Gender Critique Love the way you lie II
Reflection One
There are many different ways our thoughts on gender diversity are affected by today’s culture. It can come from our families, friends, magazines, television and even music. The media today plays an even larger part in our gender make up than it did as little as a decade ago. With the creation of facebook, youtube and instagram, we are seeing a greater influence than ever. For the sake of this paper I would like to focus on how music and television affect gender diversity. When a new song is released, depending on public opinion, the record could sell thousands of copies and as a result be played on the radio several times a day reaching hundreds of thousands of listeners. Unless parents have the ability to strictly monitor all of their children’s music choices and I don’t know many who do, the young people today are hearing all sorts of gender messages through music that may be subconsciously shaping who they are.
Even though there are many different genres of music I am going to focus on the rap culture and the messages they emit. Many of the rap songs portray women as weak and submissive. Several of the songs include violence against women whether it is sexual, mental or domestic which displays an overall lack of respect for females. While at the same time the man is portrayed as strong, wealthy and powerful and overall domineering of the woman. Rarely in rap music, is there a song that paints a picture of the woman having power over the man.
The first song that came to mind when given this assignment was Eminem Love The Way You Lie featuring Rihanna. The song received 5 Grammy nominations and was number one on 26 weekly record charts including Billboard Hot 100 for seven weeks. The single sold more than 5 million copies in the United States alone. I remember hearing the song for the first time when my, at the time, 13 year old daughter was listening. My initial reaction was, “wow what a catchy tune”, I even found myself humming
There are many different ways our thoughts on gender diversity are affected by today’s culture. It can come from our families, friends, magazines, television and even music. The media today plays an even larger part in our gender make up than it did as little as a decade ago. With the creation of facebook, youtube and instagram, we are seeing a greater influence than ever. For the sake of this paper I would like to focus on how music and television affect gender diversity. When a new song is released, depending on public opinion, the record could sell thousands of copies and as a result be played on the radio several times a day reaching hundreds of thousands of listeners. Unless parents have the ability to strictly monitor all of their children’s music choices and I don’t know many who do, the young people today are hearing all sorts of gender messages through music that may be subconsciously shaping who they are.
Even though there are many different genres of music I am going to focus on the rap culture and the messages they emit. Many of the rap songs portray women as weak and submissive. Several of the songs include violence against women whether it is sexual, mental or domestic which displays an overall lack of respect for females. While at the same time the man is portrayed as strong, wealthy and powerful and overall domineering of the woman. Rarely in rap music, is there a song that paints a picture of the woman having power over the man.
The first song that came to mind when given this assignment was Eminem Love The Way You Lie featuring Rihanna. The song received 5 Grammy nominations and was number one on 26 weekly record charts including Billboard Hot 100 for seven weeks. The single sold more than 5 million copies in the United States alone. I remember hearing the song for the first time when my, at the time, 13 year old daughter was listening. My initial reaction was, “wow what a catchy tune”, I even found myself humming