Last week, in an event sponsored by the Sexual Assault Awareness Program and the Afro-American Society, a discussion was held concerning the influence of hip-hop music on issues of race, gender, sexuality and violence. One side of the debate centered on whether the listeners of this type of music have a tendency to internalize the meaning of the often crude lyrics. Other attendees of the discussion believed that it was possible to just enjoy the music without allowing it to negatively influence one's opinions or actions. While I do not intend to claim that all the opinions expressed in hip-hop music are angelic and appropriate, I certainly do not think that this music is to blame for sexism, misogyny, homophobia and sexual violence.
Each day, I spend a considerable amount of time watching MTV Jams, a television program that shows an endless rotation of rap music videos. The playlist ranges from the brand new to the old-school hits. I do not analyze each and every lyric I hear; in fact it is often difficult to even understand what exactly is being said. I will, however, attest to the fact that much of the content deals with negative subjects ranging from violence to womanizing. Sometimes certain rhymes are laughable in their vulgar nature. Entire songs are devoted to the drug culture or using multiple women at the same time. I am well aware of the content of the current hip-hop music scene and am perfectly capable of enjoying it without internalizing the messages, even as background music while I do other things. I believe that the vast majority of listeners treat hip-hop music in this way -- they enjoy listening to the music without analyzing and internalizing each and every lyric.
Blaming hip-hop music for the negative problems in society is just another misguided attempt to find a scapegoat for the deplorable prejudices and violent acts that pervade our culture. In our society, we tend to find any excuse possible for our actions rather than searching for the actual, and probably more inconvenient, truth. For years, activists have blamed violent video games for juvenile delinquency and violence in our schools. Just because a kid is entertained by killing zombies or even stealing cars in Grand Theft Auto does not mean that video games are to blame if that kid gets in a fight at school. Many middle schools in this country have outlawed the game of dodgeball because it creates "human targets." I think we've gone too far in our blame game when the innocent games that we played growing up are banned for outrageous reasons. Looks like its time to cancel the IFC Dodgeball tournament.
Studies have shown that far and away the most influential people in our lives are our peers. Negative people, not inappropriate music or entertainment, are the real reason why racism, sexism and homophobia persist in our society. The company that we keep and, to a lesser extent, those who raise us are to blame for the development of any type of prejudice. If we associate with those people who have sexist or misogynistic beliefs, we will likely internalize those ideas as our own. Researchers have shown that violence begets more violence and it follows that if one grows up around violence and hate, he or she will be more likely to commit delinquent acts in the future. If we continue to ignore this fact and instead campaign against hip-hop music or violent video games, we are missing the point.
In a perfect world, all music lyrics would be about peace, love and good things happening to others. Realistically, this will never be the case. It would be interesting to take a set of identical twins raised in identical atmospheres with the same friends and allow only one to listen to hip-hop music and play violent video games. For all I know, a difference would develop between their personalities. However, it seems like an awfully easy out to blame hip-hop for the negativity in our societies rather than confront the larger societal issue and deal with it directly. The world would be a better place if we paid a little less attention to things like music lyrics and gave a little more attention to those with whom we spend our time.
