Masculinities represented in music - Essay Example

? Masculinities represented in music In order to understand and distinguish how masculinity is represented in the film industry, oneneeds to have a knowledge on the origin of the concept. Masculinity is the opposite of femininity; both are gender representations. Gender is the range of different characteristics including mental, physical, and emotional aspects that define an individual. The term gender brings about the differentiation in masculinity and femininity hence the idea of gender identity. Most humans are in two categories depending on their biological make-up and sexual orientation. In brief, a person is either male or female. The latter wholly defines sex as a noun as seen in the society. Gender, in simpler terms, is the state of being either of the two sexes. Masculinity comes in as an attribute of male sexuality. It is the male attribute whose representation in the film industry forms the discussion in the following discourse. Masculinity is not only part of a dualistic gender but under a broader spectrum is what every man is seen to contain that gives rise to that unique manly identity that defines his social and daily life. According to the argument put forward by constructionist , masculinity is constantly changing. This is in tandem with how these changes relate to the wider society. In reference to the argument fronted above, masculinity entails both the aspect of homosexuality as well as heterosexuality. However, according to conservative traditions, masculinity is an attribute of heterosexuality. It is a common belief that for one's masculinity to be complete there has to be an attraction to a feminine being. This is the heterosexuality matrix. Basically, this means that for any person to be considered as heterosexual, one must instinctively exhibit attraction to persons who are of the opposite gender. This is the overriding notion in conventional societies which are part of the norms or even trends that a majority in such societies rightly conforms to. The theory on heterosexuality therefore cuts off gay men as masculine. The act of penetration during sex is considered masculine hence the penetrated man is seen as feminine. Having that as an arguable fact also makes the fact that in a lesbian couple, there is a masculine female who is attracted and receives pleasure from penetrating and being in charge of another female. Sexuality complicates gender and the motion on proving masculinity in homosexuals has been continuing for a while. In order for one to understand the masculinity in gender one has to understand the stereotypes in it as well. In the society, dominance and power sharing is also a factor in the determination of masculinity according to the sexes. Due to the masculine stereotype being portrayed as more dominant to the feminine stereotype, the society tends to respect it and admire it. The media and sports alike have had an effect from this stereotype. Femininity is generally weaker and less influential and mostly for pleasure by masculinity. The society itself shows the difference between masculinity and femininity with practices that are in everyday life. A man, for example, gets a two week maternity leave while a lady gets a twelve week maternity leave. A man generally gets a higher pay as opposed to a female in the same line of work. Women are responsible for domestic development and are the guardians to their homes while the man is the provider. Ladies are more scared and prone to hurt from simple threats as opposed to men. Until recently, the army was a man-only job while the women nursed and tended to the injured. Gender has a way of stereotyping certain activities in the society to fit the roles of the sexes. Modernity tries to beat the role of gender in stereotyping but it fails terribly due to the culture associated with the sexes. Some men feel less satisfied by some jobs they do due to the belief of femininity in them. A man, for example, feels unsatisfied as a nurse a job associated with serving which is feminine in nature. The struggle between modernity and gender carries on but the society remains adamant in its stereotyping which is only under the effect from unavoidable calamities and necessities. In order to understand how much masculinity has an effect on the society, a study on its relation to music has to be carried out. Specifically, the following study focuses on contemporary rap as well as pop music. Music has a significant role in the development of masculinity in the current society. This cuts across all forms of genres of music without discrimination. In rap music, which is socially an African American genre of music, masculinity and feminine perception is under good portrayal. The conditions that inspired the start of this genre and how they depict their neighborhoods are important for the study and understanding the effect masculinity has on the society. This study takes the themes in the songs into consideration. It also seeks to show how these themes depict the male and female positions in the society. This study kicks off with the academy award winning song for the year 2005. The song was titled ‘it’s hard out here for a pimp.’ This is a song which was composed and performed by a group of three artists who were known as 3six Mafia. The song is from the film which was titled ‘Hustle and Flow’. The release of the movie as well as the song received criticisms. This was because it was viewed that it represented masculinity in a way which was demeaning to the female gender. The following is an excerpt from the song. The lyrics were as they were perfomed in the film. That’s the way the game goes, gotta keep it strictly pimpin’, Gotta have my hustle tight, makin’ change off these women. You know it’s hard out here for a pimp, When he tryin’ to get this money for the rent. ‘‘It’s Hard Out Here For a Pimp’’—Three 6 Mafia The group’s rap song was not the only one that provoked such criticisms. In 2001, the Eminem’s song that won the academy award also shows a lot of hostility towards women. More artists in the African American community have abusive and hostile lyrics in their rap music towards women in their society. In pop music, gender stereotypes are numerous especially women receiving inferior complement to men and marginalization is common. Research conducted on the portrayal of women in rock music reveals shocking statistics on the role of women. A good percentage of the videos taken under study depict women in a manner that portray them as sex objects, unintelligent and victims. In addition, some other videos presented them as submissive and carrying out the traditional sexual role. Other than that, there are videos which depicted men as equal to women while eight percent showed violence against women. In country music, a contemporary category of music but more moral, over half of the women in such videos are under the portrayal of being passively dependent on men. It is only a small percentage of the videos show women as equal to men. Due strong industry norms, no videos portray women as strippers or prostitutes. Interestingly, country songs and videos do not feature violence against women or portray them as strippers and prostitutes, apparently because of strong industry norms against such images(Andsager and Roe 1999, 81). Rap music is more violent and even sexually explicit as compared to other genres of pop music from past years until in the recent past. A study conducted on rap songs between 1999 and 2002 by McFarland show two main distinct themes. The first is racial injustice over the African American race and the second showed how superior the male complex was to the female complex. In the study, quite a number of songs mentioning women showed them as sexual objects for male satisfaction and pleasure. In justification of women violence, there are songs which prominently supported it. McFarland’s study was, however, not as comprehensive as Armstrong’s on female violence between 1987 and 1993. The content analyzed was four hundred and ninety rap songs. Violence against women, which includes battery, rape and murder, was under perpetration in twenty two percent of the songs. The study did not focus on non-violent issues affecting women therefore not comprehensive enough. In order to understand why rap artists have to use such material for their music, knowing the origin of such songs is important. Rap is mostly about what the artist sees in the character of their music in relation to their surroundings. The three major issues that affect rappers about women are their neighborhood conditions, the industry and larger gender relations. The latter is the most adverse because it spreads a certain type of notion about masculinity, which affects the rapper. Hegemonic masculinity as a concept is the notion that heterosexual males dominate over women. It gives a certain ideology on how and what being a man should be, and all men have to relate to it to feel masculine. It involves certain stereotypes which relate to men and masculinity in that it should exhibit male dominance and everything which shows favor for the male gender (Connell and Messerschmidt 2005, 832). In order to spread the notion and ways of being manly, the media is under constant use showing men’s use of physical force and emotional distance in subduing the female subordinate. Subordinate masculinities are not in the context and rap music allows spreading of male dominant stereotype but not with a bit of masculinity. One argues that rap, like the other music genres, is part of this broader culture of gender relations, even as some of the music challenges the dominant culture (Lay, 2000). Some statements suggest that the broader music genres attempt to spread bad faith on gender equality as a resistance to feminism culture. Lay (2000) also argues that music forms a very likeable platform for expressing what would be the masculinity that the sex is characterized with. This usually overlooks the concerns of women who are the vulnerable members in the society. In retrospect, the notion from this is that music can be seen as part of a larger ideological process of persuading the population that heterosexual male supremacy is natural and normal. Hip-hop is a genre of music which is perfectly fits this bill. The reason more rappers abandon political themes in their music is due to the pressure from cooperate musical industry. Many recording labels do not want to produce a politically biased song that could cost millions therefore the artists settle for sexual exploits and material wealth. Kitwana (1994) researches and finds out that the rap producers often turn away artists with no violence and sexual content in their music citing that moral consciousness has no market nowadays (Connell, 1987). Masculinity has been a theme in music and films for quite a long time. For instance, music as well as films have genres which have been known as gangster. Normally, such acts are the preserves of the male members of the society. The aggression shown by males makes them a perfect fit. This inadvertently propelled masculinity in the forms of entertainment. That is why movies themed on gangsters have male actors dominating such works while gangster rap has been a genre of music performed by males. At the time that we were able to get a bigger place in the record stores, and a bigger presence because of this major marketing capacity, the music became less and less conscious (Ashhurst-Watson, quoted in Hurt 2007). The previous account by the former Def jam records president Carmen Ashhurst-Watson supports her account that the more recording labels picked rap music to produce, the more hardcore it became. The reason the music is appealing is due to its appeal to the human sense of learning as a white listener confirmed in hurt’s documentary (quoted in Hurt 2007). The study on rap and its degradation of women serves to show how much effect masculinity has affected logic and morals for femininity. Femininity is not only appearing in women but also in gay men who are seen as lacking in a quality that should serve to make them more manly. Masculine women in influential positions also feel out of place when looking for soul mates due to lack of a providing male partner as it should be in the society. In conclusion, it is evident that the norms are changing but it will take a longer time for the view of femininity and masculinity to be embraced well (Connell, 1995). It will take a while to achieve gender equality due to the universal mindset on sexes and sexuality. Bibliography Andsager, Julie, and Kimberly Roe. 1999. Country music video in country’s year of the woman. Journal of Communication 49:69-82. Armstrong, Gerald. 2001. Gangsta misogyny: A content analysis of the portrayals of violence against women in rap music, 1987-1993. Journal of Criminal Justice and Popular Culture 8:96-126. Connell, R. W. 1995. Masculinities, Berkeley, Calif. University of California Press. Connell, Robert W. 1987. Gender and power. Cambridge: Polity. Connell, Robert W., and James Messerschmidt. 2005. Hegemonic masculinity: Rethinking the concept. Gender and Society 19:829-59. Hurt, Byron. 2007. Hip hop: Beyond beats and rhymes. Independent Lens series, PBS. First broadcast, February 20th. Kitwana, Bakari. 1994. The rap on gangsta rap. Chicago: Third World Press. Lay, Frank. 2000. Sometimes we wonder who the real men are: Masculinity and contemporary popular music. In Subverting masculinity: Hegemonic and alternative versions of masculinity in contemporary culture, ed. R. West and F. Lay, 227-46. Amsterdam: Rodopi. Read More