Jude Spencer: It’s time to stop degrading misogyny in hip hop music

Letter to the Editor
Daily Hampshire Gazette
02/09/2016

To the editor:

It seems idiotic to type reasons why we should stop misogyny in hip-hop music. It seems so obvious why men shouldn’t treat women like toys, and put sexism in music that thousands listen to.

Rappers and hip-hop artists often use women as objects of sex, talking about them as if only their body exists. According to the “Misogyny in Hip-hop Culture” Wikipedia page, approximately 22 percent to 37 percent of rap lyrics contain some level of misogyny. Annoyingly, artists sometimes say they love a woman, and yet they still call her derogatory terms. Do you think women want that?

It’s hard to be female in hip-hop, whether you’re a fan or an artist. Many girls and women are fans of hip-hop, support these artists, and learn to accept the way rappers put them down. Many female rappers like Nicki Minaj and Iggy Azalea have to use their sex appeal to get in the game with the other hip-hop artists. And they end up putting down their own gender alongside the male artists.

There are some arguments protecting misogyny in hip-hop music, like that they don’t mean what they are saying, and they are just trying to display the masculine power. Isn’t there a way to display the masculine power without offending people? Maybe it would be more powerful to lift up women.

Some rappers try to help civil rights. Some people say Missy Elliot was the first feminist in hip-hop, how she lifted women up by just being in the hip-hop genre. She often has great female dancers with her in her videos, which is seen as a sign of leadership for women.

This is an important thing we have on our hands, and I’m asking you to look at hip-hop with a critical eye and to stand up to the artists. You can use social media and post feminist things to the public or artists. You could make a video, write an essay or a song. You can change hip-hop’s bad side.

Jude Spencer

Amherst