Reflections in discussions from the Rhetoric of Hip Hop Class, Fall 2011
Being a Black woman who does listen to Hip Hop, I find myself in a catch 22 situation. On one hand I embrace Hip Hop but on the other hand some of the images that women portray in Hip Hop, I have to say I don't condone or support. I'm not saying that everything that has to do with women and Hip Hop is bad. We have to understand that Hip Hop has many different layers. There are some positive women in Hip Hop such as Queen Latifah and MC Lyte just to name a few. However the images of the Black woman in the music shaking her naked booty in the faces of several men as they throw money at her is the image that overpowers all the good that women try to accomplish in Hip Hop. There are some women in Hip Hop who try to send a positive message to all women of Hip Hop and let them know that we can be viewed in a more positive light.
With that being said, those women who participate in that type of behavior must take accountablilty for the roles they play in Hip Hop. And those women to feel that they are above the booty shaking and just points the finger at the women who do participate in it, need to take accountability for their role as well. It takes the efforts of all women involved in Hip Hop to make a change. People will only treat us the way we allow them to treat us.-Candyce Henderson
For my book review, I read the book Pimps Up , Ho's Down by Tracy Denean Sharpley-Whiting. Prior to reading this novel, I found myself viewing women as nothing but victims of the hip hop culture. Yet, as I read through the pages of her book, my opinion of the relation of the two slightly changed, or in other words, evolved. Don't get me wrong, I still feel that in many ways women are victims in the hip hop culture. They are indeed taking advantage of in many ways and are portrayed more as items rather than human beings. However, I have come to terms with the realization that women do play a huge part and huge role in the way they are portrayed in the hip hop culture. I will admit that I find no positive in the way women are presented in mainstream hip hop. Unless one wants to say that the fact that we are the master's of our own destiny as being positive. Yet, the fact that we keep making our destinies "jacked up" by making the wrong decisions outweighs that as being positive in a great manner. Women play a huge role in the way they are presented in mainstream hip hop in a several ways. Many women who have a complex relationship with hip hop try to justify degrading themselves as being a job or a means of making money. Some women see doing so as a means of getting ahead in life. Yet, the lyrics provided by man hip hop artist do not add any good to the build up of women. Most lyrics constantly exhibit women as tools and so forth. Women and hip hop just really don't mix well in most cases.-Brittany Hill
I think that the issues facing Hip Hop and the negativity facing women is a reflection of more than just Hip Hop. We now live in a country were as one of my classmates posted we have been "desensitized" to many things that in the past were considered taboo. I personally believe that is a reflection of single parent house holds were either the mother or father is absent, decrease in church attendance, a poor economy, and liberalism. (yes, I am a liberal at heart, but there is good and bad to everything). We (the nation) have stepped away from being guided by spirituality and become more focused on the "I" and "me". I say that meaning that anyone that thinks of others does not dis respect others by calling them names, or treating them as property, or less than themselves which is exactly what is being presented when the hip hop videos portray women as sexual objects which are called "bitches" and "hos". I am completely perplexed by the fact that there is a high number of African American women raising their children without the father being present, and I have never met an African American man that did not love and respect his mother. Yet, these same men when dealing with other women deny them the respect that they would extend to their mothers. Most African American women are seen and considered to be "strong black women" which is the same way I identify with most of them, focused, resourceful, and proud. This is evident in my work: I rarely see a African American women that has been beaten by her significant other, I see him after she has "whooped his ass." On the other hand I see subservient white, and Hispanic women who are victims of domestic violence and they seem to always return to the abuser. SO this is where I am baffled, why would women who are strong, self reliant, and proud willing to degrade themselves or allows others to degrade them all for the sake of music and entertainment. The conclusion that I have come up with to this point is that the current lack of morality has shaped and perpetuated the current hip hop environment. The things that are negative in hip hop in my opinion are happening in many neighborhoods that are subject to the same influence of single parents, with little income, no moral direction, and the attitude that if "that's what I want to do it's ok. It's really all about me." I have not read all the post yet, but I am quite sure someone else has already hit on the concept that people have to value and respect themselves before they can do the same for others. In my opinion it is really all about putting others feelings and interest before your own, and reflecting on how your actions and words effect more than yourself.-Patricia Fanon
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