A major discourse affiliated with the hip hop community surrounds the perpetuation of sexism. Though the normalization of internalized misogyny is highly structured into our society, hip hop has infamously carried the reputation of exploiting women.
Women in the hip hop industry have very little say in regards to the creation of their art. This is a result of male domination within hip hop. I particularly liked the article by Trisha Rose titled “Hip Hop Is Not Responsible for Sexism” in which she states, “The truth is, misogyny is not a hip hop created problem. Misogyny is a deep-seated problem that is embedded in the historical evolution of the United States as a nation.” Rose addresses the reality of sexism and how it’s not just a hip hop issue but stems from our society as a whole. It just so happened to seep its way into hip hop culture. Though mainstream hip hop authenticates sexism, the blame should not be solely placed on the culture, but on our society and the negative impacts that mass media corporations have caused it. This article defends hip hop in that sense, but I still think it’s important to address the negative effects sexism in hip hop causes.
The main point I took away from these two episodes surrounds no other than Mylene and her pursuit in the music industry. I had a huge issue with her manager, Roy Asheton and his push for a more provocative image for Mylene. There’s a scene where Mylene and her uncle are in Roy’s office discussing the next steps for her career and Roy is explaining how sex is timeless and always sells. Her uncle shows hesitation towards his proposal considering her age and the current direction of her music. Roy continues by saying that religion is cute but doesn’t sell and continuing that type of music will harm her career. This goes to show that within the hip hop industry men, in particular, benefit from the exploitation of women for their own goal of achieving financial prosperity. In relation to Rose’s article, we see the pressure placed on Mylene and though the show surrounds hip hop and disco this is a common occurrence for all genres of music. Again, this leads back to societal expectations and the idea that sex will always sell.
The normalization of these misogynistic factors continues the reinforcement of the overbearing pressure for women to oversexualize themselves to stay current.
Another article that resonated with me comes from the works of Derek Perdue. This article titled, “Brazilian Hip Hopers Speaks From The Margins: We’s on Tape” discusses the emphasis placed on performing femininity which also ties into Mylene’s struggle. I think the industry most often requires the performance of either femininity or masculinity causing many to be placed in an unwanted box. It seems as though that by picking a more feminine approach you must oversexualize yourself like Mylene’s manager urges her to do. Again, this is said to secure one’s chances of succeeding in the industry which is quite unfortunate.
