Essay 2: Gender, Race, and Ackright: How We OppressOurselves

Notes:

     As we continue to move forwardin the course, we are starting to change the subject from strictlyan issue of race, and have shifted to the subject of sex, and thesystem behind “gender roles.”

     Now, I want to move the classinto the subject of current pop culture, specifically in regards toHip Hop, and focus on ideas of sexuality (both physically andphysiologically) and gender roles within the hip-hopcommunity/aesthetic.

     The next essay that we arereading for this week is by the Journalist/FeministActivist/Teacher/Satirist, Joan Morgan. I feel like this assignmentis important because I love hip-hop (among a couple other genres),but I am constantly confronted with the issue of misogyny and theoppression of the female body. Because of that, I think we shouldwrite about it. So first, read this excerpt:

“From Fly-Girls to Bitches and Hos” Joan Morgan

     This essay is an excerpt from herbook, When Chickenheads Come Home to Roost: A Hip-HopFeminist Breaks Down (1999), where Morgancontinues to discuss different themes regarding gender and raceoppression, or the perpetuation of hatred and death with eachchapter of the book.

     BUT one thing that we should keepin mind as we read this very stimulating article, is that it issomewhat outdated. Yes the themes of systematic racial oppressionin America that she discusses, and the violence embedded in hip-hopculture is still very real, BUT there has been a lot of change intastes and trends since this book was written in ’99; that’s almost20 years of scene evolution! And, although a person could probablystill argue that hip-hop contains themes consistent with those thatMorgan discusses, in 2017 the climate has changed, and people ofall genders, races, orientations and creeds are demandingequality.  

     For this week, I want you guys touse a combination of the essays that we’ve read so far, and alsoinformation and data that you collect from an outside source. Youdon’t have to use the Library Databases (yet!), but you will beusing the internet to research some magazines, and draw conclusionsabout what you see/read.

Recommended Websites (if you read something that's noton this list, you can use that too):

Vibe

Urb

Complex

XXL

Source

Your Writing Assignment:

Survey the current issues of several magazines aimedat fans of rap music. Look through their front pages, make note ofthe ads, the images and themes of the websites, and the types ofarticles that they are hosting on their homepages.

What images do they present of women, men, and humanrelationships? How often do they reflect the themes that Morgandiscusses? How often do they contradict the themes that Morgan isdiscussing? What other themes and patterns do you find? To whatextend, if any, have the subjects and attitudes of hip-hop changedsince the 1990s? Even still, with all the change, what still needsto change to make the scene even more “equal”?

After your Intro, begin your argument with adiscussion of Gender Identity (reference the Devor article), andobserve how these “gender roles” play a role in your life andcommunity. Then begin to explore how these types of roles affectthe lives of men and women in terms of power structures; in thestory of America, who is always the “more powerful” or “head of thehousehold?” This will create a nice springboard for your discussionof gender within hip-hop.

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Guidelines:

3-4 Pages

MLA Format - Header, 12pt Font, Times New Roman,Double Spaced

Use a reference or direct quote from at least one (1)essay/article that we've read for class, and use two references ordirect quotes from (2) different magazines in your research.

Work Cited Page