WOMEN have always had it rough. Despite the fact that we make up half of the world's population, no group has been as universally, quietly and consistently discriminated against throughout history. It is only in relatively modern times that women - at long last and with great effort - have begun to make significant steps toward the equality that they deserve. With nearly two centuries of prominent feminism under our belts and college enrollment statistics boasting a female majority, one would think that respect for the fair sex would be at its height. However, modern pop culture, instead of recognizing the solid contributions that women make to society, approaches females with an appalling disrespect that is historically unparalleled.
When reading the lyrics of some of today's most popular musical "artists," one can only hope that fans of these bands and rappers are not paying attention to the words of their songs. It's far too disturbing to imagine that these individuals understand what is being suggested by this music and continue to support it enthusiastically. Such prominent bands and artists as Eminem, DMX, Doctor Dre, Mystikal, the Bloodhound Gang and many others perform songs with lyrics so vulgar that they cannot be printed.
In his song "Kim," Eminem talks explicitly of violently killing his girlfriend and the mother of his child as she yells for help. In a song by Juvenile, he talks about noticing a girl who he finds attractive. Instead of giving her the respect she is due, he speaks of what he would like to do to her sexually in a degrading manner. His words can be classified as nothing short of appalling, and they imply that she is nothing more than a sex object.
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Furthermore, the Bloodhound Gang's new album, tastefully titled "Hooray For Boobies," contains lyrics portraying women as mere instruments to be used for male pleasure. In the song "Mama's Boy,"the speaker talks of breaking up with his girlfriend and his need to "find a new vagina." Later on in the album, in "The Lap Dance is So Much Better When the Stripper is Crying" - offensive in and of itself - the Bloodhound Gang goes from offensive to frightening as the song notes the following encounter of the speaker with a stripper: "Said her name was Bambi and I said, 'Well that's a coincidence because I was just thinking about skinnin' you like a deer.'"
In addition to offensive lyrics, music videos by these artists and many others that are aired on MTV and BET portray women in an exclusively sexual and subordinate role. Women, of whom there are almost always a vast majority, dance around half naked for the pleasure of the men, while appearing to enjoy this activity. In one especially offensive video by Doctor Dre, men rip a woman's shirt off of her on a backyard volleyball court. Above being portrayed as acceptable, this behavior is showcased as praiseworthy.
In defense of these artists, people often argue that this is fantasy and has no effect on the real world. However, this absurd and ignorant statement flies in the face of psychological research which documents "increases in aggressive behavior and emotional indifference to acts of violence and aggression" following exposure to just this kind of "art"("Some Effects of Violent and Non-Violent Media on the Behavior of Juvenile Delinquents," Parke, Berkowitz, Leyens, West & Sebastian, 1977). In addition, it has also been shown that "exposure to erotic-aggressive media lead[s] to an increase in level of aggression towards females" ("Victim Reactions in Aggressive Films as a Factor in Violence Against Women," Donerstien & Berkowitz, 1981).
Directly demonstrating the truth of these studies is the attack on a group of women last year in New York City's Central Park during the Puerto Rican Day celebration by a mob of men imitating the above-mentioned Doctor Dre video. After the attack, some men had the audacity to assert that the women "were asking for it" due to the way that they were dressed.
Unfortunately, the men of modern culture cannot be held solely responsible for the blatant degeneration of values in the media. By parading around in extremely provocative outfits and using their sexuality - not their talent - to sell records, pop icons like Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera enable and even encourage the re-emerging stereotype of the dominant male and the subordinate female. Unfortunately, the emerging strain of sexism portrays women not only as inferior, but as sub-human sex objects.
As the target market for this trash disguised as artistic expression, we need to step back and examine our role in perpetuating this social plague. It's the youth of America alone that is in a position to stand up and stop this atrocity. We need to speak out against and boycott products that demean and de-value women and stop allowing this filth to hide behind the First Amendment.
(Laura Parcells is a Cavalier Daily viewpoint writer.)
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