According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, misogyny is hatred or disrespect towards women. A 2007 study by Michael Cobb and William Boettcher entitled “Attitudes in Hip Hop” found that exposure to Hip Hop music increases sexist attitudes towards women (Attitudes in Hip Hop). A well-known professor in Alabama, Marcus Barker, performed an experimental research experiment and discovered that men who listened to sexually violent gangsta rap lyrics were significantly more likely to express "adversarial sexual beliefs" like the belief that men should dominate women (Attitudes in Hip Hop). Misogyny in hip hop emerged in the late 1980s and has been a feature of the music of numerous hip hop artists.

In Early 2009, the world was shocked to hear about the terrifying abuse that had taken place between teen icons Chris Brown and Rihanna, two well-known pop artists .In Paris Hiltons blog “Play by Play: What Went Down”, Perez describes exactly what happened the night of Rihanna’s abuse. According to Perez, “After Rihanna read a text message on Brown's phone from a woman, he tried to force Rihanna out of the car, but couldn't because she was wearing her seatbelt. Brown then allegedly slammed Rihanna's head against her window, and when Rihanna turned to face him, he punched her. The notes taken to the police station stated that there was blood spattered on Rihanna's clothing and the interior of the Lamborghini. Rihanna also called her assistant, according to FOX 11, leaving a message saying, "I am on my way home. Make sure the cops are there when I get there. Brown then reportedly replied, "You just did the stupidest thing ever. I'm going to kill you," and proceeded to punch and bite Rihanna. He allegedly put her in a headlock so long that she almost lost consciousness” (Hilton). This is a form of misogyny at its worst. Also the fans reaction to the situation is included in this blog. Many radio stations no longer aired Chris Browns music, Rihanna fans began to bash Chris Brown on social networks, and there was much sympathy for Rihanna coming from her fans.

 The reactions of fans landed on the cover page of Seventeen Magazine, which is a magazine known widely. In Anne Shoket article, “Let’s talk about Rihanna and Chris Brown” Shoket describes the fans reaction to the Rihanna Chris Brow Situation as well. One of Anne Shoket’s sources who are a huge Chris Brown fan stated in an article in Seventeen Magazine, “I don't think people should judge him. Chris Brown is a great guy, so Rihanna probably did something that made him do that. He wouldn’t just hit her for any reason. Chris Brown is amazing” (Shoket 28). More than half of Chris Browns fans took his side in the situation making all kinds of excuses for his actions. Many felt it was Rihanna’s fault and she must had done something terrible wrong to cause Chris Brown to act in such manner.

Also, New York Daily News is a Newspaper that has been covering the top news from all around the nation for many years. In this article, “Rihanna & Chris Brown fight” George Rush describes the explosive fight that landed sultry singer Rihanna in the hospital. There were many who blamed Rihanna; they felt “she stepped out of her place” and Chris Brown as a man has the right to put her back in her place.

The picture above was taken of the couple just hours before the incident.



Promotion of Misogyny

How does Hip Hop promote misogynistic behaviors one may ask?  Hip Hop promotes misogyny through its hateful lyrics which can cause low self-esteem. Secondly, misogyny is kept alive in Hip Hop through its degrading image artist give to women in music videos; this degrading image can lead to men looking at women differently. Lastly, Hip Hop promotes misogynistic behaviors by making it seem as if one is less than a man if they don’t act a certain way towards women.



Above is a picture of a scene from Nelly’s “Tip Drill” music video.

 Hip Hop promotes and influence misogynistic behaviors through its hateful lyrics. “Gangsta Hip Hop” has been particularly criticized and associated with misogyny but it still remains extremely popular. In an this article, “What Hip Hop Has Done to Women” by Johnnetta Cole describes how hip hop lyrics have caused the male sex to feel it’s okay to disrespect the female sex (What Hip Hop Has Done to Women). Cole uses a well-known quote to help make her claim "Sticks and stones may break my bones but words can never hurt me” (Idel).  Unfortunately, words can hurt, and words are not usually ignored. There has been a growing war between men and women since the '60s, and hip-hop is an extremely influential site of gender battles. Cole argues that the lyrics images and attitudes are extremely harmful to girls and women when it comes to humanity, sexuality and overall worth (What Hip Hop Had Done to Women). Future, one of the newest and an extremely popular artist in the hip hop industry also increases this misogynistic behavior through his lyrics. For example, in Future’s newest single “Bitches Aint Shit” he states, “These Bitches ain’t shit! You know that and I know that/Get you in the bed, what a fuck you’re craving/And all I’mma do to the bitch is pass her fast! /cuz she aint got no standards and she’s trash! turn up on her” (A-Z Lyrics). Future also has a single called “Aint No Way Around It”, throughout the song he promotes the idea that no matter what you do “A bitch gone be a bitch, a hoe gone be a hoe, aint no way around it" (A-Z Lyrics). These lyrics are both degrading and disrespectful towards women, which can lead to low self esteem.

Its Time for a Change

Although there are many Hip Hop songs that lyrics are degrading and hurtful; there are also songs that promotes the exact opposite, for example, “Keep Your Head Up” by Tupac Shakur. In “Keep Your Head Up” Tupac shows his compassionate side in this anthem for women. In the first verse Tupac states “I know they like to beat ya down a lot/ When you come around the block brothers clown a lot/ but please don’t cry, dry your eyes, never let up/ forgive up don’t forget, girl keep you head up/ and when he tells you you aint nuttin don’t believe him/ and if he can’t learn to love you, you should leave him” (A-Z Lyrics). Listeners can assume that Tupac is speaking to any woman that has been mistreated in any way, verbal or physical. In this same verse Tupac questions why do some men do these things to women, “Since we all come from a women/ I wonder why we take from our women/ why do we rape our women, do we hate our women? / I think it’s time to kill to kill for our women/ time to heal our women, be real to our women” (A-Z Lyrics). Mr. Shakur is encouraging women not to give up. He understands one may be tired of dealing with misogynistic behaviors but he wants women to remember to keep their head up. He also feels it’s time for a change and men should be real to women instead of hurting them.

For women to lose this “image” that have obtained in the Hip Hop industry first and foremost women need to stop portraying their selves the way they do in music videos.  Also Hip Hop artist needs to stop referring to women as bitches and hoes in their songs.  Most Hip Hop fans are young adults and they need to hear how to treat women with respect. If there were more songs like “Keep Your Head up” misogyny would not be such a issue.

Above is a picture of a woman and man shaking hands, showing respect.

Reflection : Looking Back

In Dr. Carey’s English 1060 class I received a lot of helpful instruction. We worked on a variety of different things the will help us in our future English classes. One very important topic that Dr. Carey stressed was sources. We took a lot of time working on annotated bibliographies and making sure our citations were correct. To help us further with our annotated bibliographies we also completed research charts and practiced evaluating arguments. We also took a lot of time with a activity called “Ways With Words”. There were three parts to this activity; establishing critical relationships, summarizing, paraphrasing, and quoting and Incorporating Texts and Citations (MLA format). Along with that we took a lot of time to put together our final essay. We worked on a Rich Description Activity and how to write strong core paragraphs. Dr. Carey’s one on one conference really helped me absorb any information that I did not fully understand. If I was unable to have a conference with Dr.Carey, I made sure I took the time to email her with my concerns. Dr. Carey tutorials were also a great help.

As I stated earlier, we took a lot of time to put together our final essay. We started with the annotated bibliographies then we worked on different activities to make sure we were headed in the right direction. Shortly after that I began my research and that’s when I began to see my paper coming into one.  In class I never mind when Dr. Carey shared my work with my classmates, I also volunteered to answer questions and worked well with my team when it was time for our discussions. I believe that I should move forward because I worked extremely hard in English 1060 , secondly, I believe that I have learned everything that I should have therefore I am ready to move on to a higher level.

Works Cited

"A-Z Lyrics Universe." A-Z Lyrics Universe. Web. 25 Apr. 2012. http://www.azlyrics.com/

Cole, Johnnetta. "What Hip hop has done to Women?" Business Media library. 01/21/2011: . Print.

Dill, Karen. How Fantasy becomes Reality: seeing through media influence. . . Oxford: Oxford press. 2009, . Print.

Fernando, S. H., Jr. The New Beats: Exploring the Music Culture and Attitudes of Hip-Hop. Edinburgh, Payback Press, 1995.

Gourdine, Ruby M., and Brianna P. Lemmons. "Perceptions of Misogyny In Hip Hop And Rap." Journal of Human Behavior In The Social Environment 21.1 (2011): 57-72. Academic Search Complete. Web. 24 Jan. 2012.

Hilton, Perez "Play-By-Play: How Chris Beat Rihanna Down." Celebrity Gossip Juicy Celebrity Rumors Hollywood  Gossip Blog from Perez Hilton. Web. 25 Apr. 2012.            <http://perezhilton.com/?p=46581>.

Journal of Human Behavior In The Social Environment 21.1 (2011): 57-72. Academic Search Complete. Web. 24 Jan. 2011

Rush, George. "Rihanna & Chris Brown Fight" NY Daily News 02/10/2009, . .Print.

Ann, Shoket. "Let’s Talk About Rihanna And Chris Brown." Seventeen. 03/06/2009: . Print

Willens, Kathy. "Black college women take aim at rappers." 1.1 (2004): n. page. Web. 18 Apr. 2012. <http://www.usatoday.com/life/music/news/2004