Media/Visual Literacy
Art Education: Sexism in
lpp-op
Xideos
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The hip-hop masic video is arguablq the
most infivential and controversial artistic
expression in American pop cdture today,
and thanks to global media marketing,
it reaches• o(ngsters worldwide.
edia programs like hip-hop music
videos are powerful aesthetic agents
that inspire teenagers; thus, they
have a tremendous influence on young peoples
identity formation, lifestyle choices, and knowledge construction which are manifested in the
ways teens dress, express themselves, behave,
and interact with each other. However, because
of the controversies associated with sexism,
racism, homophobia, and materialism often
seen in hip -hop music videos, educators seem to
rarely discuss or examine them in their classroom
settings. The messages in hip-hop music videos,
in particular, perpetuate gender stereotypes
and discrimination and attempt to normalize
unequal social behavior under the label of
art. Contemporary art educators advocate the
importance of fostering media/visual literacy in
children through critically examining discursive
cultural and aesthetic sites in the popular media
(Chung, 2005; Duncum, 2001; Freedman, 1994;
Taylor & Ballengee-Morris, 2003). In concert
with art education's goal of fostering critical
media/visual literacy in future citizens, this
article explores issues of sexism
in hip-hop music videos and
proposes ways to engae high
school students li• dec
structing the pplar vis
culture. It
t tea
with criticalt
their young
ho
hip-hop cul
ure i
glorifies xist p
i
name of at
v
sexism as an ac
ized social prac
MAY 2007 / ART EDUCATION
33
The success of the media industry largely
depends on sponsorship by commercial
advertising and innovative, if not questionable, programs that sustain viewers' interest
and curiosity. For people living in the electronic age, the media is the primary source of
aesthetic experience and knowledge acquisition through which they learn about themselves and the world. It is not surprising that
the issues people talk about, the things they
use, or the lifestyles they choose are greatly
influenced by what they see on television,
the Internet, commercial billboards, and in
newspapers and magazines. Media images in
contemporary visual culture are colored by
commercial interests and are embedded with
a certain set of values, beliefs, and attitudes
that influence viewers' everyday choices and
decisions. For instance, a hip-hop music
video, whether viewed on television or the
Internet, is an artistic multimedia presentation produced not merely to intensify viewers
senses and persuade them to make purchases
or consume products, but also to communicate feelings, emotions, and ideas that eyentually influence their perceptions and attitudes
towards others and society.
Popularity/Influence
Hip-hop culture consists primarily of
break-dance, graffiti, Djing', and rapping?
Kool Herc, a Jamaican-American musician,
is generally credited with originating breakbeat DJing3 and performing it for partygoers
in the Bronx of New York City during the
early 1970s. Several years after Kool Herc's
introduction, the trio group Sugar Hill Gang
released its first hip-hop hit single, "Rapper's
Delight" in 1979 (Wikipedia Contributors,
2005). Since then, hip-hop music has received
a lot of attention and, over time, has become
increasingly popular.
A television interview on CBS 60 Minutes
(CBS News, 2002) featuring rap singer Jay-Z,
revealed that the singer had sold over 15 million
music albums, more than 80% of which were
purchased by suburban teens in predominately
Euro-American neighborhoods. The singer
claimed that he was not just selling his music,
but an entire hip-hop lifestyle being promoted
through his clothing line, liquor business, and
movie production. Time magazine confirmed
that suburban Euro-Americans dominate
75% of rap music sales, and in 1998 rap music
became America's most popular music genre
(Farley, 1999).
Hip-hop culture offers youngsters everyday
aesthetic sites that propel them to seek excitement, aesthetic fulfillment, and a sense of
identity and belonging. It has grown to be an
American mainstream art form that influences almost every segment of the globe. Not
surprisingly, increasing numbers of teenagers,
regardless of racial/national backgrounds,
immerse themselves in hip-hop culture and
copy the ways in which hip-hop characters on
television act, move, dress, and talk. The influence of hip-hop on youth is especially evident
in how African-American teens use hip-hop
as a form of everyday cultural capital (e.g.,
language, gestures, fashion, and performance)
to interact with each other and to authenticate
a Black identity (Clay, 2003). Clay found that
"the more popular youth were the ones that
could successfully perform a hip-hop identity
through the manipulation of fashion, gestures,
and music" (p. 1355). Hip-hop is used by youth
of color to define boundaries and status hierarchies (e.g., popularity, support, or authenticity), especially within their own ethnic peer
circle.
Representations of stereotyped gender roles
in popular visual culture also influence the
ways females see themselves (Press, 1991;
Radway, 1984; Tannen, 1990). When young
girls are constantly bombarded with images
and messages in hip-hop music videos celebrating women willing to commit crimes for
their men and be the focus of the "male gaze:'
they are more likely to mistake the violence
and abuse committed by their men as legitimate expressions of "gangsta love" (Pough,
2004). Hikes (2004) cautioned that children do
not have a full cognitive ability to "differentiate
between illusion and reality and are continually exposed to a genre of 'entertainment' that
serves as the predominant and prevailing
expression of African American culture" (p.
4). The negative images of African- American
women in hip-hop music videos have a detrimental effect on the identity formation of
young girls. For example, Clay (2003) indicated that young girls adopt a highly sexualized
cultural capital to gain popularity in their own
peer group. Additionally, the hip-hop music
video sets the standard for what is considered
attractive and desirable, such as lighter skin
and long hair, for young girls of color.
Not slrprising(g, inoreasing numbers of teenagers,
regardless of racial/national baokgrounds, immerse
themselves in hip-hop oulture and oopg the wags in
which hip-hop charaoterson television act, move,
dress, and talk.
34
ART EDUCATION / MAY 2007
The importanpce of hip-hop lies in its abilitq
to empower
its integration of
Hip-hop music videos have inspired many
teenagers to pursue a lifestyle with its own
fashion, language, club scene, and social
interaction. Alarmingly, most of these videos
portray women as "objects of transient sexual
gratification" (Teachout, 1990, p. 60), a practice
that in reality promotes gender stereotypes and
discrimination, while undermining a demohip-hop scene, the female body is
cratic society striving for gender equity.
of the male gaze, which objectifie•
bodies as sexual trophies. This depi
Women as Objects of Transient
suggests that women play a suborc
Sexual Gratification
by catering to the sexual needs c
According to Anthony Kwame Harrison, a
survive in a male-controlled arena.
sociology professor at Virginia
Because hip-hop music videos
Polytechnic Institute and
portray women as sexual objects-State University, since the
club dancers, and prostitutes whose
early 1990s, the most
primary function is to entertain
popular hip-hop artists are
men-these women are subjected
those associated with the
to disrespect and dehuman"gangsta" love and "blingization. Such artistic expresbling"4 style that glorifies
sion does not simply portray
violence and materialism,
women negatively; it also quesand the "big pimping" scenario
tions what they can meaningthat denigrates women (as cited in
fully
contiute to society. Audrey
Roach, 2004, p. 32). The sexist lyrics,
McClke, professor of Africanimages, and scenarios in hip-hop
Americantudies at Indiana University,
music videos are alarming because
noted tha"Black women's bodies,
they perpetuate gender stereohistorically,have been sites of sexualtypes and discrimination. Almost
ized cinmodification and spectacle
every hip-hop music video seen on
for the White mind. During slavery
VH1 and MTV features scantily
their bodies represented production
clad women dancing in bikinis
and reproduction, allowing slave
surrounding a chauvinistic male.
Owners to increase their property
To attract men's attention, these
while
satisfying their lust" (cited in
women perform erotic moves as
Keels, 2005, p. 43). Not only does this
the camera zooms in closer to
idelogy of women's bodies as sexualtheir hips, buttocks, and breasts.
ized commodities continue to prevail in
The rapper (usually male) gloritoday's most advanced societies, but
fies himself as a well-off pimp
hip-hop media programs purposeand uses provocative language
fully construct it to authenticate hipto express his disrespect for
hop identity.
these female dancers. In such a
ever.qdaM ac
that is mear
Semantic dimensions
Real
Fake
Social-psychological
Staying true to yourself
Following mass trends
Racial
Black
White
Political-economic
The underground
Commercial
Gender-sexual
Hard
Soft
Social-locational
The street
The suburbs
Cultural
The old school
The mainstream
o a aesthetic form
nt to ,gol[th CURlIre.
-HopIdentity/Authenticity
Sexism
Hip-hop culture, on one hand, is a vibrant
'artistic collage that expresses the spirit,
courage, and self-determination of urban
youth of color living in a challenging environment. The importance of hip-hop lies in
its ability to empower youth and its integration of everyday activities into an aesthetic
form that is meaningful and relevant to youth
culture. On the other hand, it has emerged
"from a distinct context of ghetto life that is
characterized by poverty, violence, drug use,
and crime" (Ryan, Calhoun, & Wentworth,
1996, p. 121). Authenticity is a key element
in hip-hop's identity and increased popularity-being true to oneself and keeping
it real (Armstrong, 2004). Hip-hop culture
has continued to construct and maintain its
identity/authenticity through the glorification
of such ghetto living conditions as violence,
drug abuse, poverty, and prostitution. The
construction of identity/authenticity in hiphop culture, according to McLeod (1999), is
"invoked around a range of topics that include
hip-hop music, racial identification, the music
industry, social location, individualism, and
gender and sexual roles" (p. 138). Hip-hop
music videos typically incorporate these topics
to depict African-Americans struggling to
survive in urban neighborhoods while dealing
with ghetto living conditions.
Through an analysis of hip-hop magazines,
online forums, song lyrics, and interviews with
hip-hop related personnel (fans, artists, and
record producers), McLeod (1999) outlined
six semantic dimensions of meaning essential
to the hip-hop community in constructing its
identity/authenticity. Within these semantic
dimensions are six binaries (see Table 1) that
differentiate the "real" hip-hop from its imitators. These semantic dimensions of meaning
illustrate what hip-hop insiders draw upon
in establishing identity and maintaining
authenticity.
Table 1. Claims of Authenticity (McLeod, 1999, p. 139)
MAY 2007 / ART EDUCATION
35
The explicit use of misogynic rhetoric and
sexist imagery is deemed essential to the
construction of identity/authenticity in hiphop culture. In the gender-sexual dimension,
McLeod uses hard and soft to distinguish
proper gender roles in hip-hop; soft represents feminine characteristics, while hard
symbolizes masculine attributes. The world
of hip-hop itself is a male-dominated arena
where homophobia and genderphobia are
tolerated and even purposefully constructed.
A real man in hip-hop, for instance, is not
a "pussy" or "faggot." Indeed, rappers use
derogatory words like these to disassociate
themselves from effeminate characteristics
and boost their masculinity and hip-hop
authenticity. Controversial rapper Eminem
(real name Marshall Mathers) constructs his
hip-hop masculinity and legitimizes his hiphop authenticity by demeaning women. For
an artistic practice to glorify sexism or use
sexist material to construct and authenticate its identity is problematic. This is where
art education is of value in helping students
develop critical media/visual literacy by
deconstructing the sexist texts prevalent in
hip-hop music videos.
Implications for Art Education
The media can enlighten the public on critical
real-world issues, or it can perpetuate social
stereotypes and discrimination. Contemporary
artists like Cindy Sherman, Barbara Kruger,
and the Guerrilla Girls5 appropriate media
images to challenge such stereotypes and
discrimination as racism and sexism. Kruger
and the Guerrilla Girls especially have raised
issues of sexism in their poster-like artwork,
through which they educate the public about
unequal social practices based on gender. To
reach a larger audience, these artists adopted
advertising techniques and displayed their art
on street billboards and city buses. Although
using art as a political instrument for social
reform has existed for centuries, contemporary
activist artists seem to be even more driven
to produce visual parodies for revealing and
changing unjust social behavior.
In line with the movement within art education to foster critical media/visual literacy,
Freedman (1994) maintained that "a socially
reconstructed art education could enrich
student understanding through the inclusion of teaching about the immense power
of visual culture" (p. 165). Because hip-hop
is part of American teenagers' visual culture,
36
ART EDUCATION / MAY 2007
examining hip-hop music videos is a powerful
way not only to foster critical faculty and
aesthetic sensitivity, but also to facilitate an
understanding of how such an aesthetic genre
perpetuates sexist ideologies.6 Two pedagogical approaches to the deconstruction of
sexism in hip-hop music videos are proposed
here: Gender as Performance and FeministRap.
These two approaches, along with the issues
discussed above, are appropriate for guiding
high school adolescents in examining content,
expression, and context within hip-hop music
videos that depict gender unequally. Each of
these approaches requires the viewing and
discussion of hip-hop music videos, which can
be easily obtained from popular music video
Websites such as Yahoo! Music Videos and
By applying Butler's view of gender as
performance to the examination of hip-hop
music videos, teachers can help students to
identify specific gender stereotypes or sexist
behaviors and attitudes manifested in hip-hop
performances and to further articulate the
explicit and implicit messages being conveyed
through identified gendered performances.
When gender is perceived as performance,
scenes of a video can be dismantled and
analyzed in terms of the cultural capital (e.g.,
clothing, posture/gestures, facial expressions,
speech patterns, or persona) that hip-hop
performers adopt to enact their gender rolesin other words, what and how a video's incorporated visual and linguistic sites contribute
to the impression of unjust gender roles. The
MTV, or television channels VHt and MTV.7 following questions (in no particular order)
Class discussion can produce the most fruitful can serve to guide high school students in
results while scenes (segments) of hip-hop analyzing a typical sexist video scene and
interpret its meanings with respect to attitudes,
music videos are being shown.
Gender as Performance. Judith Butler's values, self-image, and social expectations:
(1990) theory of gender as performance serves "* What is the purpose of this scene?
as a pragmatic approach to deconstructing "* What pictorial elements/design techniques
hip-hop's sexist portrayals. Contrary to sociare used to get our attention?
ety's conventional views of gender roles, Butler "* What is the scene trying to tell us? (viewargued that the biological gender binary
point, belief, or value)
(masculine/feminine) reinforces the differ- "•Is the scene portraying a stereotype?
ences and inequality of the sexes in society.
Which stereotype?
According to Butler, gender is not a biological
"•
How do we know the portrayal is a
condition but rather an enactment or perforstereotype?
mance (expressed, for instance, in language,
"*
Is there a sexist expression in this scene,
clothing, movements, or actions). In other
and how do we know?
words, it is a socially constructed fluid variable
associated with how people behave in certain "•What responses is the scene meant to elicit
from the viewer?
situations:
"*
How are the female dancers portrayed?
When the constructed status of gender
"•
Are there other implicit messages in this
is theorized as radically independent of
scene?
sex, gender itself becomes a free-floating
"*What assumptions do you make from
artifice, with the consequence that man
watching the scene?
and masculine might just as easily signify
a female body as a male one, and woman
"*What does the scene teach young women
and feminine a male body as easily as a
in society and the general public?
female one. (Butler, 1990, p. 6)
"*Can you think of any ways to challenge
sexist portrayals?
A music video includes a mtiltitude of
texts such as visual signs and linguistic plays "*What other sexist presentations do you
of meaning and sound, which are intrinsic
frequently see in the media?
ideological sites open to further analysis and
Feminist Rap. Another way to approach
interpretation. Examining these visual and this interrogative strategy towards illumilinguistic sites allows teens to deconstruct nating hip-hop's sexism is to have students
the prevailing notion of "women as sexual- compare and contrast the typical sexist hipized commodities" as rendered in the hip-hop hop music video with those performed by
music genre.
feminist rappers such as Queen Latifah, Sister
Souljah, The Real Roxanne, M.C. Lyte, and
Salt-N-Pepa.' Although not all are consistent with feminist ideology, the music videos
Through class dialogue and creative expression, art teachers can help
students criticallq view what the,4 experience every dag in the media;
understand how sender stereotgpes and discrimination are perpetuated
in this verg visual culture; and develop critical knowledge to make informed
decisions as media/aesthetic consumers.
performed by these female rappers can be
used to rebut the exploitative characterizations of female bodies in hip-hop. Hip-hop
culture normalizes sexism as acceptable social
behavior, delivering a message to youth that
women have to engage in highly sexualized
performances resembling those in hip-hop
music videos if they are to be socially accepted
or popular in a male-dominated society. Hikes
(2004) cautioned that this is the case "particularly for young Black girls whose self-worth
and self-esteem are frequently being shaped
by these unrealistic and harmful images of
Black womanhood" (p. 66). Feminist rap
music videos offer an alternative venue to
challenging and resisting the glorification of
sexist portrayal in the typical hip-hop video.
According to Roberts (1994), feminist rap:
focuses on promoting women's importance, that demands equal treatment for
women, and that demonstrates the need
for women to support each other.... In
its serious exploration and glorification
of African American women's history,
"Ladies First" [video by Queen Latifah]
seizes a televisual moment and breaks
the continuity of sexism and racism that
dominates the music video flow. (p. 245)
For example, through the lyrics and images
in her music video series, Latifah calls for
respect and self-love among African -American
women, promotes the importance of womanhood, and demands equal treatment for all.
Another music video titled Shake Your Thang
by Salt-N-Pepa appropriates the hyper-masculinist rhetoric about female sexuality to resist
the expression of the female body as object
of transient sexual gratification. Instead, the
group reclaims the right of women to take
control of their own bodies and sexuality.
Feminist hip-hop music videos like those
performed by Latifah and Salt-N-Pepa offer
adolescent viewers an opportunity to confront
the stereotypical images of African -American
women portrayed in the dominant hip-hop
music arena. Unlike mainstream rappers,
African-American feminist rappers approach
Afrocentricity as a source of power to assert
their cultural identity and promote the
autonomy and strength of African-American
women. An African style of clothing in
feminist music videos, according to Roberts
(1994), can "assert an eroticism that resists the
nakedness and exposure of Western styles for
women" (p. 247). Feminist rap videos show
scenes of resistance to sexist hip-hop images
and depict women as strong individuals who
live with full purpose and meaning. The
method of comparison and contrast should
enable students to recognize how the hip-hop
genre can be empowering without degrading
women.
An essential component of media literacy
art education is studio production. Creative
expression allows students to process what
they have learned and apply it to or translate
it into an aesthetic creation that manifests
their understanding of media constructs and
the issues explored. After examining and
discussing hip-hop music videos, high school
students can produce their own music videos
together in groups. An increasing number of
art educators incorporate digital movie/video
making into their art programs (Chung, 2007).
A video can be easily created on the computer
with a simple digital camera/camcorder and
movie-making software such as iMovie- or
Windows' Movie Maker.' In making a music
video collaboratively, group members are
expected to work as a team performing the
creative multi-tasks of scripting, filming,
imaging, rapping (by a student if possible),
and editing. Groups should be reminded to
consider or brainstorm how their music videos
may empower others without exploiting
women's bodies.
Conclusion
The image of women as objects of transient sexual gratification permeates most
hip-hop music videos seen on network/cable
television programs and the Internet, and in
fashion magazines, advertisements, and video
games. Because of its high exposure and popularity, hip-hop has transformed itself into the
American cultural/artistic mainstream. It
would hardly be surprising if foreign viewers
misperceived hip-hop sexist depictions as an
American ideal or value. The glorification of
sexism is especially powerful when delivered
through a multimedia aesthetic presentation
like a hip-hop music video.
In a society where women have long been
perpetuated as sexual symbols, the youth
generation may not consider the sexism in
hip-hop culture disturbing. On the contrary,
many young girls are not just willing participants in these music videos; they are proud of
being desired by men and of publicly showing
off their bodies and expressing their sexuality. This further highlights the importance
of art education for fostering critical media/
visual literacy in young viewers to help them
recognize what hip-hop's sexism presents to
a democratic society that strives for gender
equality. Media/visual literacy art education
should be concerned about how this type of
sexist portrayal affects the collective social
values and social equality of all members of a
society.
The exploration of hip-hop music videos in
the art classroom offers teenagers a relevant
and critical lesson in examining their own
aesthetic sites and developing critical knowledge about these sites' discursive, if not sexist,
practices. Through class dialogue and creative
expression, art teachers can help students critically view what they experience every day in
the media; understand how gender stereotypes
and discrimination are perpetuated in this very
visual culture; and develop critical knowledge
to make informed decisions as media/aesthetic
consumers. A change in hip-hop sexist culture
and society as a whole is possible when people
are educated in how such dehumanized representations undermine the foundation of a
democratic, equal society.
Sheng Kuan Chung is Assistant Professor
and GraduateProgramDirector of Art
Education in the Departmentof Curriculum
and Instruction, University of Houston,
Texas. E-mail: [email protected]
MAY 2007 / ART EDUCATION
37
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ENDNOTES
1A disc jockey (also called DJ) is an individual who
selects, mixes, and plays prerecorded music. Dfing
is the act of playing and mixing sound recordings
for an intended audience.
2 According to Farley (1999), rap is a form of
rhythmic speaking, while hip-hop comprises a
mixture of excerpts from prerecorded songs. These
two terms are thus not completely interchangeable.
3
A break is an interlude during a song, being a
"break" from the main segments of the song.
4 Bling-blingwas coined by New Orleans rap group
Cash Money Millionaires in the late 1990s and is
used to describe showy styles of jewelry.
5
A group of female artists founded the Guerrilla
Girls in 1985. These artists wear gorilla masks in
public to conceal their identities and raise issues
such as racism and sexism. More information
about the Guerrilla Girls is available at http://www.
guerrillagirls.com/
6 Teachers are advised that when teaching any
controversial issue such as this one, it is important
to keep school principals and parents informed
of the media content used in the classroom and
the learning goals that the teacher is attempting to
accomplish.
7
The hip-hop music videos shown at Yahoo! Music
Videos (http://launch.yahoo.com/musicvideos) and
MTV (http://www.mtv.com/music/video/#/music/
video/) and most television channels are predominantly sexualized. Teachers should locate or record
age-appropriate videos for classroom exploration.
8
The music videos of these female artists can be
accessed at the MTV website and Yahoo! Music
Videos (see previous footnote for Web addresses).
These sites archive thousands of music videos and
can be searched for and played on demand. Other,
similar hip-hop videos may be used if they feature
the meaningfulness of woman's lives instead of
their highly sexualized bodies.
9 Video/movie making as a studio project in school
art programs is becoming increasingly viable
since a growing number of secondary schools
are equipped with computers. My article, "Art
Education Technology: Digital Storytelling" (Art
Education, March 2007), details the resources
for and processes of making a digital video in
the art room, from exploring topics, scripting,
storyboarding, preparing imagery, and editing by
computer, to establishing criteria for evaluating
digital videos.
COPYRIGHT INFORMATION
TITLE: Media/Visual Literacy Art Education: Sexism in Hip-Hop
Music Videos
SOURCE: Art Education 60 no3 My 2007
PAGE(S): 33-8
The magazine publisher is the copyright holder of this article and it
is reproduced with permission. Further reproduction of this article in
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