Gangsta Rap Vs Feminist Movement

Gangsta Rap vs. Feminism

Third-wave feminists Jennifer Baumgardner and Amy Richards state in their book, Manifesta: Young Women, Feminism and the Future, “The presence of feminism in our lives is taken for granted. For our generation, feminism is like fluoride. We scarcely notice we have it – it's simply in the water.” The feminist movement has become a prominent part of today’s society. Ideas and discussions of the movement appear in our daily lives and we are not always aware of it. The current (third) wave of feminism began in the 1990s, bringing issues that limit or oppress women into light. The inherent message of the first and second waves of feminism to challenge male dominance is still intact; however, third-wave feminists are narrowing
hooks says, “gangsta rap does not appear in a cultural vacuum, but, rather, is expressive of the cultural crossing, mixings, and engagement of black youth culture with the values, attitudes, and concerns of the white majority” (hooks 1). One of her subclaims is that black women are being exploited. Another subclaim discusses how some of the lyrics in gangsta rap were only created to attract audiences and to create controversy. Another subclaim talks about how society only cares about sexism when white youth use black popular culture to disrupt the values of the white elite. Because this piece was written in 1994, hooks analyzes gangsta rap, a popular music genre in the 90s, and provides examples of movies and songs that were relevant at the time as evidence to support her argument. The target audience consists of black feminists in 1994 and consumers and critics of gangsta rap who have been influenced by the media to believe that black males are solely to blame for encouraging male violence against women in gangsta rap. Her purpose is to urge her audience to challenge this media influence and to look at popular culture as a whole. hooks ultimately wants society to continue critiquing gangsta rap, however, there must be an addition of a critique of the supremacist white capitalist
hooks mentions The Piano, a highly acclaimed movie by white individuals. The Piano tells the story of a mute piano player living in New Zealand during the mid-19th century. Ada, the main character, is in an arranged marriage to Stewart, a man she does not love. She is assumed to have repressed eroticism and releases this energy into passionately playing the piano. She begins to seek her lover, Baines, sexually, and is able to escape her marriage to live a new life with him. She throws away her piano along with her past, symbolizing her loss of artistic expression. In the end, Ada assumes the role of the dutiful wife, living life dominated by her new husband. She states that the movie “advances the sexist assumption that heterosexual women will give up artistic practice to find ‘true love.’ That ‘positive’ surrender is encouraged by the ‘romantic’ portrayal of sexism and misogyny” (4). The Piano shows how the main character assumes the typical female role in the end, which was portrayed as a “happy-ending” scenario, concluding that it was normal and acceptable to be under male dominance. Because this movie was popular in the white community, it exemplifies the spread of sexist values of the white supremacist capitalist patriarchal society through mass media. This supports the claim that sexist behavior is not limited to black rappers—white individuals practice the oppression of women as well. Through connecting The Piano to