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Women in Rap Music

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Submitted By freshfire1
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Both the satiric piece “Bitches Ain’t Shit But Hoes and Tricks” and study: “Gangsta Misogyny: A Content Analysis of the Portrayals of Violence Against Women in Rap Music 1987-1993” serve a purpose to change the way women are portrayed in popular culture. These pieces effectively point out the fact that women are looked upon in a very negative light, though one is conducted as a study and the other is satire. The satirical piece also pokes fun at other aspects in popular culture. Beginning with the title, “Study Confirms That Bitches, As Suspected, Ain’t Shit But Hoes and Tricks” the piece pokes fun at common culture as well as academia because of the outlandish study. However, looking deeper into the article it is apparent that the piece exploits the way that society displays women as its main topic. The piece points out that this negative view isn’t a new idea as “Shakespeare used the sentence “Wenches art naut beside harlots and strumpets” in his private works, but it had never been presented publicly.” This gives a timeframe to the crisis. This piece really brings up the issue, however it lacks the resolve and seriousness needed to make a change.
The study: “Gangsta Misogyny: A Content Analysis of the Portrayals of Violence Against Women in Rap Music 1987-1993” gives a better analysis of the same problem brought up in the satirical piece. This work is presented in a much different way and offers much more evidence and explanation supporting its claims. This piece states that, “a deconstructive interpretation is offered in which gangsta rap music's violent and misogynist lyrics are explicated in terms of the symbolic encoding of gender relationships.” The piece then proceeds to pull evidence from various popular music sources exploring topics from rape to murder. Though this article is very different from the satirical piece, it is geared towards the same objective; bring forth the negative views of women that are prevalent in popular culture. This piece is more effective in stating its problems as it offers much more information and a more serious lens. Though both pieces seem to be working toward a common goal, neither brings a call to action. The two pieces are extreme’s on a scale looking at length and valuable information, and the most effective piece would be one that lies in the middle. This ‘perfect work’ would involve the satirical aspects of the first work along with the informational aspect of the second work making it the perfect mixture of entertainment and value, while keeping it relatively short. A call to action would need to be introduced in order to complete the work. Something such as a boycott of popular music involving the degrading of women would suffice. It is just as much a task of the public in this case as it is the artists creating the music, because the public is buying into the harsh music. The music will follow the money and if that music is no longer bringing in money, those artists will no longer make that music.

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