The exploitation of African American women in hip-hop by
African American men is the result of a long history of degradation and abuse
inflicted upon them by white Americans. Beginning with slavery, the struggle to
find an identity and to feel accepted in the United States has been and
continues to be the main conflict faced by African Americans. This identity
crisis has led black men to search for a means of authority, which has resulted
in their sexualization of black women.
Hip-hop as a music and culture emerged from the ghettos of
the South Bronx, in response to the violence in the community. It glorifies the
gun, deeming it a symbol of respect and honor. In attaining respect in hip-hop,
men must dignify their egos; and one way which this is done is by degrading
women. In order to feel powerful, men must make women feel powerless. Particularly
true with black men, who have been emasculated by white men, the need to serve
the patriarchy is ever-growing, and by subjecting women they satisfy this male
dominance.
With respect to racism in hip-hop, desexualization plays a
major role. Men enjoy feeling powerful and often prove their machismo, and by
sexually assaulting women, they prove their masculinity. Black men and white
men have one thing in common: they are both men. Thus their need to feel
superior can be satisfied by the demeaning of women.
As stated by Chuck D in the movie Hip Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes, “The dominant image of black men
is the aspect of being confrontational.” Black men feel the need to prove their
masculinity, so much so that they display hyper masculinity as the norm.
Bettina Love writes in her book Hip Hop’s Li’l Sistas Speak: Negotiating Hip Hop Identities and
Politics in the New South (2012), “So long as scholars and cultural
critics fail to critically interrogate urban youth and rap music, jointly,
within the discourses of capitalism, hegemony, poverty, media and cultural
studies, politics, and domination, urban youth of color will remain society's
scapegoat.” This means that if people are not educated about hip-hop, then they
will continue to see it in a negative light. Love (2012) continues, “Through
hegemony, Hip Hop is created in a contrived space where the commodification of
Blackness perpetuates the status quo and existing social structures of
inequality.” This commodification, or racism, is rooted in slavery.
One
aspect of slavery that has been passed down into hip-hop is the aspect of the “booty
video.” The “booty video” is what everyone sees in hip-hop, what is thought to
be hip-hop. The reason it has become the representation of hip-hop is because men
sexualize women as a means to prove their masculinity. It is a form of
combatting racism, in a way, making black men feel equal to white men.
D. Mark Wilson writes in his article “Post-Pomo Hip-Hop
Homos: Hip-Hop Art, Gay Rappers, and Social Change” (2007), “Social research on
hip-hop, to the extent that it engages with gender and sexuality, usually
highlights its exploitative character, misogyny, and violence against women.
Even in research that finds within hip-hop culture a resistant strand among
women who deconstruct sexism, challenge male patriarchy, and develop new
generations of feminist activism.” This shows that men feel superior to women,
and thus gain their masculinity by being violent. And this expression is clear
in hip-hop.
Bibliography
LOVE, B. L.. (2012). Chapter Two: Hip Hop, Context, and
Black Girlhood. Counterpoints, 399, 16–31. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/42981577
Hurt, Byron (Producer and Director). (2007). Hip Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes. [Motion
Picture]. United States: Media Education Foundation
Wilson, D. M.. (2007). Post-Pomo Hip-Hop Homos: Hip-Hop
Art, Gay Rappers, and Social Change. Social Justice, 34(1 (107)), 117–140. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/29768425
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