Unfortunately, music and misogyny often go hand in hand; many revered musical figures have ugly histories of domestic violence and sexual assault, or the content of their songs contain misogynistic ideas, or both. It’s obvious that this can be seen through all genres, but what’s the first one that pops into your head when you think of problematic artists and lyrics?
I’ll bet you said rap or hip-hop.
Kendrick Lamar played with this in his album “DAMN.” when he used clips of Fox News hosts talking about how hip-hop is doing “more damage” to black youth than racism in recent years. There have been various viral videos showing parents’ angry reactions when listening to the rap music that their children listen to. Many describe the music as “poisoning” the minds of children.
We can discuss the appropriateness of this music for children at a later time. The bottom line is that rap and hip-hop are often regarded as vulgar, misogynistic and problematic. However, this isn’t the only genre this happens in.
Let’s talk about rock, specifically alternative-rock genres such as emo, pop-punk, indie and the like. I’ll use “alternative” as an all-encompassing word for these genres.
Alternative music is not exempt from having problematic lyrics. There’s song after song including slut-shaming, like The Story So Far’s “Mt. Diablo”: “Do you look yourself straight in the eyes / And think about who you let between your thighs?”
The unfavorable lyrics about women in these genres stem from this idea of the idealistic girl who rejects you, and suddenly she becomes manipulative, a whore and deserving of bad things. A song by Brand New, “Jude Law and a Semester Abroad,” contains the lyrics “I hope the next boy that you kiss has something terribly contagious on his lips.”
Aside from lyrics, the behaviors of the majority male band members in these genres are also problematic.
A staggering amount of artists in the alternative music scenes are facing sexual assault allegations, ranging from harassment to statutory rape.
Bigger names of accusers that fall under this category are Jesse Lacey, the frontman of Brand New, and Mike Fuentes of Pierce the Veil. Bands like Neck Deep and Moose Blood cut ties with members who were accused in the past.
Perhaps the most sinister recent case was that of Front Porch Step, a solo musician who was accused of having sexual online relationships with underage fans, including the exchange of explicit photos.
I want us to think about why rap or hip-hop is the face of problematic music when all these other genres have displayed the same attitudes. Rock does it, country does it — it’s certainly not exclusive to rap.
Could it have to do with our perceptions of black people? Perhaps.
One study, titled “Blame It on Hip-Hop: Anti-Rap Attitudes as a Proxy for Prejudice,” found that “negative attitudes toward rap were associated with various measures of negative stereotypes of Blacks that blamed Blacks for their economic plights (via stereotypes of laziness). Anti-rap attitudes were also associated with discrimination against Blacks, through both personal and political behaviors.”
I don’t think it’s a coincidence that rap, a historically black-dominated genre, is the supposed face of problematic music.
We should think about why we have these perceptions. Many say, “Well, why does it always have to be about race?” It’s because race perceptions have shaped so much of what we’re used to, and many don’t recognize that. College students especially need to be wary of the information we’re taught, including what we’re taught outside of the classroom.
Sarah Molano is a junior majoring in English.