Women and Rap

I found Tricia Rose’s analysis of black women in the rap industry and the problems they faced very interesting, especially when she delved into the criticism of women’s portrayal in rap music. I think we touched on it a bit in an earlier discussion, but feminism isn’t a “one-size-fit-all” movement and it is impossible to separate one’s cultural or racial identity from one’s gender. Yet rappers were expected to do just that. Women were supposed to criticize rap lyrics (and sometimes the rappers themselves) for their portrayal of women. It is difficult to try to split a person and focus on just the “woman” part and ignoring that they are women of color. Plus, not all rap music objectifies women. As Rose points out, this causes two problems: One, women rappers are placed at odds and against their male counterparts; Second, it generalizes an entire genre and the themes within it. “Male rappers’ sexual discourse is not consistently sexist, and female sexual discourse is not consistently feminist” (Rose 150). 

So why is “authentic” rap equated with ultra-aggressive, testosterone-fueled ideal of masculinity, even if it does so by ignoring the normalization (or in some cases, even celebration) of domestic abuse or sexual violence towards women? Also, why do women have to be “regendered” to fit into an analysis of rap music? Women have had a prominent role in rap and to ignore that based on oversimplified views of masculinity would be a mistake. Rappers such as Salt ‘N’ Pepa have had massive followings and sold millions of records. Although Salt ‘N’ Pepa portray women as independent and in charge of their own sexuality, they still adhere to more traditional heterosexual gender roles with the man pursuing the woman. Are they successful because they adhere to predominant gender roles as portrayed in the music video “Tramp”? Or does this give them access to a wider audience which then allows them to challenge these?