Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Hyper-Masculinity in Society

During the course so far we have been able to discuss the issue of gender representation in both the past and present. Chapters 3 and 4 have identified a “radically simplified” view of gender in media with the focus being mainly on television, movies, advertising, and print. However, there was no discussion on the matter of gender representation in music videos, only brief acknowledgment that example’s could be found.

I want to use this blog entry to discuss the issue of gender identity in music. Specifically I will discuss the representation of masculinity in Hip-Hop music and the culture of violence because of it, the represented view of women in hip-hop, as well as how the view of how masculinity has effected self identity.


Hyper-Masculinity in Hip-Hop Music and Violence:


Hip-hop, also referred to as rap music in popular culture, is a music genre that has to some become a lifestyle. Hip hop music is part of hip hop culture, which began in the Bronx, in New York City in the 1970s, predominantly among African Americans and Latino Americans. In the 1980s and 1990s hip-hop had transformed from the lyrical tales of emcees in the 1970s to lyrical complexities and a new “gangsta rap”.

The difference between hip-hop today and the roots of hip-hop is the image that has been socially constructed and supported by those in the hip-hop world. Today’s hip-hop artists and followers have used hip-hop as identification of their gender representation. I speak specifically about the feeling of masculinity in being involved in hip-hop.

Young people in hip hop use weapons and violence as the symbol of being a real man. If you are a young man growing up being told that being a “real man” is having power, being dominant, and having respect from your peers but you don’t have “real power”, but what you do have is your body and your ability to present yourself physically as someone who is worthy of respect; that is what accounts for the hyper-masculine posture that you have seen in the past. This was seen more in the early 1990s and has steered towards drug use and sex to identify masculinity today. This hyper-masculinity and violence in hip-hop could by some be considered to be proven by the effects model from other forms of media like movies and television violence.

I use two examples here to show the difference of rap today and rap 30 years ago.



Hyper-Masculinity and sexism in Hip-Hop:

Hip-hop has also given rise to sexism and the identifying masculinity with the act of womanizing and by objectifying women in music videos. In the music video “Tip Drill”; Nelly is seen swiping a credit card down the backside of a female dancer. He is viewed as so important and so powerful and the women are so many that they do not matter that they are eye candy and they are just worthless. This image sends a message to young impressionable minds to tell them that “if I want to be a man, be like Nelly, this is how I have to be.”

I remind you that hip-hop music videos are the only place you will find this concept, however, this is the area I have chosen to expound upon.


Nelly-Tip Drill-Explicit

Hyper-Masculinity and Self-Identity:

Finally, I want to discuss the concept of how self-identity is affected by hyper-masculinity in society. I define self-identity just how it sounds, how one identifies oneself. When it pertains to gender identity I feel that gender identity is formed off of both the concept of biological determinism and social construction. Biology defines how you feel you should be, and society will describe how to fine tune how you should be. An example would be, a female who feels sexy, already feels like a woman and feels sexy based off of what society tells her sexy really is, she chooses for herself if what society tells her is sexy aligns with her identity, but I still feel they go hand in hand.

Desired Feeling+Societal Perception of Feeling+Individual Choice=Self-Identification

Now, where a problem with some people arises is with the issue of feeling societal mis-identity because of gender representation. The feeling that you feel like a man, you want people to see you as a man, but you are treated the opposite causes a gender mis-identification. In an article I found in the Texas Prison system, inmates are made to wear pink outfits, pink socks, pink underwear, and even live with pink walls. The use of pink is said to be calming, but inmates often times say that it affects their masculinity. I first found this issue when I came across an article about boxer Mike Tyson who had stated that he had a problem with being dressed in pink as well as rapper DMX's response to his masculinity and the effect of him wearing pink.

Pink Jails?

Mike Tyson: Man of Pink

DMX: Pretty pissed in Pink


As you can see with these examples, gender representation in media can expand very deeply into any type of genre or medium. I am sure with more research and further looking even jazz music, and possibly even classical music you could find connections to hyper-masculinity in society.