The Effects of Rap Music Videos

This week, Randy mentioned in class that for some reason black women are expected to expose their bodies more than white women, when he compared Beyonce to Taylor Swift. If Randy's statement is correct (which I think it is to some extent), this expectation maybe perpetuated by the prevalence of rap music videos. I would just add, that Latin American women are objectified and exposed in violent rap music videos as frequently as African Americans.

If one visits this link (http://www.rapindustry.com/Rap_Industry_Models.htm) and looks through the pictures of the models, posted for rap music producers and artists to choose for their videos, rarely will one find images of white women amidst the abundance of those of black and Latin American women. It may not be surprising then as to why African American women who watch these violent and abusive videos experience their destructive influence.

As this article on (http://www.reuters.com/article/lifestyleMolt/idUSN1620751920071016) suggests, rap music videos have a negative, and sometimes fatal influence on black women. According to U.S. researchers, exposure to disturbing rap music videos leads to drug addiction and otherwise unfortunate consequences. The article explains that, "young black girls who spent more time watching rap music videos were more likely to binge drink, have sex with multiple partners, test positive for marijuana and have a negative body image." These effects are the result of the constant representation of alcohol intake and sexual abuse in rap music videos as normal . The article also discussed how these violent videos place black women as "decorative objects" and emphasize their sexualized appearance. What is interesting to me is that, while in 19th century, white men treated black women like Saartjie Baartman as a decorative sexual object, in the 21st century, the same kind of attitude towards black women is displayed in rap music videos by black men.

While legislation that economically restricts music companies promoting this type of rap music is being considered, more must be done to eliminate the above mentioned stereotypes from media content.