Leger_AB MIDTERM
Angel Leger
Dr. Pabon
WOM324-01
12th March 2018
Annotated Bibliography Midterm
Source 1
Rebollo‐Gil, Guillermo, and Amanda Moras. “Black Women and Black Men in Hip Hop Music: Misogyny, Violence and the Negotiation of (White‐Owned) Space.” The Journal of Popular Culture, 22 Feb. 2012, onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1540-5931.2011.00898.x/full.
Link: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1540-5931.2011.00898.x/full
In this article, Amanda and Guillermo go in depth on the misogyny in hip hop culture and its effects on black women as well as black men. misogyny is a double edged sword in the sense that Black women are constantly being vulgarly objectified while white men blame this objectification and sexualization on black men and the community rather than misogyny and patriarchy . Hip Hop is used as a scapegoat which later causes the criminalization of Black men because of their violent and aggressive portrayals in music videos by white men. The framing of Black women as hoes also causes the targeting of Black female lead households. Hip Hop is also examined as it too is caught in awkward moments. While Hip Hop is an outlet for Black men and Women to express their experience, their pasts, and their aesthetic; they are being fetishized, tokenized, and portrayed a certain way in society. “The troubled black person with a hard past who made it” experience which is very much valid and important for representation, is being used to portray a negative image on the black community in society. This article also talks how about the accountability of the men objectifying the women still stands, but they are not in control of an industry that constantly promotes misogyny with or without the artists approval.
Source 2
Balaji, Murali. Vixen Resistin’ Redefining Black Womanhood in Hip-Hop Music Videos. Penn State University, Sept. 2010, journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0021934708325377.
Link: http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0021934708325377
Balaji talks about the controversial topic that is the representation of Black Womanhood. She talks about how Black Women are constantly being exploited and having their bodies being used as a product or good. This affects women who are playing the role of the vixen and women who aren’t. Women are constantly being redefined and examined in articles by everyone but themselves. Balaji takes a different approach and puts into consideration the self image these women who play these roles of the vixen have on themselves. The continuous subversive and active binding of Black women as property to these rappers is huge issue that affects the way the community and Black women view themselves. For young black women trying to break out of the objectification implemented by the toxic hypermasculinity in hip hop, it seems almost impossible. The black woman playing these roles, viewing themselves in a more positive manner emphasize certain features that define black sexuality in society based on patriarchal standards. They feel empowered but this makes it harder for black women to break the mold that has been oppressing them for decades. The article tackles and examines how black women are trying to resist and or redefine black womanhood but also thoroughly critics the misogynistic constraints of the patriarchy.
Source 3
Chaney, Cassandra, and Arielle Brown. Representations and Discourses of Black Motherhood in Hip Hop and R&B over Time. Sept. 2016, jhhsonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Representations-and-Discourses.pdf.
Link: http://jhhsonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Representations-and-Discourses.pdf
Cassandra and Arielle talk about the representation of black mothers in society and hip hop. When it comes to the representation of Black mothers in society and academia there is unfortunately a lot of criticism. Sociologist Daniel Patrick said in the “Moynihan Report” that the reason for the “rise in Mother lead household was not due to lack of economic opportunities (e.g., stable jobs) afforded Black families, but rather a ghetto culture that encouraged and glorified outof-wedlock childbirth.” (Patrick). This is only one example of the constant ignoring of the racist, misogynist, classist, and colorist experiences Black Women have that are out of their control. Representation in hip hop for Black mothers has a lot of conflicting frames. Rappers will often idolize their mothers treating them like goddesses (as they should) but will often treat the single moms they encounter in their lives as gold diggers or hoes who love drama (baby mama drama). It’s an interesting contradiction because rappers in some cases who come from the single mother household, will often praise and glorify their mothers for raising them despite the hardships in their music, but will turn around and criticize the very women who try to do the same thing which later leads to further discrimination by the public.
Summary
My sources all pertain to the placement of Black bodies/people (specifically women) in society due to hip hop culture and the Capitalist White supremacist cis heteronormative patriarchal hierarchy. Major issues were brought to my attention. In these articles I learned about who and what plays a part in the further displacement and marginalization of Black Men and Women (specifically Women). The patriarchy and society use Black men to further marginalize Black Women and themselves through hip hop.(Although Black men should still be held accountable) Black men (conditioned by society) abuse and objectify Black women in rap songs and music videos; upholding the hypermasculine image, making money for white owned corporations off of black women’s bodies and aesthetic, and being judged as an aggressor by the dominant society in the process. The subconscious criminalization of Black men through hip hop culture in a white owned space while white people simeotaneously profit off of the culture and talent makes hip hop a double edged sword. On one hand Black artist use hip hop as a way to express and advocate for their struggles but unfortunately society uses these narratives to paint a bad light on the black community labeling black people as dysfunctional. The struggle of growing up as a black child in a mother lead household is constantly being rapped about which offers a great opportunity for representation of Black mothers in the black community . These rappers will often praise and glorify their mother but will shame and ridicule other Single Black mothers, upholding these harmful stereotypes. Being portrayed as the ghetto baby mama who loves drama further marginalizes Single (in some cases young) Black mothers making them more susceptible to discrimination. Ironically these rappers don’t realize that by shaming Black mothers they play a part in their own mother’s oppression. How society views Black Women and mothers continues to shape even Black women’s views on themselves. These articles weren’t scared to speak up about the hold hip hop’s misogyny has on black women as well as the harmful effects it has on Black men
Ultimately I found all three of these sources very interesting to read. I agreed with every single one of these articles and I also enjoyed how well they payed attention to detail. I am someone who is constantly arguing with myself on social issues regarding people of color but I was able to fully understand and read how the authors articulated themselves. I am mainly referring to when Amanda and Guillermo spoke about accountability in Black men. They agreed that society and the white supremacist patriarchy is the main cause for the marginalization of Black bodies but they were also able agree and bring us back to the point that Black men do play an active role in the the further marginalization of black women. I knew this but I was never able to articulate these thoughts out loud until I read the first article. I enjoyed reading these articles however, I did think that my third source did go off topic in some parts of the reading which made it harder for me to write an overarching summary, fortunately the author was very articulate in the parts where she did write about the topic. The third source also has a list of rap and R&B songs that I know; I listened to them after reading the article and I was able to critique the song thoroughly. As I continued to read the articles I also began to see hip hop negatively, not because of hip hop culture itself but because of the misogynistic filters that affect the presentation of hip hop. The articles did not point that out, which made me think of hip hop as negative throughout my readings.
These articles are relevant to Women in hip hop because it talks about the toll it takes on women both consuming and partaking in the culture of hip hop. Black Women are constantly being shamed for their hardships while still trying to break that mold society has on their bodies, sexuality, and autonomy. I think that these articles are relevant to this topic because not only do they touch upon how Black Women are affected by society but they talk about how black women think about themselves because of society. The view of the black women themselves in almost never taken into consideration. This in depth analysis can really help shape and redefine empowerment for Black Women in a way that keeps the gaze for them. These resources were well equipped with examples and articulate explanations as to why things are the way they are. They can be further analyzed by specialists but also understood by someone who just wants to educate themselves on the topic. These topics should be further researched because I do think there are major gaps in the topics discussed. Colorism is a huge factor which I think should be implemented in these articles as well. The articles speak nothing but facts and have reinforced my beliefs that Black Women are the most disenfranchised people in America.