Feminist Ethnography Essay

Tricia Rose mentions that female rappers including Salt “N” Pepa are implicitly or explicitly constructed as feminist voices in rap, yet they are, “…uncomfortable with being labeled feminist…” because feminism is a movement associated with white women and adapting an anti-male position (176). Although Salt “N” Pepa are frustrated with a patriarchy society, they do not show direct hate for men. Salt “N” Pepa simply illustrate that they are in command of their life’s. By stating, “…cuz I wear the pants, and you wear the dress…”, Salt “N” Pepa give themselves agency to identify as providers. These lines welcome young females to seek independence and liberate themselves from males who are oppressing them. Salt “N” Pepa continue by stating, “…and I'm gettin' ready for the year 2000/ Independent - yes, I'm housin'/Independent - yeah, now watch me/Independent - no one can stop me…”( Independent). These female rappers suggest that they are getting ready for a new year, which can be interpreted as a movement that welcomes women to part themselves from old ways that belittle their abilities. When Salt “N” Pepa’s lyrics state, “now watch me”, and, “no one can stop me”, they are inspiring women to not allow anyone to see them as objects. Salt “N” Pepa suggest that women do not have power if they do not have financial stability and therefore advocate women to seek jobs. For example, “I make my own money so don't tell me how to spend it/ Cuz you need me, and I don't need you”(Independent). These rappers imply that Independence will ultimately allow women mobility from relationships that do not work, as well as voices in a society dominated by

Hip hop is a culture and lifestyle that is 95% male dominated, yet without the contribution of women in the early stages of its birth, rap would not be the multi-billion dollar industry it is today. One of the most major contributors to this new scene would most definitely be Sylvia Robinson, otherwise known as the grandmother of hip hop. This woman, the founder of Sugar Hill Records, released the first official rap song called “Rapper’s Delight”. The song was so successful that it actually made it on the billboard charts at #36. It was also rated #14 on the R&B charts for two weeks straight. Sylvia Robinson was so experienced that she was able to find an unknown individual accompanied by two friends, create the Sugarhill Gang and turn them into one of the biggest hip hop groups out there. Without Robinson’s vision for rap and commercial elements implemented within, this hip hop culture would not have flourished the way it did in 1979. As if that accomplishment on its own was not good enough, her record label released multiple songs by Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five. Even though Grandmaster Flash eventually leaves her record label, this incredible business woman was able to continue to pursue her vision without the leader of the bunch. She later creates a new centre of attention for the group, known as Grandmaster Melle Mel and continues with success. Thus, it is evident that this woman provided

Her clothes accentuate her cleavage or have a sexual shock factor, such as wearing “sequined pasties…[that] coordinate with the rest of her attire”. The vulgar, sexual nature of her raps makes it impossible for her to not receive attention from the media. Another artist, Eve, dresses sexually to accentuate her body and appears in videos with music video models but raps about social issues like domestic violence. By comparing the nature of these artists and their music, Perry tries to show that young girls have very few role models in hip hop that promote positive feminists values and body images. But, she neglects to discuss other feminist artists she mentions in the essay such as Destiny’s Child and Mary J. Blige and how their lyrics and actions in the media allow young black girls to have positive role models that show a woman can be independent, strong, and beautiful in their own way. Perry’s focus on the more sexualized female artists in hip hop and how their shocking appearance and lyrics allow them to be as successful as their male counterparts took away from the development of her argument about conservative artists and their success. By leading the reader to believe that artists are either overly-sexual or conservative, Perry limits how the reader forms an opinion on why or why not young girls’ body image may be threatened by the media and the hip hop

She elaborates more as she continues further into the fifth paragraph by stating that “Sexism and homophobia saturate hip-hop culture and any deviation from these forms of bigotry is made marginal to its most dominant and lucrative expressions.” Her argument is further explained when she uses the actions of female rapper, Eve, who appeared in “one of the most hateful misogynistic anthems in hip-hop”, to give the reader a real-life relatable example of how male rappers use women like her to become influential in their choices. Mclune goes on to explain how this appearance “displays her unity not with the women branded “pigeons”, but with the men who label them.” This defines the author's point that in the hip-hop scene, the male species calls that

The theories of Black feminist thought, hip-hop feminism and intersectionality allow for a thorough analysis of Black girls and women of the hip hop generation. The self-definitions of Black women and girls are internalized, manipulated and influenced by various systems of oppression including sexism, racism, and heterosexism, among others. Rather than being told by, and being expressed by, Black women and girls, their narrative representations have relied on stereotypes and extreme portrayals in media, such as in commercial rap music. By using the varying lenses of the prior theories, one can expose the complex relationships between systems of oppression and how power shapes the portrayal of one’s identity throughout the years and over decades,

Though women have played an integral part in the history of the discipline of anthropology, it was not until the early 1970’s that the field of anthropology and gender, or feminist anthropology emerged. Sex and gender roles have always been a vital part of any ethnographic study, but the contributors of this theory began to address the androcentric nature of anthropology itself. The substantial gap in information concerning the study of women was perceived as a male bias, a prejudice made more apparent because what little women-centered fieldwork was done received insufficient attention from the academic community. While anthropology was considered one of the more egalitarian fields of study, it was dominated by white, Western males who

McLune also believes,“many hip-hop rappers are sexist and materialistic singers”(222), and not many rappers sing about equality and respect between the sexes. Even female rapper’s follow in the male rappers footsteps of disrespecting black women. Female rappers follow this path to keep from being “targeted, slandered, and ignored”(223). Female rappers who take a stance against the norm risk being called “bitch, a ho-or worse, a dyke.” McLune states that she wants the sexism to stop and until it does hip-hop will fail. According to McLune, Kevin Powell excuses sexism because of poverty. Experience has shown us that any man, rich or poor, can be sexist regarding women. By allowing the behavior to continue black women will always be the victim.

In Joan Morgan’s “From Fly-Girls to Bitches and Hos,” her feminist point of view addresses the problem of degradation and sexism in rap and hip-hop music. Through this passage, Morgan looks at the deeper meaning and connects rap and hip-hop music with the African American community. Between the beats, the lyrics of this specific genre of music show listeners various situations the African American community deals with, like crime, drugs, alcohol, relationships, and their day-to-day life in America. With Morgan’s feminist criticism, she states that the blame is not only on rap and hip-hop artists, but also other women because they should be speaking out against being called “bitches” and “hos”. Through the rhetorical strategies of description,

If they see rappers calling females out of their name with big chains and expensive cars throwing all their money in videos, then they look up to the guys they see in those videos and are going to buy in to what their seeing and hearing on the radio, on TV, on the internet, on the streets and in school regardless if it’s true just like advertisement. Even though many of the rappers that rap about misogyny sound like they live what their saying, many don’t actually believe what they’re saying they’ll still say it anyway just to get a paycheck. Yet what a lot of the public fell to realize is that rap is about business and making money and they’ll do whatever it takes to increase their profit. Yes, a lot of what these big time record labels put out is wrong on many levels, but when their banks accounts have a lot of zero’s, they can care less about how their music is affecting young people. This situation is very multi-sided to say the least which is why I feel this article deserves to receive the Most Controversial Issue

Latifah states in the book, Hip Hop: Queen Latifah, “Sex sells: that’s common sense. It shows you’re lacking in talent. Positivity takes a bigger push. My positivity can sell (Snyder 26).” Words are not only influential but they can be very powerful when using the proper verbiage. These were words that African-American women desperately needed to know that they were worthy and deserving of respect. “Ladies First” a song by Latifah, is an illustration of centralizing a strong public black voice. Being the first political rap song by a female artist revealing how life as woman is powerful and how she does not need to indulge herself in the stereotypes that have been created for women of color. The words are proclamations for Black female unity, independence and power. Latifah’s lyrics signified ways in which African-American women can demand respect while having the talent to create intellectual

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

There’s a powerful source brainwashing young minority women today, specifically the language expressed in Rap lyrics which is often embraced by the Hip Hop Culture recently. These young gems are being conditioned to value their worth centered around hollow, vain, and degrading measures. The lead directors of these measures are strong, empowered, talented men who come across as if they detest woman. They disclose and describe detail stories of lifestyles involving “model chicks” who degrade themselves for acceptance, money, and opportunity. Consequently, this behavior leaves impressions for young ladies to follow after; because most young ladies of minority tap into the hip hop culture as a guide for social behavior. Although, the Hip Hop culture allows a window into the challenges faced by the black community it has also been the lead contributor to the desensitization of exploitation towards women due to the negative messages and images portrayed in music lyrics and music videos today.

In the world of Hip-hop, artists have the ability to shape the image and status of women in our society. Over time, these music videos have misrepresented women and portray them as sex symbols or material objects. In these music videos, women wear provocative clothing to pacify the desires of males further

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

Feminism and feminist social theory unlike other theoretical perspectives is woman-centered and inter-disciplinary, hence promotes methods of achieving social justice. The feminism and feminist social theory takes into consideration three questions, what of the women? Why is the present social world as it is today? Additionally, how can the social world be changed to make it more just for the women and all people alike? In recent developments, feminist theorists have begun questioning the differences between women. The areas under question include race, ethnicity, class, age intersect, and gender. In summation, the feminist theory involves the concern with giving women world over voice, and highlighting how they have contributed to the