User:Forre179/Misogynoir

Hip Hop

The cultural modes of hip-hop are part of the Black cultural ethos and can be read as markers of Black ways of being. Hiphop was and continues to be a culture that cannot disassociate from the complexity that defines the Black experience in America. The music and culture of hip-hop, once an organic stylization and artistic expression for Black people at the margins of society. However, nowadays, the certain elements of the hip hop culture, namely, the justifiably violent, criminal, and hyper-sexualized expressions to the Black, are the only form of the genre to be mass produced. The reality TV program "Love and Hip Hop New York" is the example of showing the biases created by hip hop against the Black. This program is targeted at youth culture and broadcast on networks, so it functions as a "powerful source of socialization and ideological domination" through the representations and values conveyed by the program. It perpetuates stereotypes of people of color through the narrow lens of black masculinity and femininity.

Black masculinity

The historical understanding of masculinity is patterned after the gendered behavior of propertied, heterosexual White men. These behaviors become hegemonic in that they are imbued with power based upon what they are not.  The gender performances of men who do not live within these "norms" are relegated to the margins of society and must subjugate their gender expression in order to be acceptable. As a result, they are blamed for their so-called inadequacy and labeled as deviant.Representations of Black masculinity within mass media that depict working class Black men as aggressive thugs or as promiscuous hustlers seem designed to refute accusations that Black men are "weak" because they cannot control Black women. Notions of hegemonic masculinity make it socially unacceptable for the men to infuse their relationships with sensitivity, understanding, and a willingness to build equitable partnerships with the women they share their lives with.

Black Femininity

The women were invited to create negative images of themselves as a result of the nature of hegemonic masculinity. Dominant notions of masculinity are dependent upon the subordination of women. What privileges women do have (by way of race, class, sexuality, or ability) creates a hierarchy of valued femininities. White, able-bodied, wealthy, heterosexual women are held as the normative measure for the ways in which all other women should look and behave; and while it is true that they are still held in a subordinate position to men, the worth of women is prescribed in relation to men and White multiply privileged women. The hegemonic standard to which White multiply privileged women are held (i.e., that they be passive, accepting of gendered notions of work and family, and carry appropriately feminine physical features) is the standard for all women, even when a woman's race, social location and/or sexuality prohibits her ability to live up to this way of being. The women on Love and Hip Hop NY are not exempt from such scrutiny, and in comparison with this ideal, they are portrayed as violent, hyper-sexualized, deviant, and immoral.

Black women in the Hip-Hop Video

Regardless of opportunities for diverse media representation, studies indicate that women in the videos of male artists, especially hip-hop or rap videos, are often portrayed unfavorably; typically, multiple women are shown in provocative poses and revealing clothing and vying for the attention of the male artist or artists and their entourage. feature videos by female artists similarly present women in subservient or oversexualized roles compared to the videos of male artists. The media and entertainment industries practice an "otherness" standard as it regards young black female artists; compared to white female artists of a similar age, the marketing of mainstream black artists is hypersexualized. Their sexual attractiveness, the exotic otherness of black women are emphasized more than their actual talent.

Hegemonic Nature of Misogyny

The idea that contentious relationships are normal and even desirable aspects of relationships within Black culture promotes an oversimplification of the hegemonic nature of misogyny.  Rather than attacking the men who are on the show and their treatment of women, it is important to recognize that misogyny "does not exist in a vacuum but is instead part of a larger social, cultural, and economic system that sustains and perpetuates the ideology."

Mass Media

It is a system that constructs a sense of reality through the transmission of news, advertising, and entertainment. Because the mass media operates as a system, its construction of reality is not arbitrary. It has observable operating patterns characterized by a simultaneous process of self and external reference. The mass media creates and disseminates information based on information it previously made (self-reference) and the context within which it is situated (external reference). In the case of Love and Hip Hop New York, for example, the self-reference that the show draws upon are story lines in previous episodes (meant to keep viewers engaged with the cast) and externally, the show draws upon dominant characterizations of Blackness in the media, popular trends in hip-hop, and the social, political, and economic circumstances of Black people in the contemporary moment. The mass media obfuscates this rich history by narrowing the diversity in hip-hop culture to stereotypical representations of Black people-namely, that they are violent, greedy, and sexually irresponsible. Because of mass media, it is said that the culture of hip-hop has been commoditized and reduced to the perpetuation of representations of people of color that have long been deemed problematic. It is important to clearly read the values conveyed by the program and define yourself and your own values as something different from them. Advances in technology connected to the World Wide Web have provided access to a variety of web-based media resources, and the popularity of music videos and the mainstreaming of hip-hop music and African American music artists have also increased the variety of personalities we see The number of opportunities to see a wide variety of figures is increasing. Nevertheless, stereotypical images of African Americans persist.

Media Socialization

Media socialization is an important factor that influences how youth come to acquire fixed or stereotypical self-representations and other representations. In the development and socialization of African American youth, it is a time where emotional and cognitive maturity are racing to catch up with the rapid pace of physical and hormonal changes. For African American girls, pubertal onset, including breast development and menarche, typically occurs about a year before their white counterparts. Early-onset puberty complicates African American youth's understanding of gender roles and self-perceptions. Thus, for many black youth, early-onset puberty may cause others to respond to their adult-like appearance in ways that do not match their cognitive capacities, or how they perceive themselves. In adolescence, youth openly nurse an emergent identity,wrestle with contradictory messages, and may experience shifts in their primary influence groups, which often include parents, peers, and siblings. During adolescence, black girls, like their peers, experience a surge in physical growth. However, the physical maturation of black girls often out- paces their same-gender peers. For many black girls, the metamorphosis involves pronounced physical fea- tures-fuller hips, rounded breasts and buttocks, and increased height-that draw the attention of male peers and some adult men. Still children, some adolescent girls are unable or uncertain about how to manage the increased and different attention they are receiving. They must face challenges associated with puberty and negative perceptions about black women. African American young women receive messages about body image and self-esteem that are framed by the reality that beauty standards and roles traditionally relegated to white women do not apply to them. Modern images of beauty evolved from the historical ideals of womanhood; women are envisioned as white, meek, quiet, and slim. Black women are more likely to resist mainstream messages of beauty and instead rely on their cultural group's standards of beauty or, more recently, the hip-hop aesthetic-and are passing these perspectives on to their children.

Intersectionality

Example of three intersection categories.

Intersectionality is the combination of the different identities people can have like gender or race. Misogynoir is used to describe those who are discriminated against that have the intersection of being Black and and a woman. Intersectionality has an effect on all types of human society, and the music industry is no exception. Black women have not and remain to have a smaller hold in the music industry and its many genres including Jazz, Hip Hop, R&B, Contemporary, Country, and Popular music. Male and light-skinned artists dominate these genres, and are the norm for the music industry. An article of The Guardian mentions artists like Alicia Keys, Rihanna, Nicki Minaj, Mariah Carey, and Beyoncé are prominent in popular music. These women challenge the norm of male domination in the music industry, but do not challenge the tendency towards light-skinned artists as they are ones themselves. Adding a layer of intersection makes it more challenging for Black women to rise up. The Rap industry is comprised of mostly male artists, and they face less criticism than Black female artists. Many Black women artists have come forward with accounts of being sexually abused by DJ Tim Westwood, and allegations were formed in May of 2022. A popular figure in the Black music industry, Westwood was able to get away with the alleged abuse due to the stifling of Black women's voices in the industry.

Representation

File:ChristinaWheeler.jpeg

Christina Wheeler

Due to the growing and changing ideas of the norm, Black women have been able to rise in importance and popularity in the music industry. Artists like Meghan Thee Stallion and Flo Milli have become icons in the rap industry. These artists have become people of empowerment for young black girls, and show the growing representation in the music industry. Music videos are a way to listen to and watch artists perform online. While they further representation for Black women, they also emphasize their sexuality and often include stereotypical "Black behaviour". The growing representation of Black women began in the 1990s with the Hip Hop genre due to Black males growing in popularity around that time. Christina Wheeler is a prominent Black woman in the music industry and has voiced her own and other artists' struggles in gaining respect and popularity. She voices that the amount of representation will grow if more Black women were involved in, not only performing, but producing and working "behind the stage" as well. The Country genre of music, dominated by White artists and less by males, has also begun to show signs of Black women representation.