Misogyny, in its traditional use of the word is the hatred for women.
Much of rap not only puts the physical abuse of women to rhyme, but the sexual and emotional abuse as well.
I
listen to rap and hip-hop everyday now to keep up on what's going on.
Actually I like a lot of it. Even though some of it makes me sad to
hear the pain they are going through and the irresponsible messages
being sent out.
A
lot of it now is hatred, hopeless relationships, and violence and
disrespect toward women. Often the words show that the women accept
this as being romantic. They can even develop a false sense of being
protected by the same thug who is abusing them.
Some of the
women are not so respectful of the men in their tunes either and
perpetrate the anger, disrespect and hatred as they glorify their own
promiscuity and "what-eva" attitude.
I've been bringing out
the tune by Jarul for many weeks now; when he raps, "I'm keepin' my
broads high on ecstacy, I'm a playground legend...." about how any guy
who has to keep his gals drugged up to keep them, isn't much of a man
in the first place. Then I get real about Ecstacy. The real name should
be "Agony."
Our local HOT 97FM Hip-Hop/R&B talk show host
and hostess, "Star and Ms.Jones" FINALLY got on Jarul's case after he
received some sort of award. They were bashing him for 30 minutes
playing those lines over and over, saying "What kind of irresponsible
message is he sending our kids?" They gave all the medical facts about
what "X" really does to their minds, bodies and even their desire to
achieve anything in life.
They gave the example from BET's
"Teen Summit" which aired a Saturday night. A woman Basketball player
was interviewed. She said how cool she thought "E" was until it took
away all her motivation to play ball anymore.
As far as the
cool image of the thug goes, look at P Diddy now. After his court
trial, I don't think he's packin' (carrying a weapon) anymore. I think
when teens and young adults break it down for their peers and present
the facts I think kids will look for other models. Create their own.
Then
they'll stop singing their "boodilicious" songs followed by "I've got a
hollowed out bullet to numb your back" and get some Righteous Rap
going! Anyway, that's how I see it,
Linda Haft, Free Teens Hudson County Abstinence Educator
