Black Masculinity And The Hip Hop Culture

The misogynistic treatment of women in commercialized rap has become a widespread phenomenon which as a result has become commonly accepted by majority of the individuals in society. Rappers, in general, nowadays use women in their videos in a way which is both derogatory and exploiting. Black men in today’s society, especially in the entertainment industry, do not see women as their equals; rather they objectify them as being nothing more than sex objects. People in the Hip Hop industry do not believe that sexism and misogyny is as big of a deal as racism, thus they push this issue to the side by simply ignoring it and learning to accept it. This misogynistic portrayal of women is ruining the image if Hip Hop as both an industry and a form of expressive art. However, instead of taking action against this atrocity, many women simply believe that the images of women and their portrayal in rap videos does not represent nor refer to them as an individual and the type of woman they truly are. By being silent these women are allowing themselves to be victimized by the men of not only the Hip Hop industry but also general society. By not having a say in this matter of the false classification and portrayal of women, they are voluntarily allowing men to do whatever they please to do so, in any given time and with any approach they feel is necessary. They do not

In the essay, “Hip-Hop’s Betrayal Of Black Women”(221), by Jennifer McLune, she vents her feelings regarding hip-hop songs that are rhythmically diminishing the value of black women. She provides example on how the lyrics are being voiced and how hip-hop artists do not seem to care. Kevin Powell in “Notes of a Hip Hop Head” writes, “Indeed, like rock and roll, hip-hop sometimes makes you think we men don’t like women much at all, except to objectify them as trophy pieces or, as contemporary vernacular mandates, as baby mommas, chicken heads, or bitches” (221). There have been apologizes for what the rappers have said but nothing to resolve the dehumanization of black women. McLune informs the readers that hip-hop singers belittle black women and make them invisible. Jay-Z, a popular hip-hop artist is brought to center stage by McLune. The essay shows the example of a part of Jay-Z song that says, “I pimp hard on a trick, look Fuck if your leg broke bitch hop on your good foot” (222). This lyric is a perfect example of how hip-hop artist have no remorse in the words they sing. The hurt feelings and loss of self-esteem black women suffer, is of no concern to the rappers. McLune expresses that those who are underground hip-hop artist follow the footsteps on being sexist and using crude words in their lyrics just because they yearn and dream of being in the spotlight. Upcoming rappers want to be loved like Jay-Z and other famous notorious rappers.

Hip Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes, Byron Hurt examined the troubling aspects of hip hop music. Hip hop was said to have brought masculinity back to the game. One aspect of this troubling masculine culture is the idea of hyper masculinity. The term hyper masculinity is defined as the exaggeration of male stereotypical behavior, such as an emphasis on physical strength, aggression, and sexuality. These three attributes create the disturbing facets of what hip hop music portrays to the media and the public.

One of the biggest ways hip hop is demeaning towards women is the objectivity of women. Women in the hip hop industry and basically seen as disposable sex toys. Rose says that hip hop divides women into groups, one that is worth respect and protection and the other that just isn’t. “In this hip hop does not break from the fundamental logic of mainstream masculinity so much as convey it with excess, bravado, and extra insult” (Rose 119). Many ask the question why many other topics have standards such as “rap[ping] against police…[or] against gay…” (Rose 120) but it’s all fair game against women. However it is not only the men in the hip hop game that are objectifying women. Rappers like Lil’ Kim, Trina, and Foxy Brown use the same “sex sells” method to grow on the hip hop ladder, but they feel like they have to. That’s the only way to be noticed and get attention (Rose 123). “Kim herself admitted that she uses her identity as Lil’ Kim to get money, ‘a character I use to sell my records’” (Rose 124). If even girls in hip hop feel the need to have to go by this method, what are the chances that younger females will do any differently?

Recently, the media has caused many stereotypes due to portraying African American males playing feminine roles. This perspective depicts men of color wearing attire outside of the stereotypical sagging pants and oversized t-shirts. It depicts an educated man with social class and sophistication. To date, society holds African American men to rigid stereotypes and a high standard of masculinity. However, once a man of color steps outside societal stereotypes and into the perspective reflected by this new lens, far too often his own race rejects him on the grounds of not molding into the same rigid stereotypes that prevents his growth. Stripping the young man who adopts this new perspective of his ability to identify with his own race,

Growing up in a city with a lot of crime and illegal activity, it is hard to stay focused on what is important. Morehouse College is one of the top-ranked institutions in the country that focuses on the issue of black masculinity. Notable alumni, including Martin Luther King Jr., Samuel L. Jackson, and Spike Lee once sat in the same chairs and walked the same halls. Morehouse College strives to turn boys into men. Within four years of constant work, some transform and others cannot take the pressure. Even though not all black men abuse and/or look down on women, Black men in today's generation are constantly being stereotyped based upon past situations because not all black men are criminals and not all Caucasian men are preachers.

Misogyny is a tried and true American tradition from which hip hop derives its understanding of how men and women should behave. Critics argue that hip hop’s misogyny and promotion of traditional gender roles reflect mainstream American values. Feminists suggest that misogyny in hip hop culture is not a “black male thing”, but has its roots in a larger pattern of hostility toward women in American culture.

The author, Kuumba, states that black male identities can be placed on a continuum and the author argues that more often than not, less humane versions of black masculinity are usually the “models” by which black men gauge their maleness. I agree here with the author; the main model of black men often ends up being a toxic one more often than the nurturing or progressive models of black masculinity. In order for the more “humane” models of black male masculinity to be the measure of maleness, there would have to be a massive amount of progression to the greater society and within the black community itself.

Today in Hip Hop every rapper has to portray themselves as being hard, having a lot of girls in their circle and having money. Since the beginning of the American society being considered a real man was to be able to protect their families. When television came around western films portrayed men as either strong or weak and defined their masculinity as being the stronger man because of their guns. For example in a western movie during a draw two men would be about twenty feet away from each other and whichever man shot the other man first won the draw and was then considered the dominant male and very masculine. Therefore what goes on in rap

When hop hip started artists didn’t mention about women that much like now, artist used to always rap about the life style of what they went through. Hip hop back then was very new and any age could’ve listen to any type of songs and watch any type of videos. Hip hop is consist of mainly African American artists, and a lot of these women portrayed in these videos are African American women. Mostly African American young girls are affected by hip hop culture because they see other African American women in the videos. When young girls see these types of videos and see the way they are dressed. They become negatively influenced by what they see and this is exactly how the false images are spread throughout the community. Hip hop

Hip hop is diverse. But the white, capitalist producers and distributors of hip hop are most interested in hip hop that is misogynistic, that is back hating, that is pugilistic, that is to say all of our fighting and war and killing and gangsterism (Bell hooks). In the film Hip Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes it introduces a message of how hip hop shows misogyny and homophobia.hip hop culture sees feminism as a bad thing they do not treat women equally as men. hip hop culture encourages misogyny and shows women are not equal they are just props and property also sex toys they tell it as every women is the same as they show on hip hop. This promotes male power and tells men to disrespect women or commodify them.

Brandon Albert in his article, “Hip-Hop: The False Advertisement of Women”,admits that, “Nowadays, popular rap music includes derogatory lyrics about women and videos typically showing women half-naked with the intentions of obtaining more listeners and viewers”. Of Course, I agree that women are being degraded in music videos and in some artists songs.¨ President Barack Obama states that,”I love the art of hip hop but I don’t always love the message of hip hop”. Every artist goes through a mild transition or two where they have to change or where all they are forced to make inappropriate music. He as well states, “Hip-hop has changed the faces of women in the community from a more positive image to a more negative one”.

Although results from the study found that the sample slightly disagreed with traditional masculine ideology, it may be beneficial for future researchers to develop a new measure of masculinity, representative of African American society in the United States. The MRNI-SF was advanced twenty to thirty years ago to examine respondent agreement to existing cultural norms of manhood ideology and later amended in order to better operationalize traditional masculinity standards characteristic of U.S. and Western societies prior to the 1960s (Thompson & Bennett, 2015). Research suggests that the complexity of operationalizing masculinity ideology is apparent in the MRNI scale, as the wording of scale items is absolute. These fixed interpretations of the MRNI-SF assume that all statements are applicable across contexts, geographies, and generations (Thompson & Bennett, 2015). This poses limitations on the current study, which examines a unique age range and a culture potentially limited in inclusion during the development of the

materialism, and misogyny (Rap Rehab). This here validates everything that has been prefaced in regards to the issues that are negatively impacting the state of hip hop from the moment it became mainstream (as previously mentioned during the 1990’s). People don't realize the psychological effect that these white men in suits inflict on the African American youth when they present black people in such a negative light. When you have negativity constantly thrown at your face, you as an individual is set to become a physical embodiment of themalice that surrounds you. Along with deliberate misrepresentation of black people in the media, “Corporations pretend to avoid “controversial” topics and themes. Yet, when it comes to songs featuring black

Many of us black men, do not know how to be men. Why? Because we were raised by women, and half the time, irresponsible women. Some men play football or go to the military to find out what being a man is all about. Being a man is not based on how many women you slept with, used or abused. It is also not based how tough you are, how many kids you have, how many men you killed, or how often you are in and out of jail. Being a man is being real, responsible, mature, logical, taking care of yourself, and whatever is around you. Masculine energy consists of purpose, mission, passion, setting goals, breaking through barriers, etc. Masculine energy grows through challenge; stepping up to the plate, being a leader, being passionate about, or have some