Conclusion/Inferences
Perceptions
The purpose of this research was to find the connection, if any, between certain females and the misogynistic culture of hip hop. I found that many of the participants gave descriptions of the Video girl script described in previous research (Ross and Coleman 2011). The common description the participants gave when asked what comes to mind when hip hop and black females are mentioned was girls dressing scantily clad, dancing vulgar, and behaving in a manner that garners a lot of negative attention. One participant described her thoughts of hip hop as, “Booty shaking, short clothes, no clothes, all over the place.” Another participant described her thoughts of hip hop as, “T&A”. When I asked her what “T&A” was she expounded by saying, “Sex, titties, ass, all that.”
Influences
Majority of the participants were reluctant to admit to being influenced by hip hop because of the negative perceptions that might have come up previously in the discussion. When first asked if they were influenced by the way black girls in hip hop videos dress and act, the majority of them denied being influenced. When given an example, the majority of them changed their answer by saying that they might dress similarly or act similarly in a party scene but not to the extent of how “Video Girls” do. A common response from the participants was that they readily admitted to their peers, siblings, and members of the younger generation being influenced by the misogynistic culture of hip hop. They were also more open to talking about others being influenced by it than they were about themselves. One participant discussed discouraging her little cousin from mimicking the behaviors from the hip hop industry. She also commented that she understood if someone older around the age of 19 were to be influenced as long as they still showed respect for themselves as a young lady. Another participant admitted to discouraging her younger sister from being influenced by hip hop because she says, “they doing it to get paid.” The participant agreed to understanding that the hip hop industry portrays what sells and not necessarily their true lifestyles.
Four out of the six girls interviewed said they felt belittled by the way black women are portrayed in the hip hop culture. One said she felt empowered and another said she felt both empowered and belittled. The reasons for the participants feeling belittled ranged from the images contributing to the inequality of women to men to the negative perceptions and treatment that come of black women as a result of the culture. The participant that felt empowered said she felt that way because she knows what not to do and what not to let influence her. The participant that felt both empowered and belittled said she was empowered by female rappers that “go hard” and gain a lot of respect but belittled by the ones that are vulgar. She referred to Nicki Minaj as a rapper that made her feel that way.
Inferences
The sample that was taken was not a concrete representation of freshman girls living in the dorms of Alexander Hall. As a recommendation for replication of the research, I would suggest that whoever interviews the participants be someone without a campus-wide leadership position that students might be influenced by. The participants’ answers might have been partially true based off of fear of being judged by the investigator. As I observed the body language of the participants, I concluded that some of them might not have been telling the truth. When I asked questions about the participants being influenced by misogynistic images in hip hop, some of the denied it with a smile, or very defensively. This can be expected when asking questions about a person’s behavior if the behavior is not that of an upstanding citizen. For further research I would recommend an observational method to acquire a more accurate account of someone’s behavior.
The purpose of this research was to find the connection, if any, between certain females and the misogynistic culture of hip hop. I found that many of the participants gave descriptions of the Video girl script described in previous research (Ross and Coleman 2011). The common description the participants gave when asked what comes to mind when hip hop and black females are mentioned was girls dressing scantily clad, dancing vulgar, and behaving in a manner that garners a lot of negative attention. One participant described her thoughts of hip hop as, “Booty shaking, short clothes, no clothes, all over the place.” Another participant described her thoughts of hip hop as, “T&A”. When I asked her what “T&A” was she expounded by saying, “Sex, titties, ass, all that.”
Influences
Majority of the participants were reluctant to admit to being influenced by hip hop because of the negative perceptions that might have come up previously in the discussion. When first asked if they were influenced by the way black girls in hip hop videos dress and act, the majority of them denied being influenced. When given an example, the majority of them changed their answer by saying that they might dress similarly or act similarly in a party scene but not to the extent of how “Video Girls” do. A common response from the participants was that they readily admitted to their peers, siblings, and members of the younger generation being influenced by the misogynistic culture of hip hop. They were also more open to talking about others being influenced by it than they were about themselves. One participant discussed discouraging her little cousin from mimicking the behaviors from the hip hop industry. She also commented that she understood if someone older around the age of 19 were to be influenced as long as they still showed respect for themselves as a young lady. Another participant admitted to discouraging her younger sister from being influenced by hip hop because she says, “they doing it to get paid.” The participant agreed to understanding that the hip hop industry portrays what sells and not necessarily their true lifestyles.
Four out of the six girls interviewed said they felt belittled by the way black women are portrayed in the hip hop culture. One said she felt empowered and another said she felt both empowered and belittled. The reasons for the participants feeling belittled ranged from the images contributing to the inequality of women to men to the negative perceptions and treatment that come of black women as a result of the culture. The participant that felt empowered said she felt that way because she knows what not to do and what not to let influence her. The participant that felt both empowered and belittled said she was empowered by female rappers that “go hard” and gain a lot of respect but belittled by the ones that are vulgar. She referred to Nicki Minaj as a rapper that made her feel that way.
Inferences
The sample that was taken was not a concrete representation of freshman girls living in the dorms of Alexander Hall. As a recommendation for replication of the research, I would suggest that whoever interviews the participants be someone without a campus-wide leadership position that students might be influenced by. The participants’ answers might have been partially true based off of fear of being judged by the investigator. As I observed the body language of the participants, I concluded that some of them might not have been telling the truth. When I asked questions about the participants being influenced by misogynistic images in hip hop, some of the denied it with a smile, or very defensively. This can be expected when asking questions about a person’s behavior if the behavior is not that of an upstanding citizen. For further research I would recommend an observational method to acquire a more accurate account of someone’s behavior.
A couple of the girls referred to Lil Wayne putting them in the frame of mind of misogyny. Here is one of his videos.