“Similarly masculinity and gender are social constructs. Definitions of manhood, womanhood, and the proper way to be a man or woman are contested, challenged, and changed overtime and across cultures and geogrpahies” (McFarland 160). 

Since, I do listen to hip-hop I am very aware of the dominance of heterosexual hypermasculine males figures. I remember that when I was younger, my mother never wanted me to watch the videos on 106 & Park because of how women were always displayed as sexual objects. Now I have the tools to explain why hip-hop is dominated with these types of images and ideas about women. This is a result of of what McFarland refers to as “macho” by oppressing other groups of people such as women and queer people it gives these mean a sense of power and dominance that would otherwise never get to experience. It is like how we discussed in class that these men would rather be able to sit a the table of patriarchy with white men than to create their own table, and be able to create their own story of how others should be treated in relation to them. 

However, what really interested me was talking about queer people in relation to hip-hop. In the excerpt from Chang’s book it is explained that queer people within the hip-hop industry do not want to assmilate to mainstream hip-hop/emceeing. This part of Chang’s excerpt really made me think about Young M.A, how she represents herself within hip-hop. She is a lesbian woman in hip-hop that has a very masculine way because she has been aorund gang culture, and because of the environment that she has lived in most of her life. People in the industry would accept her over a gay man such as Bobby Lytes who is overtly more feminine. 

(Bobby Lytes)