be why rappers may disrespect women, because they never had one to respect in the first place.
Certain aspects of rap music do, but so does country and rock. Rap is just the more derogatory of the others.
Run DMC wasn't really derogatory to women. Early rap and underground rap artists tend to rap about life, but in a upbeat non derogatory fashion, unlike mainstream rap.
I agree that there is a lot of rap music out there that does not feature anything derogatory. So, it's a little unfair to make the generalization that all rap is derogatory when only about 20% is. However, the problem lies in that that 20% happens to be that Top 40 that's played so often.
On the topic of that top 40 being derogatory:
It is there right of self-expression. I may not agree with them, and I may not find them overly creative, but I accept what they do. I believe that they shouldn't portray women so negatively, but they come from a different lifestyle so it's hard to be objective.
Elliott
www.youtube.com/MechanisticMoth
www.myspace.com/PseudoPsychicAccumulation
I never said all was, just mainstream.
Yes it is their right and I respect that, but still they should have some respect for the people they rap about as well, shouldn't they? If they want to sounds like idiots that's alright with me.
While I don't necessarily enjoy seeing the bumping and grinding that is displayed in lots of venues, I don't find that it's something to worry too much about.
I totaly agree with you. I like the beat of this one song "Low", then one day I listen to the words. I was like how can they say things like that on the radio. And to think my 11 year old sons can listen to this. I do control what he listens to while with me but there is not much I can do when he is off with his friends. But he knows not to talk like the guys do on the songs. I am not sure if you listen to R&B but you should listen to the song "With You" by Chris Brown. This song id really good.
Ok, its true that there are some songs out there that degrade women. I am a female myself, but I don't find this to be repulsive or wrong. The only reason is because its women who put themselves out there to be judged like that. No one forces those women to be in the videos practically naked, they do it out of their own will. And in regards to the "bitch" word, some people use it with different meanings. It can be degrading, but at the same time it could be used in a good way.
For example, one of my ex-boyfriends used to call me his "ride-or-die-bitch" and that is not degrading.
And I think the reason that rappers do use this kind of language towards women is because of women throwing themselves at them beacuse they have money. There are tons of women out there who will do plenty of sexual stuff for money, or cars.
Now you can turn on the television see women practically naked and the males in the video rapping about how he wants to have sex with her.
What's so wrong with that? I don't think the overly sexual lyrics are as bad as everyone thinks. Degrading someone is bad, but saying you want to have sex with someone is not degradation. And a woman is not degraded by the simple fact that she is naked. We were talking about this in my African American Lit class yesterday. I think a distinction should be made between lyrics in which women are referred to as "bitches and hoes" and lyrics that are just sexually explicit, but not disrespectful.
it's okay. I have a black gay friend.
I just posted an blog related to this...
Who/What do you think is to blame? And how do you think we, as a society, could combat these images and notions in the media?
I still wonder about that last question.
-Antonea
The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable man persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man. -George Bernard Shaw