Misogyny, homophobia, toxic masculinity and queer theory were all tenets we discussed in Unit II. We queered Hip-Hop; we criticized, and we interrogated it too. We were left with probably more unanswered than answered questions. So, I'd like to ask you two questions which still remain with me today.
1. What do you think the impact of toxic masculinity within Hip-Hop will have on its audience?
2. Will Hip-Hop ever be a space of acceptance for anything non-heteronormative and non-patriarchal?
Please explain your answers thoroughly, and don't forget to include a media component.
Due: Fri., 3/23/18 by the beginning of class.
The impact of the toxic masculinity portrayed in Hip Hop is far greater than any of us can of us can imagine. To be specific the immediate audience of hip hop is affected the most. As African American men consume this music and images they start to internalize these ways of life. A man who can relate to the image and sees himself in these artists, he may find justification and encouragement for his violent, emotionless, misogynistic way of life. For a man who can not really identify with the images, it may cause internal conflict as feeling less of a man or lacking cultural identity if he is not portraying these toxic qualities. This is because these images are not viewed as wrong but as something to strive to achieve, something you should want to be like. The video attached shows how hip hop in a sense has shaped manhood and masculinity, the affects of not accepting the toxic masculinity, and the ideas of manhood before and after these issues entered the hip hop realm. African American women who are often the victims of this toxic masculinity, will continue to be devalued and degraded. Their lives will be limited by the images of them portrayed as collateral damage in regards to toxic masculinity. Men will think this is how they are supposed to treat a women and women will continue to be restricted, confined and oppressed by the very people who are supposed to be leading them.
ReplyDeleteI do not think that Hip Hop will ever be a place of acceptance for anything non-heteronormative and non-patriarchal because it thrives on opposition. During the vary birth of hip hop it derived from the opposition of the oppression of men. Women's issues and views were never a real focal point. Hip Hop is mainly focused on relieving and freeing men and their struggles. Subsequently by empowering the Black man, it was important to diminish the power of the woman. I think that hip hop thrives on the aggression, violence and opposition of things different from themselves. Things that are non-heteronormative and non-patriarchal cannot be accepted until the people within hip hop change the culture and mainstream ideas of what is "cool".
https://vimeo.com/83401471
Toxic masculinity will continue to have a huge impact on its audience. Each misogynistic, demeaning, and braggadocio lyric shows listeners/viewers that what these rappers are saying is socially and morally correct. As the audience for hip-hop music continues to get younger, these young children will continue to emulate what they see. Young African American boys will continue to believe in the alpha male. They will continue to believe that they need to be tough, strong, and a protector. They will continue to believe that crying is not masculine, while pushing their feelings away it will promote emotion suppression. This can lead to metal illness and stress. Drug abuse will also increase because hip-hop encourages taking multiple types of drugs. Young boys will believe not respecting and degrading women is alright. Ultimately, causing women to have self-esteem issues and false realities of how they should behave (ride or die).
ReplyDeleteI believe there will be a time when music will be non-patriarchal and non-heteronormative but not anytime soon. Many artist rap about their experience and when you are only taught and shown hypermasculinity that is what you are going to rap about. For years, many rap artist grew up in similar situations so there is a reason behind why many rap songs have the same message. On the other hand, there are rappers who grew up in the suburbs who rap and glorify this message of violence or misogyny because if they don't they won't get recognized or a record deal.
Within the this Ted Talk of Lecrae, he explains it best. Hip-hop can be a direct reflection of urban society. Thus, there will continually be disadvantaged black men rapping about their experience while pushing hypermasculinity. He also explains why hip hop is going to continue to be the way it is.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFas9cd8ZZ8
*Within this Ted Talk of Lecrae,
DeleteI feel that the toxic masculinity within hip hop impacts its listeners in so many different ways. Modern day hip hop is filled with men degrading not only women but other men as well. These rappers are becoming more and more vulger and are sending the message to their main listeners (young people and children) that it is okay to degrade the people around them. It has beome so common now that people are almost desensitized to it until it is brought up by someone else. The toxic masculinity in hip hop is glorifying things like drugs which makes people want to follow their lead, and how many women they can sleep with. Some women have strayed away from self respect in order to please the men in their lives. One particular example is when Biggie referred to the members of Xscape as the "ugly ass xscape bitches". For one, Biggie was wrong in calling them out of their name, btu he had no reason to disrespect them in that way. Since they weren't half naked and wore baggie clothes, he thought it was okay to publicly embarrass them. In the videos included, you can see how Xscape started to change their style in their music videos and how they performed because of the way Biggie spoke about them.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, I do not think that hip hop will ever be a space of acceptance for anything non-heteronormative and non-patriarchal. One of the most important components of hip hop is to be hard and come off as manly. Rappers are constanly feeding off of one another's hypermasculinity, and the second they display anything else they are placing a target on their backs. There are doubble standards however. It is okay for a girl to display characteristics of he opposite sex, but a guy can not. Men are so sensitive about their masculinity, and anything that poses a threat to maintaining the image that they are hard will get major backlash.
Before
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QnWrM7Xhpn4
After
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDHggk9NlN8
The impact of toxic masculinity within hip-hop on its audience will be dangerous. People are growing insensitive about the effects of their actions on the people around them, so it is only fair to assume that this will continue. Even now, the violence of toxic masculinity is glamorized in lines like “If I gotta slap a pussy-ass nigga, I’ma make it look sexy. If I gotta go hard on a bitch, I’ma make it look sexy.” Toxic masculinity in Hip Hop can only reinforce negative ideas that have been portrayed up to this point; this negativity is like a woman being taught that she only has value if she looks a certain way or that she only has one particular purpose. Lil Wayne opened up one of his more famous songs with “Uh, I like a long haired, thick redbone, Open up her legs, then filet mignon that pussy, I'mma get in and on that pussy, If she let me in, I'mma own that pussy, Go on, throw it back and bust it open like you 'posed to, Girl I got that dope dick, now come here let me dope you, You gon' be a dope fiend, your friends should call you Dopey" The legacy of hip hop, if it continues on this road, will be a desensitized group of individuals who do not recognize the damage that their words and actions are causing. Problems like addiction, domestic violence, etc. will become less serious in the eyes of the hip hop audience.
ReplyDeleteI think hip hop will grow and develop into a space that will be more inclusive of non-heteronormative and non-patriarchal viewpoints. I think that females like Nicki Minaj and recently, Cardi B have helped combat the patriarchal viewpoint. I think that R&B has begun the transformation from heteronormative to more inclusive with artists like Frank Ocean, so crossovers and collaboration with artists like him cold help speed the process. The presence of homosexuality in media like television, I think will soon put more pressure on the world of Hip Hop, forcing rappers and artists to find more ways to bridge the gap. Eventually, artists are going to have to compromise in the things that they say in order to reach an audience that is becoming more and more open to non-heterosexual and non-patriarchal ideas.
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ReplyDeleteToxic masculinity has its impact within its name. The effect is negative, and many don’t even realize that music is shaping their way of thinking. Hip-hop makes young men think that being rough, violent, and lacking emotion is the right way to live. Men think that it’s okay to use women as if they are “objects” and unfortunately, women have adopted these beliefs too. Women don’t even realize that these men don’t think highly of them, and that there is no respect. In “Want That Old Thing Back” by Notorious B.I.G., he mentions sleeping with sisters (“how come you and your sister make similar faces”), cousins (“she mad because what we had didn’t last, I’m glad because her cousin let me hit the ass”), being rough, and not understanding why the females are reacting as if they are in pain (“y’all be cryin’ like I’m killing ya bitches”). Another issue is the women thinking that they are supposed to stick by their man’s side even if he is doing something that could affect her. This is why the African-American women’s incarceration rate is increasing so quickly, as Gwendolyn Pough mentioned in “What it do Shorty?”. Men should not feel as if they are not manly if they do not have certain qualities, and women should not feel that being a sex object makes you special.
ReplyDeleteIn some ways I feel as if Hip-hop will evolve to the point where non-heteronormative and non-patriarchal beliefs are widely accepted. There has been a lot of change with Hip-hop, and I think that it can get out of the toxic ideas, but I also feel as if a part of it will always be there. Toxic masculinity is so deeply embedded in Hip-hop and its listeners that it would probably be a long time before any dramatic change is seen.
**This is the audio for “Want That Old Thing Back” by Notorious B.I.G, Ja Rule, and Ralph Tresvant: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oINo7dyCMR8
Toxic masculinity within hip-hop will indefinitely have a negative impact on the audience. Toxic masculinity in hip-hop is full of aggression, guns, violence, substance abuse, and misogyny. People learn from what they see and hear through media. So, if we add on a catchy beat and lyrics, it’s not hard for people to pick up on it too. African Americans are mainly affected when it comes to toxic masculinity. Hip-hop and rap are the main genres of music African Americans listen to and are surrounded by. If African Americans grow up listening to this music, they will ultimately learn from the music and reenact the same behavior in the music and their videos. In “Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes” we see rappers specifically are held in a box by toxic masculinity. We learned that violence, sex, drugs, and money are the things that sell, and any other type of music will never see the light of day. This not only traps rappers, but the listeners as well. If all we hear on the radio is violence, sex, drugs, and money, listeners will feel influenced to do the same thing. The audience, mainly men, also tend to relate to the rappers and this gives them justification to continue their toxic masculinity. Growing up listening to rap and hip-hop, males, mainly African American boys and men, are surrounded by the idea that they need to act hard, be tough, and be the breadwinner. Toxic masculinity teaches men that it is okay to treat women however they want. Women, mainly African American women are surrounded by the idea that they have to respect and obey men and be the “ride or die” chick. Toxic masculinity within hip-hop continuously holds down women and allows misogyny to be allowed within society.
ReplyDeleteI believe it will take a long time for hip-hop to be a space for anything non-heteronormative or non-patriarchal. I believe it is possible, but I don’t believe it will happen anytime soon. As much as we believe rappers to be the reason for putting out toxic music, it is actually systematic. White men with the power, who own the radio stations and control what is produced will always have their say in the end. Referring back to what I said earlier about “Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes”, we learned music will not sell if it isn’t about money, drugs, sex, and violence. Any other kind of music would not sell, especially if it is non-heteronormative. Currently hip-hop culture is full of homophobic views. The hip-hop community would not support anything non-heteronormative and it would be hard for any rapper or hip-hop artist to make it in the industry. The media content I added for this blog is a review of “Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes” and it gives insight as to why there is homophobia in the hip-hop community. It speaks about how the inability for men to tap into their emotions puts up a guard for anything emotional within music and puts up a façade that mean always have to act hard and anything would not sell.
Video: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7eHKW4pEAEs)
Toxic masculinity has a negative impact on its audience. Specifically young African American men and also women. What we listen to in hip-hop can change the way we view other people as well as ourselves. Music influences everyone in many different ways. Within hip-hop, you have young black men listening to certain artist’s lyrics and feel as though that is how they should live their lives. While listening to these different songs, the main thing you hear is drugs, money, and sex. Then you have these artists degrading women and treating them however they want making it seem as if that is ok to do. On the other hand you have women listening to these lyrics and some feeling as though they have to be submissive to men and be a “ride or die.” In one of the presentations, we watched Drake mentions that hip-hop is funny and that it's not to be taken serious. Although Drake may view what he says as a joke, many people in the audience do not take hip-hop as a joke. People live by these rules and lyrics. While rappers may not live by it, they have to be mindful of the message they are putting out there in the environment. For example, if your idol says that you should have a lot of women and you have to be "hard", to a certain extent you are going to believe them. More men will try to live by this toxic masculine lifestyle because their favorite rap artist "lives" by it. I quoted "lives" because we know that many of these rappers don't really live the lifestyle they try to portray. Yet what they portray negatively influences their listeners.
ReplyDeleteI do not believe that hip-hop will ever be accepting of anything non-patriarchal or non-heteronormative because many of rappers do not believe that hip-hop is like this. The hip-hop culture is surrounded by toxic masculine views and people are so used to this that anything different would be a problem. Most people are not as accepting to switching things up so I think it would be very difficult for an artist who agrees with those non-heteronormative views to be successful in the industry. In this video, Bill O'Reilly had an interview with Cam'ron and Dame Dash. Within this video, both Dame Dash and Cam'ron failed to see the impact hip-hop has on people. If rappers continue to ignore its effects on its audience and how impactful their lyrics are hip-hop will never change.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=fuhPTTa2Dkc
The impact of toxic masculinity in hip hop is one of the biggest epidemics to take over hip hop. For years male artists have flaunted their wealth, strength, and ability to have and control several women. The concept of toxic masculinity has been passed down from generation to generation like some sort of story or family trait. Due to this each generation is affected at a even younger age than the previous. For example, many individual in my generation enjoy listening to 2pac, Biggie, Nas, and similar artists. Individuals have this example of toxic masculinity as well as current artists. Toxic masculinity directly impacts its audience because young boys feel they need to be hard, emotionless, and most of all violent. The traits listed, especially violence can lead to premature death or overall a horrible life, as can being “emotionless and hard”
ReplyDeleteI do not think that hip hop will ever be a space of acceptance for anything non-heteronormative and non-patriarchal. I think this because hip hop is built on a system of braggadocio, where it seems in order to be successful one must exert their dominance by bragging on material things and showing themself to be the best, exhibiting themself to be the alpha-male or alpha-female. In order to conform one must be seem as hard and in control no matter the gender. The concept of braggadocio not only hold hip hop back from novel ideas and types of artists but is, “rapidly holding back the evolution of black culture”, as spoken about by Kid Cudi in an Arsenio Hall interview. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAmD1vs1rQU
Toxic Masculinity in hip-hop I think will negatively effect it's audience. The toxic masculinity in hip-hop that continues to increase the incarceration rates, masonry, and gang related activity for it's intended audience. The toxic masculinity in hip-hop will cause the general public to accept the black man as a symbol of toxic masculinity. Not only are the people who are in the situations that rappers rap about feel encourages to continue their negative activity, but they are showing to the that this is the way that they want to be seen. This image takes a role in society's treatment of black men and women making it harder for them to progress in society, let alone be treated equally when racial profiling comes into play.
ReplyDeleteI don't believe that hip-hip will ever be a place that accepts anything too far from the historic norm, especially when it comes to sexuality. I do hope that as more women come into places of power and leadership that the amount of female rappers will increase. However, I don't see much hope for the LGBTQ community despite their recent strides in society. The amount of toxic masculinity in hip-hop can get so extreme that it contradicts itself. Letting a gay rapper come to fame or allowing a famous rapper to come out the closet will shed light on these not so masculine moments. After talking about toxic masculinity in class I looked back and found several things that made me question the straightness of some rappers. Lil Wayne and Birdman came out with a song called stuntin like my daddy. I had never in my life heard a man call another man daddy. Never. It's a classic case of extreme toxic masculinity contradicting himself. He is devaluing women, the people straight masculine men are supposed to be about, to the point where they are meaningless and actually glorifying a man to the point that they would do anything for him. Notice in the video that rarely are the women seen with the men.
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=stuntin+like+my+daddy+lil+wayne
The impact that toxic masculinity has within hip-hop on its audience is huge. Toxic masculinity tends to permeate people's lives especially those marginalized by their race, gender and class. The audience will be impacted immediately because they will soak it in internally thinking that it is okay to keep in emotions or use violence as an outlet. It is just like parents teaching all the little boys that "men don't cry." They are going to take that message and apply it to just about every aspect of their lives. When it comes to hip hop artists promoting the use of drugs and domestic violence, they are only reinforcing negative ideas that some tend to have already seen because they see it sometimes at home, especially in certain communities. Seeing it at home, on television and music videos will only make them believe that it is acceptable because everyone around them is doing it. Other stereotypically masculine traits such as self-reliance and the stifling of emotions tend to be correlated with problems in men such as depression, stress and substance abuse. With the idea of the man being the protector, provider, and strong-minded person, young men will continue to feel like they have all the power which sometimes make them believe that women are inferior to them and they start disrespecting and degrading women. The degradation and disrespect doesn't just end with women, they also do the same with other men as well. Toxic masculinity has already made an impact and that impact will only getting stronger and stronger unless we do something about it now.
ReplyDeleteI think hip hop will probably become a space for non-heteronormative and non-patriarchal views. Just not anytime soon. It is going to take a while for the transition to occur which is going to happen over decades, in my opinion. Patriarchal and heterosexual ideas have been rooted in hip hop since the beginning so for those ideas to change it will take a long process. Sooner or later artist will have to change or fix certain things to fit their audience if they want to make money and that would include incorporating matriarchal and homosexual ideals somewhere within their platform since their audience will include those people alike. In this link below, I included a video about Fat Joe talking about gay rappers in hip hop and how he feels that gay people are already in power in hip hop so it is no surprise to him that some of the artist that he has already worked with are probably gay. The change is soon to come. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11pIY6Rj7XU
I think the toxic masculinity of Hip Hop will particularly influence its male audiences in the way that they will be increasingly less sensitized to violence against women. We are seeing increasingly more young rappers reference violence against women in their music, and how that plays out in their real lives with rappers like XXXTentacion and his domestic violence charges. (https://www.spin.com/2017/12/xxxtentacion-accusations-timeline/) What's more troubling as a consumer, though, is the way that other rap consumers have responded to these kinds of artists. There are more calls to separate his music from his private life than to get justice for his victims, and those attitudes are apparent in the cases of other artists as well.
ReplyDeleteIf more artists continue to come out and insist on being themselves I think HH could definitely become a space that accepts things that aren't heteronormative. Artists like Uzi and Thug continue to push the boundaries of style and presentation in their social lives. I was just listening to the show with DJ Akademics yesterday, and he talked about how A Boogie was making it okay to "be a thug with a heart" by talking about heartbreak and relationships with women in his music. So slowly but surely, if a more consistent flow of artists who fall outside of the norm in some way or another continue to demand space to be themselves, then HH will definitely become more accommodating.
I believe that toxic masculinity will leave a negative effect on its audience for a few different reasons. Within today's culture of Hip Hop we see so many different forms of masculinity: music, videos, fashion, sports, commercialized ads, movies, etc. The target primarily hits men and women in the African American community. Often times, the concept of what is and what is not masculine are labeled to society's standards and expectations. However, cultural influences play a significant role to the problem as well. Growing up in low income neighborhoods and being surrounded in violent clusters as a young black boy can have harmful consequences on their emotional health. By gravitating certain audiences, social media also serves as a platform to promote and advertise trending topics. Over the years, Hip Hop has cultivated itself far beyond expression of storytelling, narrativizing, and semantics. The form of language in which rappers and singers communicate today, transforms the overall message that its listeners grasps from it. Using terms like "Bitch Niggaz" or "Hoe" downplays other men and women in society, but is nevertheless culturally accepted in music. The same concept applies when referring to non-heteronormatives and non-conformists in the music industry. Sexuality is generally controversial in terms of music, given that artists are publicly exploited and dehumanized for stepping outside of gender norms. Due to this, members of the LGBTQ community in Hip Hip are constantly condemned and shamed for their artistry. Its inspiring to witness feminist rappers and singers in Hip Hop culture who have innovated revolutionary forces together against misogyny and social inequality. Acceptance can only be hoped for the next generation of artists within the Hip Hop world.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWNTMmktoCQ (Video games and hip hop music often take the rap for inciting violence in the young, but urban youth specialist and lecturer Craig Pinkney knows that is far from the whole story. Craig shares his experience in engaging disaffected and violent youth, going beyond systems to find the root causes. He also calls for this to move from ‘not my problem’, to an issue with much greater community support).
ReplyDeleteIt is impossible to ignore the toxic masculinity that is discussed in the hip hop culture. Its constant presence perpetuates toxic masculinity in the young generation. Hip hop is appealing to many individuals across many generations, but it makes a bigger impact on young individuals. They are more susceptible to influences. Children become used to the talk of violence and therefore more tolerable to actual violence. A great example of this is cursing in hip hop music. The increased cursing and use of derogatory terms by their young audiences has been fostered by the hip hop community. With the use of derogatory terms—such as “bitch,” “hoe,” or “chickenhead”—comes the toxic masculity of degrading women. Simply put, Hip-Hop enhances toxic masculinity and further normalizes it in society.
ReplyDeleteIt will be very hard to make the hypermasculinity disappear, and therefore it also be difficult for Hip hop to become a space of acceptance for anything non-heteronormative and non-patriarchal. Hearing or seeing non-heteronormative will be something gradual that Hip Hop transitions. LGBQ+ Hip Hop artists have been coming out even more recently. More artists are coming into the Hip Hop world as who they are instead of what society wants them to be. Azealia Banks, Young M.A, and Taylor Bennet are just a few of these artists. Anything that is openly conveyed as something different then heterosexual will not easily be accepted, but with all great changes, it takes time. The fact that LGBQT+ individuals are taking bigger roles in fashion and other components of Hip Hop proves that the transition is happening.
In the below link you can hear Amber Rose talk about the influence that the LGBQT+ population takes a role in Hip Hop. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5o_XizYfrs