Comments

1. Donna Darko wrote:

   You see, Ms. Winfrey, at it’s worse; Hip Hop is simply a reflection of the society that birthed it. Our love affair with gangsterism and the denigration of women is not rooted in Hip Hop; rather it is rooted in the very core of our personal faith and religions. The gangsters that rule Hip Hop are the same gangsters that rule our nation. 50 Cent and George Bush have the same birthday (July 6th). For a Hip Hop artist to say “I do what I wanna do/Don’t care if I get caught/The DA could play this mothafukin tape in court/I’ll kill you/ I ain’t playin’” epitomizes the confidence and braggadocio we expect an admire from a rapper who claims to represent the lowest denominator. When a world leader with the spirit of a cowboy (the true original gangster of the West: raping, stealing land, and pillaging, as we clapped and cheered.) takes the position of doing what he wants to do, regardless of whether the UN or American public would take him to court, then we have witnessed true gangsterism and violent negligence. Yet, there is nothing more negligent than attempting to address a problem one finds on a branch by censoring the leaves.

   This is passing the buck no different than what that idiot Imus did. He was fired and Limbaugh and the other shock jocks are next. Misogyny in pop culture is always criticized on feminist blogs, by feminists. It’s natural that we should criticize it everywhere including in music.

   We are a nation at war. What we fail to see is that we are fighting ourselves. There is no true hatred of women in Hip Hop. At the root of our nature we inherently worship the feminine. Our overall attention to the nurturing guidance of our mothers and grandmothers as well as our ideas of what is sexy and beautiful all support this. But when the idea of the feminine is taken out of the idea of what is divine or sacred then that worship becomes objectification. When our governed morality asserts that a woman is either a virgin or a whore, then our understanding of sexuality becomes warped. Note the dangling platinum crosses over the bare asses being smacked in the videos. The emcees of my generation are the ministers of my father’s generation. They too had a warped perspective of the feminine. Censoring songs, sermons, or the tirades of radio personalities will change nothing except the format of our discussion. If we are to sincerely address the change we are praying for then we must first address to whom we are praying.

   This is passing the buck to Christianity and white politicians. But most Americans have spoken out against the misogyny in Christianity and among our politicians. It’s called the feminist movement.

   Posted 21 Apr 2007 at 1:05 pm ¶

2. Donna Darko wrote:

   And Oprah Winfrey always criticizes sexism in white mainstream culture. She also never has sexist idiots like Limbaugh, Beck, Imus, Coulter or any shock jock on her show unless it’s to explicitly criticize them. No one’s “scapegoating” rap music for its sexism. As Saul Williams and others said, it’s music of the street and the top 40 stuff is the most egregiously sexist so it’s simply more noticeable. The only person who “scapegoated” rap music was that idiot Imus and he was FIRED. Oprah was one of the first people in the white mainstream to criticize sexism in rap music and she was called too white, too mainstream, etc. and I still think she’s right to do so.

   Posted 21 Apr 2007 at 1:15 pm ¶

3. Donna Darko wrote:

   Furthermore, people say it’s dirty laundry and will lead to more killing and imprisonment of black men. Oprah criticizing commercial rap for its sexism and starting a dialogue about sexism in commercial rap music will NOT put more men in jail. In fact, it will IMPROVE the image of black men and women so they’re not perceived as “thugs” and “hos” and LESS PEOPLE be killed and put in prison.

   Posted 21 Apr 2007 at 1:19 pm ¶

4. Meg wrote:

   It’s a little hard to feel sorry for a billionaire but i don’t think oprah can win this one. If she criticises hip-hop she’s a sell-out/too white, if she criticises these same things in other institutions/people, then the question will be why she’s not focused on the black community.

   Posted 22 Apr 2007 at 2:43 am ¶

5. Donna Darko wrote:

   Forget about Oprah, do you agree if nonbillionaire black women are saying the same thing? One of many examples:

   Cora Daniels, who I’d heard before and who impressed me considerably, said that, “As a black woman, it doesn’t make me feel any better if Snoop Dogg calls me a ho than if Don Imus calls me a ho. I’m still being disrespected.”

   http://larrylivermore.blogspot.com/2007/04/imus-did-us-favor.html

   Posted 22 Apr 2007 at 1:56 pm ¶

6. Donna Darko wrote:

   And Americans HAVE spoken out against Bush and Republicans. They voted overwhelmingly for a Democratic Congress, Senate, state legislatures and governorships in the midterm elections. So passing the buck and saying no one speaks out against this administration is a copout. Accountability is the key and if I were accoutable, I would have visited my Representative’s office every week since I was 18. Bush became president in 2000 and we’re all accountable for that.

   Imus, Beck, Limbaugh, Coulter always describe their white lives and how the feel about marginalized groups and marginalized groups don’t like it. Why is that shock jocks in marginalized groups (I’m only talking about people like 50 cent or Nelly) who describe their lives and how they feel do the same thing to their own people given a pass? In a way, it’s worse because they’re racist and sexist against their own people who are already marginalized. But where are the nonwhite women speaking out against sexism in their communities? It starts with women. Men aren’t going to change their ways unless women allow it.

   Posted 22 Apr 2007 at 2:07 pm ¶

7. Rabia wrote:

   I’ve heard the “hip hop is only a symptom” crap over and over, and frankly, it’s lame and tired. If misogyny in hip hop is simply a consequence of misogyny in greater society, I still do not see how that makes rappers exempt from taking the first step towards correcting the situation. With this logic, everyone can pass on the buck to someone else indefinitely.

   Posted 23 Apr 2007 at 12:17 pm ¶