Music Against Women
Music has always been a part of American society and culture; it has been used as a way to create change as well as to unite people of different cultural backgrounds. Music has also been at the center of modern relief efforts in the USA where music artists have often come together to raise awareness and funds through musical collaborations. There are many genres of music for Americans to choose from, so there is a place for everyone to find what allows them self-expression. Whether it is jazz or rap, classical or heavy metal, each musical genre has a culture and set of values that are associated with its listeners. Many people like to dress, speak, act and overall lead their lives in line with others who share their taste …show more content…
She has used her platform and musical abilities to spread ideas of feminism and the importance of valuing women and treating them with respect. In her song u.n.i.t.y. Queen Latifah speaks out on the adverse treatment of women in the hip hop culture in terms of harassment and the many sexual slurs used to describe women. In the video, Queen Latifah brings up an important discussion on how women have welcomed and grown attached to the attention of men to the point of forgetting raps negative impact. She too had become “too blind to see just how it was affecting [her]” (u.n.i.t.y.) In this day and age, women have become very dependent on men and require so much of their approval that they are willing to conform to what men want; they have allowed men to define their worth which gives men a level of control towards women. Queen Latifah being a woman in the rap culture gives women someone to look up to and realize that they too can be a woman of value. As she says in her song unity "You ain't a b**** or a h*" there's much more to being a woman than what rap culture says. A woman can be respected and not have to become an objectified sex symbol but she has to be willing to not be conformed to rap culture's idea of a woman. Throughout the video, Latifah poses a question to the audience asking, “who you calling a …show more content…
"The Influence of Rap/Hip-Hop Music: A Mixed-Method Analysis on Audience Perceptions of Misogynistic Lyrics and the Issue of Domestic Violence." The Elon Journal of Undergraduate Research in Communications 4 (2013): n. pg. Web. 28 Nov. 2014.
"Every Girl - Lil Wayne." SongLyrics.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Dec. 2014.
"Hurt Me Soul" Lyrics." LUPE FIASCO LYRICS. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Nov. 2014.
Puvia, Elisa, and Jeroen Vaes. "Being a Body: Women's Appearance Related Self-Views and Their Dehumanization of Sexually Objectified Female Targets." Sex Roles 68.7-8 (2013): 484-95. ProQuest. Web. 14 Nov. 2014.
Rhym, Darren. ""Here’s for the Bitches": An Analysis of Gangsta Rap and Misogyny." New Page 1. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2014.
Shanara, R. Reid. "The Essence of Res(Ex)Pectability: Black Women's Negotiation of Black Femininity in Rap Music and Music Video." Meridians 8.1 (2008): 236-60. ProQuest. Web. 14 Nov. 2014.
Sharpley-Whitting, Tracy. "Rap Music Objectifies, Degrades, and Exploits Black Women." N.p., 2013. Web. 14 Nov. 2014.
U.N.I.T.Y. Perf. Queen Latifah. YouTube. 1993 Motown Records, 7 Oct. 2009. Web. 15 Nov.
Music has always been a part of American society and culture; it has been used as a way to create change as well as to unite people of different cultural backgrounds. Music has also been at the center of modern relief efforts in the USA where music artists have often come together to raise awareness and funds through musical collaborations. There are many genres of music for Americans to choose from, so there is a place for everyone to find what allows them self-expression. Whether it is jazz or rap, classical or heavy metal, each musical genre has a culture and set of values that are associated with its listeners. Many people like to dress, speak, act and overall lead their lives in line with others who share their taste …show more content…
She has used her platform and musical abilities to spread ideas of feminism and the importance of valuing women and treating them with respect. In her song u.n.i.t.y. Queen Latifah speaks out on the adverse treatment of women in the hip hop culture in terms of harassment and the many sexual slurs used to describe women. In the video, Queen Latifah brings up an important discussion on how women have welcomed and grown attached to the attention of men to the point of forgetting raps negative impact. She too had become “too blind to see just how it was affecting [her]” (u.n.i.t.y.) In this day and age, women have become very dependent on men and require so much of their approval that they are willing to conform to what men want; they have allowed men to define their worth which gives men a level of control towards women. Queen Latifah being a woman in the rap culture gives women someone to look up to and realize that they too can be a woman of value. As she says in her song unity "You ain't a b**** or a h*" there's much more to being a woman than what rap culture says. A woman can be respected and not have to become an objectified sex symbol but she has to be willing to not be conformed to rap culture's idea of a woman. Throughout the video, Latifah poses a question to the audience asking, “who you calling a …show more content…
"The Influence of Rap/Hip-Hop Music: A Mixed-Method Analysis on Audience Perceptions of Misogynistic Lyrics and the Issue of Domestic Violence." The Elon Journal of Undergraduate Research in Communications 4 (2013): n. pg. Web. 28 Nov. 2014.
"Every Girl - Lil Wayne." SongLyrics.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Dec. 2014.
"Hurt Me Soul" Lyrics." LUPE FIASCO LYRICS. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Nov. 2014.
Puvia, Elisa, and Jeroen Vaes. "Being a Body: Women's Appearance Related Self-Views and Their Dehumanization of Sexually Objectified Female Targets." Sex Roles 68.7-8 (2013): 484-95. ProQuest. Web. 14 Nov. 2014.
Rhym, Darren. ""Here’s for the Bitches": An Analysis of Gangsta Rap and Misogyny." New Page 1. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2014.
Shanara, R. Reid. "The Essence of Res(Ex)Pectability: Black Women's Negotiation of Black Femininity in Rap Music and Music Video." Meridians 8.1 (2008): 236-60. ProQuest. Web. 14 Nov. 2014.
Sharpley-Whitting, Tracy. "Rap Music Objectifies, Degrades, and Exploits Black Women." N.p., 2013. Web. 14 Nov. 2014.
U.N.I.T.Y. Perf. Queen Latifah. YouTube. 1993 Motown Records, 7 Oct. 2009. Web. 15 Nov.