Controversy on Misogyny tendencies in rap lyrics
There has been much debated controversy that the lyrics of rap music change how kids are acting these days in a negative way. This involves disrespect to elders, increased acceptance of misogyny, violence, and drug use. Associate Professor Dr. Travis L. Porter and his colleagues Yuanyuan Zhang and Kate Conrad from the University of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign conducted research which they documented “Self-Esteem, Misogyny and Afrocentricity: An Examination of the Relationship between Rap Music Consumption and African American Perceptions.” In this document they state “Negative representations of women may shape rap consumers’ views of Black women.”(Porter en. al., 2009 ) To add on to that Professor Dr. Ruby M. Gourdine and her colleague Dr. Brianna P. Lemmons, both experts of social work within adolescence, explain in their document “Perceptions of Misogyny in Hip Hop and Rap: What Do the Youths Think?” that the success of rappers who use misogynistic lyrics drive kids to follow the footsteps of these artists to gain similar success. (Gourdine & Lemmons, 2011)
Gourdine and Lemmons might have a bias going into their research because they both specialize in kids and adolescents, in other words they have those parental instincts saying that anything that resembles negativity harms and influences kid’s mental growth. The document by Porter and his colleagues can make an argument because they are not saying that misogyny in people is completely caused by these lyrics and videos. They are simple doing unbiased research. Rap music is my preferred choice of music and even though there are misogynistic messages in some of the music, I do not believe the lyrics could make me a misogynistic person in the least. In fact these misogynistic lyrics make me more aware of how some men view and treat women.
Gourdine and Lemmons might have a bias going into their research because they both specialize in kids and adolescents, in other words they have those parental instincts saying that anything that resembles negativity harms and influences kid’s mental growth. The document by Porter and his colleagues can make an argument because they are not saying that misogyny in people is completely caused by these lyrics and videos. They are simple doing unbiased research. Rap music is my preferred choice of music and even though there are misogynistic messages in some of the music, I do not believe the lyrics could make me a misogynistic person in the least. In fact these misogynistic lyrics make me more aware of how some men view and treat women.