The Influence of Rap and Hip-Hop Music: An Analysis on Audience Perceptions of Misogynistic Lyrics

This study examined the culture of rap/hip-hop music and how misogynistic lyrical messages influenced listeners’ attitudes toward intimate partner violence. Adams and Fuller (2006) define misogyny as the “hatred or disdain of women” and “an ideology that reduces women to objects for men’s ownership, use, or abuse” (p. 939). Popular American hip-hop and rap artists, such as Eminem, Ludacris and Ja Rule, have increasingly depicted women as objects of violence or male domination by communicating that “submission is a desirable trait in a woman” (Stankiewicz & Rosselli, 2008, p. 581). These songs condone male hegemony in which “men find the domination and exploitation of women and other men to be not only expected, but actually demanded” (Prushank, 2007, p. 161). Thus, these messages glorify violence against women, including rape, torture and abuse, and foster an acceptance of sexual objectification and degradation of women (Russo & Pirlott, 2006). These misogynistic themes first emerged in rap/hip-hop songs in the late 1980s and are especially apparent today with women being portrayed as sex objects and victims of sexual violence (Adams & Fuller, 2006; Russo & Pirlott, 2006).
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In a recent content analysis of six types of media, Pardun, L’Engle, and Brown (2005) found that music, in particular, contained substantially more sexual content than any other media outlets. Sexually explicit and derogatory lyrics are especially apparent in rap music, which has been criticized for its graphic derogatory presentation of women using lyrics that objectify, exploit or victimize them (Weitzer & Kubrin, 2009; Cobb & Boettcher, 2007). Adams and Fuller (2006) assert that rap music reduces women to objects “that are only good for sex and abuse,” which “perpetuate ideas, values, beliefs, and stereotypes that debase women” (p. 940). This study also noted six themes common in misogynistic rap music, and further examined three of them: derogatory statements about women in relation to sex; statements involving violent actions toward women, particularly in relation to sex; and references of women as usable and discardable beings (Adams & Fuller, 2006).
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Armstrong (2001) conducted a content analysis of 490 rap songs from 1987 to 1993, in which 22% contained lyrics featuring violence against women including assault, rape and murder. His study classified rap songs into different categories in which rappers either pride themselves on sex acts appearing to harm women, justify other acts of violence, warn women who challenge male domination that they will be assaulted, and/or seem to invite male violence against women (Armstrong, 2001). Weitzer and Kubrin (2009) conducted a follow-up study analyzing the portrayal of women in 403 rap songs through a content analysis, in which themes of derogatory naming and shaming of women; sexual objectification of women; distrust of women; legitimation of violence against women; and celebration of prostitution and pimping appeared at the greatest frequency. Sexual objectification was found to occur in 67% of the misogynistic lyrics in their songs sampled (Weitzer & Kubrin, 2009). This study further examined the frequency of explicit music content found in the past decade’s worth of popular rap/hip-hop music. Furthermore, stereotyped gender roles emerged from lyrics containing sexual imagery that promote the “acceptance of women as sexual objects and men as pursuers of sexual conquest,” (Martino, Collins, Elliott, Strachman, Kanouse, & Berry, 2006, p. 438).
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Listening to misogynistic content may also attribute to listeners’ “expression of similar attitudes in their own lives, including accepting the objectification of women” (Dixon, Zhang, & Conrad, 2009, p. 348). Half of survey respondents agree or strongly agree that rap/hip-hop music glorifies domestic violence, and when these messages are conveyed to listeners, it may contribute to the “creation of a social climate in which violence is viewed as acceptable” (Adams & Fuller, 2006, p. 953). Therefore, rap/hip-hop music’s portrayal of domestic violence matters because of the significant influence its misogynistic messages have on audiences. This study found male and female college students’ listening behaviors greatly affect their perceptions of misogynistic lyrics. Survey results indicate a positive correlation between misogynous thinking and rap/hip-hop consumption, which supports previous study findings in which “greater frequency of listening to rap music was associated with more positive attitudes toward and perceptions of rap music” (Tyson, 2006, p. 215).

http://www.studentpulse.com/articles/792/4/the-influence-of-rap-and-hip-hop-music-an-analysis-on-audience-perceptions-of-misogynistic-lyrics