By Marissa Mooney |A&E Editor|
As the mainstream music industry has grown over the years, a substantial majority of the songs being played on the radio are far from appropriate.
Not even a simple replacement of an inappropriate word with something cheesy and age-appropriate can help, mostly because hip-hop and urban street culture has often praised the demeaning of women.
Popular old school hip-hop artists like Too Short, Dr. Dre, 50 Cent, and Snoop Dogg are just a few that seem to embrace the disrespect of women.
Snoop’s famous line “Bitches ain’t s***, but hoes and tricks,” and Too Short’s song “Gangstas and Strippers” are so inappropriate, that it may not even be appropriate to write in publication.
The culture expresses the idea that being a pimp to a woman is alright. Their defense is that they are talking about a reality of life and dare people to deny it.
The most interesting aspect about hip-hop artists deeming this language towards women to be okay is the reactions and actions women take and receive when listening to this music.
When a young woman, particularly a fan of the artist, listens to lyrics like “bitches and hoes,” the artists encourage fans to emulate those behaviors.
What’s worse is some women participate in not just the behaviors, but participating in the videos.
They are sometimes known as a “video hoe” or video vixen. When some women participate, whether it be through behaviors, starring in a rapper’s video, or even singing along in the car, it is implying women’s cooperation with sexism.
Behaving hyper-sexually, for some women, is the only means to making any gains at all.
Being anti-sexist in a world that exploits this doesn’t come so easily in a system that rewards us for participating.
Hyper-sexism works when women are isolated and pitted against one another.
Famed rapper 2 Chainz sings about wanting a big booty hoe for his birthday so I suppose if you don’t have a big booty, then you aren’t going to meet 2 Chainz’ needs.
Another example is A$AP Rocky’s hit with fellow rappers 2 Chainz, Drake, and Kendrick Lamar who express that they love bad bitches and that’s their f*cking problem.
Instead of making excuses or trying to defend and deflect, women should be saying it is hurtful for all women as a whole.
This has proven to be harder said than done, however, women are perceived as ugly, aggressive, loud, and annoying if they speak out, and if they are not sexual, then they are a letdown.
But even if women were to speak out against hyper-sexism, rappers will still continue to invent these “bitches and hoes” within their lyrics.
Rappers or hip-hop artists are often made out to be pimps and players a majority of the time, and without women being of service to them, they won’t have that status.
Women should be in charge of their own sexual imagery and have the freedom to express themselves they see fit.
Women need to be empowered to get rid of what prevents us from reaching our full potential and help create a just society away from hyper-sexism and racism.
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