HIP HOP AS A PRODUCTION OF URBAN SPACE
BY STUDENT
Graffiti, breaking dancing and rap, all key aspects
of Hip Hop, emerged in poor urban communities as expressions of status and
youthful rebellion in the 1960s. All of these aspects of poor black and
Hispanic culture within poor urban areas such as the South Bronx are results of
years of neglect from the city. Not surprisingly, the majority of Hip Hop
production came from the male populations of these areas. Females did in fact
participate and contribute a lot to this new uprising comprised of low class
minority groups but were also treated unfairly. The struggle by female
minorities to gain status and reputation was much more difficult than their
male counterparts, why was this? Is it because woman throughout history have
continuously been marginalized no matter what the music genre? Through this
essay the obscene truths of woman marginalization will be revealed in order to try
and answer these questions.
Sexism occurred in all the aspects of Hip Hop one
of them being in graffiti. Graffiti is and was very dangerous mostly due to the
location the art would be displayed. Although there were other factors such as
being caught and jailed doing so, it didn’t match up to the risks taken to
write the art where everyone could see such as high places and in the early
stages, train cars. The problem with woman and graffiti was the sexual
harassment they received from other male writers through the graffiti itself. Rumors
spread about these high status female graffiti artists led them to take higher
risks to make sure their reputation stayed intact (Rose 44). Along with
graffiti there was break dancing. Breaking dancing was incredibly competitive to
the point where there was constant violence between groups. According to one of
the most well known breakers, Crazy Legs, him and his crew had to fight other
crews almost every weekend. Like in graffiti, women were discouraged from break
dancing and even if they participated they would continue to be discouraged by
male critics stating certain moves were “unfeminine”. Women who went against
this stereotype were ridiculed as masculine due to the apparent view by males
that they shouldn’t be able to physically assert themselves as so (Rose 48-49).
Lastly, there is the most prominent aspect of Hip
Hop culture, rap. Rap music has quite the reputation for objectifying woman and
like graffiti and break dancing; their fellow males didn’t particularly
encourage women rappers. Although there was a clear lack of approval towards groups
with woman, many have found success such as Salt ‘N’ Pepa and the Funky Four
Plus One More. There are many speculations about the lack of woman involvement
in rap due to lack of encouragement due to basics that need to be known but
aren’t taught to woman. This common lack of knowledge includes knowledge about
operating stereo equipment because women were rarely welcomed into male social
spaces to learn about the technology. If welcomed, it wasn’t always comfortable
for them to spend these extended periods of time in male homes (Rose 57). Along
with the struggle of being a poor minority group in urban America in which all
members of Hip Hop had to face, woman were a subject of their male counterparts
and treated unfairly due to their gender. Sexism has existed for ages but the
prominence of it within Hip Hop is intriguing. While both male and females both
fought for the same cause, women are continuously pushed out. Unfortunately, an
acceptable conclusion has yet to appear as to why these sexist acts occur but
is definitely of importance. One could only hope after reading this post more
puzzle pieces can be put together to try and grasp an individual understanding
of this frustrating issue.
Reference:
Rose, Tricia. Black Noise: Rap Music and Black
Culture in Contemporary America. Hanover, London: University Press of New
England, 1994.
This post brings up one of the key themes in American history: the status of females. These women experience downward mobility in every aspect of their lives, they struggle to overcome the ‘social rules’ created by men to put them in a lower status than men. I liked reading this post because it made me look at the woman’s struggle in a different perspective than the one I initially had. I used to think about the woman’s struggle only in relation to job opportunities and their inability to have the same rights as men, but this post discusses the issue in regard to their ability to express themselves in society. Forms of street art such as break-dancing and hip-hop were meant to bring society’s attention to the problems that a minority group experiences. One would think that a given minority group would work together to overcome those issues and it is fascinating to see that it didn’t work that way. The women were the group that struggled inside given minority groups because they couldn’t express themselves.
ReplyDeleteI really like that this blog post shines light on the struggle within a struggle. These women not only faced opposition from other races, but they also faced opposition from their own people. It's unfortunate that to this day a person's gender is given precedence over their talent. Graffiti, break dancing, and rap were mediums for disenchanted youth to express themselves, but women had to think twice before expressing the same feelings that men could express without thinking twice. The women held the burden of racism from the society at large and the burden of sexism from their own societies. This is one of the reasons I really respect the females of that time that followed their hearts and expressed their feelings despite the increased dangers they faced. They are a sign of hope that the presence of obstacles does not mean they cannot succeed.
ReplyDeleteI have learned of discrimination based off of race, ethnicities, skin color, and now gender. Discrimination is discrimination regardless of the pretenses. I think nothing lends itself to discrimination and it is interesting to read that gender is a problem for such minority groups that would have much more power had they been uniting and fighting. I did not know sexism was experienced in graffiti making.
ReplyDeleteIf an excuse for discrimination against the Chinese in San Francisco and the immigration of latinos is job competition then what is the excuse for gender discrimination in hip hop? Can it also be attributed to job competition? Are males in hop hop fearful of women in hip hop having more success? Or can we relate this back to thinking there are specific jobs made for men and specific jobs meant for women?
This post reminds me of the class in which we examined some of the earliest rap music videos that contained highly misogynistic and homophobic lyrics. Although these were sentiments of the time period, it is disappointing that they incorporated themselves into this influential movement. When all is said and done, the best we can do with this information is to value hip hop in terms of its productive part in shaping our conceptions of spatial equality and to incorporate the role of gender into future discussions and protests.
ReplyDeleteI think that sexism, controlled by the notion of male dominance, is hardwired into a species. From a biological standpoint (and I am not an expert in this), we see many species where male dominance occurs. However, this is no excuse. Humans are incredibly more advanced and civilized than any other species we know of. All humans have the capacity to realize that treating woman (or anyone, for that matter) as less than equal is downright wrong. A mix of upbringing, educational level, where you grew up, and many other factors all play a role in determining how you treat other people. When you are raised to view a group of people as "lesser," it is not your fault, but rather the fault of who raised you to think like that. I still believe the people raised like this can have their views changed to realize they can and should be better people. Maybe some day that will be the case, but I doubt a change on a national/global scale will happen any time soon.
ReplyDeleteSexism in the country, even the world has occurred for many years. Males have always thought that they are dominant over females with many examples of male dominance in nature. Though it is built into a species, this should not be the case in society whatsoever. If a woman wants to engage in the same practices that men do, then they should be able to do so. They should not be looked upon as being less feminine for being involved in hip hop or graffiti. These are all forms of expression and we are all people, no matter what a persons gender is. Everyone in society should be able to express themselves anyway they want, without being judged or have to succumb to racial stereotypes of the time.
ReplyDeleteSexism is a struggle for many to this day, and it always has been. So my question is why do males think that they are so dominant over females? Why is this a stereotype that society accepts? Graffiti, rap, and hip hop culture in general were all about getting your name out, and to claim a spot in society. It is not unfeminine to have these goals and to try to pursue them. How do these ideas even emerge? It almost seems like a natural, normal thought process to think that women are inferior to men in our society, so how can that be changed? If the discrimination against an inferior other isn't necessarily frowned upon, how can anyone expect it to ever change?
ReplyDelete