Hip-Hop is known as a culture and music that is dominated by men. Especially in the 1990s, this subculture and music genre was at its height. Many male rappers like Ice Cube, Snoop Dogg, Dr Dre had been more successful than ever. They sold millions of records on which they rapped about several themes. For instance, male rapper always promoted their gangsta image and their criminal life in the streets. Furthermore, their lyrics maintain life experiences of poverty, drugs and financial instability. Besides all this, one significant theme in male rap music is womanhood. Particularly, the black womanhood, the women which they have met. Mostly, women are depicted as bitches, sexually open and subordinated. By using disgracing terms and notions, rappers illustrate their attitude towards black womanhood.
But what about the female rapper? Do they have any impact on this patriarchal and misogynist system? Is there any feminist movement within the Hip-Hop scene, or does this subculture remain in the hegemonic power of masculinity?
These will form some of the guiding questions of the term paper, which will be structured as follows.
Firstly, I will provide an introduction to black feminism and to Hip-Hop feminism to create a foundation for the following parts. These chapters maintain the main fundamental notions of feminism, which are relevant for my further intention. Afterwards, an analysis of the different views of women in Hip-Hop comes next. With this, I want to work out the various opinions of women and men regarding feminism, femininity and black womanhood in general. As a counterpart to these differing views, I will take Lauryn Hill as a representative in consideration to elaborate more on feminist thoughts and views. My goal in this paper is to contradict the common assumption that black women are not recognised in the culture and music of Hip-Hop.
Table of Content
1. Introduction
2. Feminism
2.1BlackFeminism
2.2. Hip-Hop Feminism
3. Experiences of Feminism in the Hip Hop culture
3.1 Male view on women in Hip-Hop
3.2 Female view on women in Hip-Hop-
3.3 Lauryn Hill: Female black identity and the fight against the misogynist and sexual Hip-Hop
4. Conclusion
5. Work Cited
1. Introduction
Hip-Hop is known as a culture and music that is dominated by men. Especially in the 1990s, this subculture and music genre was at the its height. Many male rappers like Ice Cube, Snoop Dogg, Dr Dre had been more successful than ever. They sold millions of records on which they rapped about several themes. For instance, male rapper always promoted their gangsta image and their criminal life in the streets. Furthermore, their lyrics maintain life experiences of poverty, drugs and financial instability. Besides all this, one significant theme in male rap music is the womanhood. Particularly, the black womanhood, the women which they have met. Mostly, women are depicted as bitches, sexually open and subordinated. By using disgracing terms and notions, rappers illustrate their attitude towards the black womanhood.
But what about the female rapper? Do they have any impact on this patriarchal and misogynist system? Is there any feminist movement within the Hip-Hop scene, or does this subculture remain in the hegemonic power of masculinity? These will form some of the guiding questions of the term paper, that will be structured as follows.
Firstly, I will provide an introduction to black feminism and to Hip-Hop feminism to create a foundation for the following parts. These chapters maintain the main fundamental notions of feminism, which are relevant for my further intention. Afterwards, an analysis of the different views of women in Hip-Hop comes next. With this, I want to work out the various opinions of women and men regarding feminism, femininity and black womanhood in general. As a counter part to these differing views, I will take Lauryn Hill as a representative in consideration to elaborate more feminist thoughts and views. My goal in this paper is to contradict the common assumption that black women are not recognised in the culture and music of Hip-Hop.
2. Feminism
2.1 Historical Background: Black Feminism
For a long time, black women used to be excluded from feminist discourse. White women, who dominated this domain, did not take black females into account in their thoughts and their perspectives. Frequently, white women only were focussed on male tyranny and women's oppression and they " act as if black women did not know sexist oppression until they voiced it (Bhavnani 33)." Black women feel neglected from the white feminists, who have made and verbalised feminist theory. Therefore a strong feeling of racism has permeated.
In the past decades, a devaluation of black womanhood has presented itself as the aftermath of slavery. As Hooks explains in "Ain't I a woman", no one had any concerns about the sexual exploitation of black women, because those women were not victims of rape, but rather accomplices (Hooks 53).There was no equality regarding sexual politics and in people's minds. For instance, if a black man raped a white woman, that would be more critical and contemptuous than a white man raping multiple black women. Likewise, many white men and women thought that the black womanhood was "sexually loose and innately morally depraved" (Hooks 55).
All that and much more have led the black women to the assumptions that they are not equally treated concerning feminism and in general. Many women did not feel like a part of the movement and found it hard to enhance themselves to stand up for their rights. Hooks explains how important the power of organised womanhood is. With this organisation, women can share their thoughts and interests and finally fight for them. However, black and white organisations paid attention to different kinds of needs and interest. White women's organisation was more about issues like education, charity, or the formation of literary societies. Whereas black women confine their attention to poverty, care for the elderly and disabled, or prostitution (Hooks 165). This shows again the enormous difficulty for black women to join the white feminists.
However, black feminism does not only focus on the racial differences between white and black. The bigger problem is in the black community itself. Black women recognised that the oppression and assaults mostly occur in their own social background and have nearly nothing to do with white people. Although the roots lie in the white racism, the perpetrators are certainly black (Morgan Fly-Girls, Bitches, and Hoes).
2.2 Hip-Hop Feminism
The music and culture of Hip-Hop is a possible approach to black feminism in the 1990s since it gained much success and attention in that time. The culture that surrounds it also presents feminism and women at ground level or the street (Phillips, Reddick-Morgan and Stephens, “The Case of Feminism and Womanism in Rap and Hip-Hop”). Rap is a way to express feelings of the black youth, and it gives them the opportunity to speak to a population, who might not know in which conditions they live. Therefore, rap is providing a base for young black women without an academic education, to produce feminist and women ideas (Phillips, Reddick-Morgan and Stephens, “The Case of Feminism and Womanism in Rap and Hip-Hop”) Women rappers are the voices which fight against sexism in rap and on the street. Furthermore, they speak to each other about several issues, whereby women support, critique and challenge each other. For women, the rap game has given them the chance to talk about and with men and to assert their concerns. Latter is often about the gender conflicts, racial conflicts and the sexism in the black communities. Hip-Hop provides another way of communication between men and women. Female rap should help other African-American women to educate themselves. It should support, motivate and inspire women to face the conflicts without any fear to speak up for themselves. Black communities have a great struggle with criminality and holding their households in poverty and sexism. Because of this rap is an essential part of the African-American society. For them, rap is the key to speak about their miserable and hard lives and to interact with the rest of the world. Rap provides a platform for men and women to address the sexism, even though their opinions differ. That is why black feminists have to fight against the misogynist, patriarchal and masculine ideas in this subculture. They need to face the rapper's attitude. Black women try to fight for everyone, who has experienced racial abuse and the demeaning of the slavery. For this reason, the black womanhood is hurt by the disgracing words of their 'brother' (Morgan Fly-Girls, Bitches, and Hoes). In contrast, Joan Morgan also states that black men have lost their sense of who to love and who to hate. For Morgan, her black brothers forgot their real enemies, namely racism and the white power structures, and now they believe that the enemy is brown. Regarding white racism, some women rappers struggle to label themselves feminists. In their opinion feminism has no concrete link to black women and the black community (Rose, Black Noise 177). Furthermore, it seems that black feminists need to fight against two camps. One is the white feminism and the other their own race. Diminished by white feminist, black womanhood has to get recognition and to assert them as equally important. Through that, they cannot identify with the white feminist social movement, and therefore they group in the rap game which allows them to express their frustration. Admitting that Hip-Hop Feminism did not start in academical writings, female hip hoppers still formulate and discuss issues which concern the majority of black womanhood. This is their way to expose their ideas and belief to the wider population. Rapper's feminist thoughts are mainly about "talking back to men in defence of women and demanding respect; women's empowerment, self-help and solidarity and the defence of black men against the larger society” (Phillips, Reddick-Morgan and Stephens, “The Case of Feminism and Womanism in Rap and Hip-Hop”) The talking back consists of lyrics that addresses the disrespect, the violence and the negation against black women. That way, the female rappers sow their solidarity with all women and simultaneously attack the patriarchal and misogynist Hip-Hop culture.
Hence, Hip-Hop should be considered as a wide field of black feminism, in which women are able to express themselves and to interact with black men, white feminists and the society in general. Though, female rappers have to face several struggles in this culture like gender-conflicts, racial conflicts and finally the rejection of being heard and accepted by black men.
3. Women in Hip-Hop
The culture of Hip-Hop emerged in the streets of the Bronx in New York City in the late 1970s. It started with DJs and Mcs in blockhouses and developed itself to a worldwide known music genre and lifestyle. Especially in the 90s, the Hip-Hop industry boomed. Rappers and music producers attained a huge success in that time. But what exactly is rap? One could define it as " a black cultural expression that prioritises black voices from the margins of America (Rose, Hip Hop Wars 111)". Furthermore, Hip-Hop is said to be a maledominated music genre and culture. Therefore it is interesting to examine the role of women and the different perceptions of it.
3.1 Male view on women in Hip-Hop
"Bitches ain't shit but hoes and tricks", this is one of the most famous lines of rap lyrics that are linked to the devaluation of black women in Hip-Hop. Many people consider Hip Hop to be sexist, vulgar, aggressive and demeaning women (Rose, Hip Hop Wars182). The representations of black women in Hip-Hop mostly reflect the way black men want to see themselves. That means women are "props that boost male egos (Rose, Hip Hop Wars 119). They want to control women completely and represent them as they want. For instance in music videos, black girls shaking their rumps and become stage props for rap artists and this has also become synonymous with rap music (Kitwana 87). Surely every rapper would defend himself if one asks him about degrading black women. However, on the other side, they encourage young female fans "to emulate the behaviours of bitches and hoes to get attention (Dines and Humez 322)”. So they would be desired and considered sexy because bitches and hoes get all the attention in Hip-Hop. Besides this, women have started to behave like the image which is shown in the Hip-Hop music videos. Thereby they hope to receive the attention and status their longing for. Moreover, females are usually seen as Hip- Hop consumers and not creators. To put it in other words, women are just record-buyers, party-goers, club-dancers. This image exactly is the most shared and visible representation of black women in the Hip-Hop generation. Women and girls are used as props to boost their egos, treating the female body as sexual objects and divide them into groups. One group is worthy of protection and respect, and the other is not (Rose, Hip Hop Wars 119). Even established female rapper are not treated equally because men still see themselves as the ones who provide for their families and not the women. They are not taken seriously as artists who contribute something to Hip-Hop, and therefore females are not in the picture of Hip-Hop. Hence one can conclude that Hip-Hop is governed from masculinity as a hegemonic power, where women and girls have no significant role as contributors. Whether as a rapper or if one is working in the music industry, only men can do serious business. Girls and women are rarely considered regarding the rap game. This way of seeing Hip-Hop supports the assumption of Hip-Hop being misogynist and hyper masculine. Besides this, the lyrics of most rappers reflect the males' sexist attitude and display "the extent of the tension brewing between young Black men and women (Kitwana 87)". These gender conflicts and the issues within the black community may show that black men do not consider feminism to be a part of their rap game and Hip-Hop culture. They are more about being putting women in their places and show them that they are still subordinated. These attitudes about gender roles are deeply rooted in black male minds and consequently shape the popular culture (Kitwana 92). In addition, the objectification of women raised in the 90s. More music videos in which black girls dance on a pole were released, and the sexual content on television tripled (Kitwana 103). This wider visibility of sex in the culture has lead males to use it as a selling strategy by taking it of context and use it in their favour to sell more records. In doing so, rappers adopt the mentality that women do not have any value in their social area. For instance, Tupac did not count any women to his friends, because he could not be friends with someone who was objectifying by him and his male friends (Kutwani 103).
[...]