Rape Culture Analysis

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

Robin Thicke’s music video to his song “Blurred Lines” avidly contributes to the patriarchy, while portraying sexism, gender standards, and beauty standards. His music video can be analyzed from a feminist theory approach, as it’s evident that his song and video contribute to a patriarchal society and its inherently sexist and sexualized ideologies. The ideology behind the song and music video is purely sexual and about male dominance. The lyrics to the song and actions in the video exhibit extreme over sexualization and objectification of the women. Analyzing this piece of popular culture through a feminist approach opens up a provoking conversation about how popular culture functions in a patriarchal culture. Analyzing pop culture though a feminist theory can allow for a larger variety and more in-depth analysis about the social aspects and political agenda within popular culture.

The above article discusses a study conducted that tested whether exposure to rap music increases sexism within males. The study did not give any direct concrete evidence that rap music causes misogyny. Yet it brought up some useful insights that were supported by the study. Initially, they discovered that listening to non-sexist songs still led to some type of sexist behavior. This finding is relevant as it shows that it might not solely be the lyrics that are responsible for sexism within music. People can be instinctively associating rap music with being misogynistic. Another finding was that misogynistic lyrics prime young males to behave sexually aggressive temporarily. This reading is important for this topic as it disregards the popular belief that rap music causes sexism, but it also takes in account that rap music can prime young males to be slightly more aggressive. While this study cannot be used to promote any type of censorship in media, it can still encourage the music industry to reevaluate the material they are launching to public, especially the young generation.

Specifically desensitizing intimate practices like intercourse and exploiting the image of women; minimizing them into nothing more than sex objects that can be taken advantage of. For example, "Put Molly all in her champagne, she ain't even know it/I took her home and I enjoyed that, she ain't even know it" - Rick Ross U.O.E.N.O. This lyric fails to express any real emotion, it fails to elicit thought, it functions only to glorify rape culture and it is a grammatical tragedy. “New Kids on the Block had a bunch of hits, chinese food makes me sick”-L.F.O Summer girls. There is no coherent well-thought-out expression of emotion in this line. It vaguely jumps from one subject to another leaving the listener confused as to what the lyricist's message

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 21st century, the U.S culture teaches women to accept violence. Young ladies are told about dress codes to not distract boys from their education. Young ladies are also taught that they are not allowed to show their skin because it's inappropriate and it shows “too much”. Examples of rape culture are sexual jokes, blaming the

Rap music, in particular has impacted the young generation by promoting misogyny lyrics. Women have fought so hard to be equal and gain respect, but yet there are obstacles that restrict women from being respected, music shapes people’s mind in a negative way. Music is one of many of the influences of today’s society because it shaped an individual minds. Misogynistic rap music has more than encourage

Girls and women are taught that cat calls on the street are normal and to just brush it off. Women have to deal with rape culture every day. Women can’t be out and about at three in the morning in fear of being raped. When I went to Sear’s Driving School, the instructor told every single girl in the class to lock the doors as soon as we get in their car in case anyone tries to attack us or rapes us. Women are told to be mindful of what they’re wearing because if they are raped, someone is going to blame their outfit for being raped. Society has taught women that it’s normal to be seen as sex objects and nothing else. In the summer of 2013, “Blurred Lines” by Robin Thicke was playing in nearly every radio station. I have to admit that it’s a catchy tune and made me want to sing along. It’s when I started singing along that I felt disgusted. The song goes on to say “I know you want it” referring to sex. The song “Blurred Lines” focuses on the so called “blurred lines” that men face when being entitled to having sex with a girl. If rape culture didn’t exist, a song like this wouldn’t be so popular much less have ever been written.

The term ‘rape culture’ was coined by feminists in the United States in 1970. The term itself was designed to illustrate the ways in which society blamed victims of sexual assault, and how the normalization of male sexual violence was acceptable. Rape culture can stem from the acceptance of rape as a daily occurrence, manifested as a male prerogative. There is a hesitation by the authorities to go against the patriarchal cultural norms, hence linking nonconsensual sex to the cultural disposition of society. The patriarchal perspective of rape culture, embedded with gender inequality and misogyny are passed through generations which ultimately leads to the extensive institutional and social acceptance of rape. Actions which advocate sexist ideals are utilized to justify and validate normative misogynistic perceptions. Rape culture sexualizes violence inflicted upon women, as it serves as a continuum of a society which views a women’s body to be sexually available by default, deriving from the overall domination and objectification of a female. The underlying cause of rape culture is localized as it based upon the social aspects of culture. For example, countries with a prolific ‘war culture’ tend to emphasize violence and masculinity, and therefore rape is viewed as a normal facet of society. I intend to parallel the element of rape culture to the enforcement of social rules and the conditioning of gender roles. I plan on analyzing the notion that within the encompassment of

It is crucial to mention that philogyny in rap music belongs to misogyny. During the last decade, it was detectable that rap music has naturalised the degradation of women, and even if a rap song included philogynistic lyrics, many of them still had an undercurrent of misogyny in them (76). For example, utilise many rappers the word bitch to refer to their girlfriend. Women are normally seen as the others in rap. A couple of female rappers offer/ed rap songs that are challenging voices to the misogynistic, male-dominated rap music.

For twelve weeks Blurred Lines was at the top of the Billboard 100 charts and could be heard thumping from speakers everywhere. Sung by Robin Thicke and featuring prominent rappers T.I. Harris and Pharrell, this track was proclaimed the anthem for summer 2013 . At the surface the song is seemingly harmless with a cheery rhythmic beat and catchy lyrics, but when examining the song and accompanying music video, Blurred Lines is anything but harmless. Dubbed “that rape song” by many discerning listeners, Blurred Lines is a song about the blurred lines of consent. With gems such as “You’re an animal, just let me liberate you” and “I’ll give you somethin’ big enough to tear yo ass in two” featured throughout the song it is astonishing how

Another scene in the music video that demonstrates the blurred lines of consent and reinforces rape culture is when one of the models is laying on her stomach and a very small stop sign is displayed on her bottom (3:47). This symbolizes that her ability to say stop to Thicke’s implications and his desires is so small that it’s almost insignificant. This pushes the rape myth that women should accept rape as flattering and allow men to have sex with them (Hamlin, 2005) because she really wants it. These instances allow for the acceptance of rape culture and directly promotes sexism that subordinates women to men.

Today’s society is one in which the idea of male superiority dominates, one that Edwards et al. says fosters the idea that “rape ideologies emanate from a patriarchal system” (qtd. in Franiuk). The influences on modern American culture, what it idolizes and produces, are often times truly sickening. Popular television programs and other media present depictions of women that promote a society of rape culture. The rapper Eminem, just one of the famous rap artists who has a bad reputation, refers to women in very derogatory ways. His song “Kim” was released in 2000, and is believed to have been written about his then-wife, Kim Mathers. In it, the rapper says, “Sit down bitch/If you move again I'll beat the shit out of you,” among other things, and even goes on to describe other types of violence that he wants to commit against her (Bass). When taking into consideration Eminem’s subject matter, his popularity is alarming. His music, and thousands of other songs like his, is filling the ears of impressionable youth and naïve adults, permeating their minds with horrible ideas.

In 2013, Robin Thicke, a relatively unknown but well-seasoned R&B singer, found major success in his upbeat song “Blurred Lines,” which featured the big-named artists Pharrell Williams and T.I. (McKinley). The hit song broke records by spending 16 weeks on top of Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Song chart, its popularity earning it the title of Billboard’s Song of the Summer (Ramirez). The uncensored video on Vevo features three female models wearing nothing but shoes and nude-colored underwear dancing and strutting around Thicke, Williams, and T.I., who are fully dressed and frequently seen looking at the women’s bodies. Although “Blurred Lines” garnered extreme popularity, it didn’t go unnoticed that the lyrics and video, especially when paired together, tended to be off-putting for women, even though there was supposedly no intention of sexist allusions. When viewed through the lens of Stuart Hall’s “Encoding/decoding” model, the stark contrast between the creators’ intended meaning of the “Blurred Lines” video and the way in which the audience perceived it illustrates???

Blurred Lines is a popular summer song that is constantly played on the radio. A song like “Blurred Lines” should not be played on public radio. A big problem with “Blurred Lines” is that it attempts to normalize disrespectful behavior towards women. Robin Thicke teamed up with rapper T.I. and singer-producer Pharrell to deliver arguably this summer’s most popular song. The song “Blurred Lines” has placed number one on the billboard hot 100 and has sold over one million copies. Critical reception of the track is mostly positive. Yet with the success comes a not so positive response. When first listening to the song a person might find themselves nodding your head to a catchy tune, but perhaps once a person listens closely to the lyrics some people may not want this song on their iPods.