Major_ABMidterm
Sophie Major
Gender and Sexuality in Hip Hop Culture
Professor Pabon
3/12/2018
Annotated Bibliography for Hip Hop Feminism Wikipedia Page
Balaji, Murali. “Vixen Resistin’: Redefining Black Womanhood in Hip-Hop Music Videos.” Journal of Black Studies, vol. 41, no. 1, 2010, pp. 5–20. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/25704091.
This piece describes how the sexualization of black women over time has kept up since modern day and through music videos and media, black women are portrayed as such for the male eye and for the purpose to please. It’s important to note that history really plays a role in this because without the acknowledgement of how black women were treated in previous times, we wouldn’t be able to understand the linkage to the treatment of black women today. The performance of body is what black women in Hip Hop music videos are entitled to do. They are soley seen as sexualized beings for the male eye. The male dominated culture of society, and specifically Hip Hop has curated this image of black womanhood in Hip Hop because men have been in charge within the culture. The article makes the point that the conceptualization of black women in these music videos is perpetuating said stereotypes of young black women. When participating in such a role, black women’s image of their identity gets shifted and gets seen through a male dominated perspective because the males are on top telling them how to look and how to move their bodies. A positive aspect to think about is how female’s expressing their sexuality through these music videos gives them a feeling of empowerment because they aren’t isolated and confined. They can show off their bodies if they please and feel invited to do that.
LaBoskey, Sara. “Getting off: Portrayals of Masculinity in Hip Hop Dance in Film.” Dance Research Journal, vol. 33, no. 2, 2001, pp. 112–120. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/1477808.
Expressed in this journal article is how men find acceptance of their expression of masculinity through Hip Hop. Hip Hop allows men to move and get in tune with themselves through the language, movements and culture that is Hip Hop. For teenagers and youth in urban areas, Hip Hop has helped them learn so many things about themselves and the community they are in. It has helped them learn language that they can relate to and also it gives them a space to talk about the reality that they live in. Hip Hop also creates a shared experience for youth to cultivate on their own with fellow peers. The people that have curated Hip Hop have shown young men that in order to make it big, you have to work hard and commit to being an artist in the Hip Hop scene whether that be breakdancing, rapping, deejaying, or the like. The article also makes the point that through competition, men in Hip Hop get to put their masculinity to the test against one another. Through dance, young men in Hip Hop “boast” their sexuality and showcase what it means to be a dominating man through their body movements.
Durham, Aisha, et al. “The Stage Hip-Hop Feminism Built: A New Directions Essay.” Signs, vol. 38, no. 3, 2013, pp. 721–737. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/668843.
Hip Hop Feminism is a fairly new term brought up in this piece. Hip Hop Feminism gives light to the experiences of women in Hip Hop and how looking at intersectionality plays an important role in analyzing the experiences of the representation of specifically black women in Hip Hop. Through this lens of feminism, we can look at how the treatment of black women is being portrayed in Hip Hop in regards to race, gender, class, sexuality and other identities. The politics of location and economics play an important role in how women are viewed in Hip Hop as well. This piece also brings up the concept of respectability and what it means to be open about sexuality for women. Sexuality is either seen as a “hush-hush” topic or something overstimulized and exaggerated within society. For example, women in Hip Hop are looked at as sexual objects and outsiders that may deem sexuality as a topic that shouldn’t be talked about may look at this image of women as something that shouldn’t be normalized. On the other hand, sex is something that should be seen as natural and women shouldn’t be afraid to express their sexuality. Hip Hop feminism argues that women should indeed be able to feel empowered for their sexuality and look at Hip Hop culture as an opportunity to do that through lyrics, dance, language and movement.
Summary of Research:
Throughout my research on the topics of feminism, gender and sexuality within Hip Hop culture, I found that history has played a significant role in how people identify with themselves in regards to Hip Hop. We can easily say that the patriarchy and male dominance within society has directly influenced the way women feel and portray themselves within Hip Hop media and media in general. Because of the male domination that has always been looming over women in society, the sexualization of black women and women in general is very common amongst Hip Hop Culture. Women feel the need to be over sexualized and perfect for the male eye in order to be successful in Hip Hop. If a woman is not pleasing to the male eye, she is looked down upon in Hip Hop. We also bring up the conversation of empowerment of the female body. The feminist movement argues that women should feel secure within themselves and express their sexuality freely without the pressure of what males think. Women should be able to say whether or not they want to be open about their sexuality regardless of pressure. On media platforms such as music videos, women are portrayed as sexual beings in the attempt to please the male audience. But an empowering perspective of this instance is that women are choosing to show off their sexuality and by being a woman within Hip Hop, among other women doing the same thing, it might be an empowering collective between all these women in Hip Hop media. By seeing it this way, we can say that women have had their choice in whether or not to express their sexuality through Hip Hop. As a sidenote, for women, Hip Hop is a chance for them to have a space to express themselves and what it means to be a woman within that culture. And for men, it’s common to express their hypermasculinity through elements like rap and deejaying and break dancing. Speaking of men and hypermasculinity, we need to also acknowledge how significant males’ role in Hip Hop really is. We need to talk about how much gender is a huge part of Hip Hop and how it is expressed within the music, dancing and other elements of Hip Hop. Black youth that live in urban areas turn to Hip Hop to find a relatable source of music and media that talks about their own realities living in poor cities, with low economic status. Hip Hop music talks about the identity politics that comes with being a black man in a white male dominated society. And for a lot of white males too, I think we can wee that it Hip Hop has interested them as well and hopefully opened up their eyes to what Hip Hop means to minorities. Being a white male, interested in Hip Hop is something that needs to also be talked about because we don’t see many artists in Hip Hop that are white, so for white men to be embracing a culture dominated by the minorities, I think says something in itself because it means that there can be conversation and openness about accepting and embracing a community that might not necessarily being one that you truly identify with. To tie this all together, themes of black womanhood, hypermasculinity, identity politics and intersectionality are all really important topics that we have discussed in our class and are notable topics within these articles. These articles really spark a good conversation that has to do with why Hip Hop has been such a meaningful platform for so many people and how it’s able to let people express themselves but also how it has continuously perpetuated the stereotypes associated with being male or female. The stereotypes society has built for men and women will always be around and we have to think about why that is and analyze and critique our behaviors and patterns to really understand why these things happen and how Hip Hop plays a role in that. Gender and sexuality are two elements related to Hip Hop that you might not think of immediately but with research and analysis within the subject, you can learn that indeed, gender and sexuality are a big part of what Hip Hop is today and how it’s developed over time. To understand gender, sexuality and hip hop feminism, we really have to look at how these topics intertwine with each other and how intersectionality is such an umbrella term for the understanding of all these elements. Race, class, gender, sexuality, location, economic stance, and political stance all relate to one another and define our role within society and specifically how we get portrayed within the Hip Hop world.