Hip-Hop and Gender Stereotypes

Is hip-hop simply an reflection of the signs and symbols that society has put forth already, or another avenue in which society can directly proliferate its views?

The Major Signs of Hip-Hop Music

Thug Image

Women

Berger, A.A (2005), Semiotic Analysis, Media Analysis Techniques. Sage Publications. Thousand Oaks, CA.

Burroughs, T.S. (2007), Fighting the power. The Crisis, 114(6), Retrieved from Ebscohost.

Calhoun, J. (2005). “Will the real slim shady please stand up?: masking whiteness, encoding hegemonic masculinity in Eminiem, The Howard Journal of Communication, 16 (4), Retrieved from Ebscohost

Chang J. (2007). It’s a hip-hop world. Foreign Policy, (163), Retrieved from Ebscohost

Grealy, L. (2008). Negotiating cultural authenticity in hip-hop: mimicry, whiteness, and Eminem. Continuum: Journal of Media and Cultural Studies, 22(6), Retrieved from Ebscohost.

Jeffries, M. (2009). Can a Thug (get some) Love? Sex, Romance, and the definition of a hip-hop ‘thug’. Women & Language, 32(2), 35-41. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier Database.

Iwamoto, D. (2000). Tupac Shakur: understanding the indentity formation of hyper-masculinity of a popular hip-hop artist. The Black Scholar, 33, 44-49. Retrieved from Ebscohost.

Kaplan, E.A. (2008). Stereotypes for sale. The crisis, 115(4), retrieved from Ebscohost.

Leopard, D. (2007) Slap that bastard! Aggressive masculinity as evidence and expression in student-produced media” Paper presented at the annual meeting og the NCA 93rd Annual Convention, TBA, Chicago, IL Online <APPLICATION/PDF>. (2010). Retrieved from http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p192828_index.html

Monk-Turner, E., Kouts, T., Parris, K, & Webb, C. (2007). Gender role stereotyping in advertisements on three radio station: does musical genre make a difference. Journal of Gender Studies, 16 (2). Retrieved from Ebscohost.

Peterson, L. (2009). Hip hop Warzones. Women’s Review of Books, 26(6). Retrieved from Ebscohost.

Towns, A.R. (2008). Hip-Hop culture & communication. Univeristy of North Carolina: Department of Communication Studies, Retrieved from Academic Search Premier database.

Guns

Cyphers

(Burroughs, 2007)

Role of Women

Homosexuality in Hip-Hop

Media with abundances of violence, sex, and drug use

is readily availble virually anywhere in our society today.

Bling

Mainstream Media & Society

(Towns, 2008)

Slang

Responses

Conscious Rap

Personal Masculine Responsibilty

(Towns, 2008)

References

Stop the Violence Movement

Misogyny

Women are portrayed as commodities

in many forms of rap music, as well as the

terms "bitch" and "ho" being used

commonly to refer to other people as

well as directly to women.

Materialism

(Leopard, 2007)

(Kaplan, 2008)

Rap music and videos flash images of

cars and other material goods as to

proclaim status and/or wealth. This in turn suggests to the audience that such material things are essential for hip-hop credibility. Young listeners in low socioeconomic sectors are particularly suceptible to this symbolism.

Anti-Homosexuality

So with that in mind, ask yourself this....

A great stimga exists about the

discussion of gays in hip-hop. The same rappers who were known for calling out others as "pussy", "bitch ass", and "faggot" have generally refused any civil discourse on the topic.

(Grealy, 2008)

(Calhoun, 2005)

Symbols of Hip-Hop

The explicit violence and aggression

featured in rap lyrics plays a role in

the increased violence in the streets

and between rap artists. According to some studies, the highest concentration of rap listeners was found in areas with high crime rates.

(Monk-Turner, 2007)

Violence

Hip-Hop Music & Gender Stereotypes

Where else are these signs & symbols prevalent?

I'll let you answer that for yourself...

A Semiotic Analysis of Masculinity in Hip-Hop

Approximately 70% of rap music today

is bought by white consumers. This is

keeps many hip-hoppers on the

soundscan charts, whether they like it or

not.

Consumerism

(Jeffries, 2009)

By Mike Donnelly

(Chang, 2007)

What began as friendly competition between rappers quickly turned into intense rivalries,

oftentime boiling down to heated personal attacks. Some of these situations turn physical in a short period of time.

Image is just as important, if not more,

than the rapper's actual music in many

cases. Not only that, but much of their

music exists soley to bolster their

hip-hop credible image.

Competition

Masculinity In Rap Music

Image

What is the source of this and what has been the response by others in the hip-hop

community?

To find out, we will analyze the masculine culture of hip-hop music through

the scope of Semiotic Analysis.

The presence of hyper-masculine themes and imagery

in both the music and the imagary of hip-hop culture has been criticised ever since its acceptance into mainstream society in the 1980's.

(Jeffries, 2009)

Conclusion

The Symbol of Hip Hop: Tupac Shakur

What is Semiotic Analysis?

Summary of Symbols in Hip-Hop Music

The Quinessential Figure of Masculinity

in Hip-Hop: Tupac Amaru Shakur

Semiotics is concerned with how meaning is generated and conveyed

in "texts" (i.e. films, TV, magazines, other media). The dissection and study of the signs and symbols that make up a text helps us understand the underlying meaning of the text as a whole.

(Berger, 2005)

A symbol has a signifier and is never wholly arbitrary.

A sign is a combination of concept and sound-image, a combination that cannot be seperated.

(Berger, 2005)

In semiotic analysis, an arbitrary and temporary seperation is made

between content and form, and attention is focused on the system

of signs that compose a text.

The hyper-masculine presence found in

hip-hop music is the result of a combination

of factors:

• Low socioeconomic status of listeners & participants.
• A media system which glorifies power and status.
• High crime rates in hip-hop dominant regions.
• Varying emotional factors in individuals who listen to rap.
• Most visibly, however, it seems that none of these hyper-

masculine signs and symbols were originated from hip hop itself. TV and movies have been glorifying the masculine roles in sex, money, and violence for many years prior to the existence of hip-hop.

As such, many of his lyrics contained the typical thug content and imagery commonplace in rap at

that time period.

He was also a key figure in one of the most violent periods in hip-hop history:

The East Coast-West Coast beef in the mid-90s.

(Iwamoto, 2000)

Being an educated individual, however, and exposed to the

philosophies of the Black Panther party and heavily involved

in poetry, Shakur's socially conscious and afrocentric lyrics

also inflitrated his lyrical content throughout his career.

What "Texts" Are We Talking About Here?

Primarily, the hip-hop culture

Shakur himself has become a symbol of hip-hop, as

a multifaceted individual who expresses his emotions, whether aggressive or intimate, through the artform.

(Iwamoto, 2000)

Tupac was an individual who dealt with many

external and internal conflicts throughout his career and life.

(Iwamoto, 2000)

...and music.

Through the mediums of TV...