Sexism and Misogyny: Who Takes the Rap?!
Misogyny, gangsta rap, and The Piano!
By bell hooks
For the past several months white mainstream media has been calling me to hear my views on
gangsta rap. Whether major television networks, or small independent radio shows, they seek
me out for the black and feminist "take" on the issue. After I have my say, I am never called
back, never invited to do the television shows or the radio spots. I suspect they call, confident
that when we talk they will hear the hardcore "feminist" trash of gangsta rap. When they
encounter instead the hardcore feminist critique of white supremacist capitalist patriarchy, they
lose interest.
To white dominated mass media, the controversy over gangsta rap makes great spectacle.
Besides the exploitation of these issues to attract audiences, a central motivation for
highlighting gangsta rap continues to be the sensationalist drama of demonizing black youth
culture in general and the contributions of young black men in particular. It is a contemporary
remake of "Birth of a Nation" only this time we are encouraged to believe it is not just
vulnerable white womanhood that risks destruction by black hands but everyone. When I
counter this demonization of black males by insisting that gangsta rap does not appear in a
cultural vacuum, but, rather, is expressive of the cultural crossing, mixings, and engagement of
black youth culture with the values, attitudes, and concerns of the white majority, some folks
stop listening.
The sexist, misogynist, patriarchal ways of thinking and behaving that are glorified in gangsta
rap are a reflection of the prevailing values in our society, values created and sustained by white
supremacist capitalist patriarchy. As the crudest and most brutal expression of sexism,
misogynistic attitudes tend to be portrayed by the dominant culture as an expression of male
deviance. In reality they are part of a sexist continuum, necessary for the maintenance of
patriarchal social order. While patriarchy and sexism continue to be the political and cultural
norm in our society, the feminist movement has created a climate where crude expressions of
male domination are called into question, especially if they are made by men in power. It is
useful to think of misogyny as a field that must be labored in and maintained both to sustain
patriarchy but also to serve as an ideological anti-feminist backlash. And what better group to
labor on this "plantation" than young black men.
To see gangsta rap as a reflection of dominant values in our culture rather than as an aberrant
"pathological" standpoint does not mean that a rigorous feminist critique of the sexism and
misogyny expressed in this music is not needed. Without a doubt black males, young and old,
must be held politically accountable for their sexism. Yet this critique must always be
contextualized or we risk making it appear that the behaviors this thinking supports and
condones,--rape, male violence against women, etc.-- is a black male thing. And this is what is
happening. Young black males are forced to take the "heat" for encouraging, via their music,
the hatred of and violence against women that is a central core of patriarchy.
Witness the recent piece by Brent Staples in the "New York Times" titled "The Politics of
Gangster Rap: A Music Celebrating Murder and Misogyny." Defining the turf Staples writes: "For
those who haven't caught up, gangster rap is that wildly successful music in which all women
are `bitches' and `whores' and young men kill each other for sport." No mention of white
supremacist capitalist patriarchy in this piece, not a word about the cultural context that would
need to exist for young males to be socialized to think differently about gender. Staples
assumes that black males are writing their lyrics off in the "jungle," away from the impact of
mainstream socialization and desire. At no point in his piece does he ask why huge audiences,
especially young white male consumers, are so turned on by this music, by the misogyny and
sexism, by the brutality? Where is the anger and rage at females expressed in this music
coming from, the glorification of all acts of violence? These are the difficult questions that
Staples feels no need to answer.
One cannot answer them honestly without placing accountability on larger structures of
domination and the individuals (often white, usually male but not always) who are hierarchically
placed to maintain and perpetuate the values that uphold these exploitative and oppressive
systems. That means taking a critical looking at the politics of hedonistic consumerism, the
values of the men and women who produce gangsta rap. It would mean considering the
seduction of young black males who find that they can make more money producing lyrics that
promote violence, sexism, and misogyny than with any other content. How many
disenfranchised black males would not surrender to expressing virulent forms of sexism, if they
knew the rewards would be unprecedented material power and fame?
More than anything gangsta rap celebrates the world of the "material," the dog-eat-dog world
where you do what you gotta do to make it. In this world view killing is necessary for survival.
Significantly, the logic here is a crude expression of the logic of white supremacist capitalist
patriarchy. In his new book "Sexy Dressing, Etc." privileged white male law professor Duncan
Kennedy gives what he calls "a set of general characterizations of U. S. culture" explaining that,
"It is individual (cowboys), material (gangsters) and philistine." Using this general description of
mainstream culture would lead us to place "gangsta rap" not on the margins of what this nation
is about, but at the center. Rather than being viewed as a subversion or disruption of the norm
we would need to see it as an embodiment of the norm.
That viewpoint was graphically highlighted in the film "Menace To Society" which dramatized
not only young black males killing for sport, but also mass audiences voyeuristically watching
and, in many cases, "enjoying" the kill. Significantly, at one point in the movie we see that the
young black males have learned their "gangsta" values from watching television and movies--
shows where white male gangsters are center stage. This scene undermines any notion of
"essentialist" blackness that would have viewers believe the gangsterism these young black
males embraced emerged from some unique black cultural experience.
When I interviewed rap artist Ice Cube for "Spin" magazine last year, he talked about the
importance of respecting black women and communication across gender. He spoke against
male violence against women, even as he lapsed into a justification for anti- woman rap lyrics
by insisting on the madonna/whore split where some females "carry" themselves in a manner
that determines how they will be treated. When this interview was published, it was cut to
nothing. It was a mass media set-up. Folks (mostly white and male) had thought if the hardcore
feminist talked with the hardened black man, sparks would fly; there would be a knock-down
drag out spectacle. When Brother Cube and I talked to each other with respect about the
political, spiritual, and emotional self- determination of black people, it did not make good copy.
Clearly folks at the magazine did not get the darky show they were looking for.
After this conversation, and talking with rappers and folks who listen to rap, it became clear
that while black male sexism is a serious problem in our communities and in black music, some
of the more misogynist lyrics were there to stir up controversy and appeal to audiences.
Nowhere is this more evident that in Snoop Doggy Dogg's record "Doggystyle". A black male
music and cultural critic called me to ask if I had checked this image out; to share that for one
of the first times in his music buying life he felt he was seeing an image so offensive in its
sexism and misogyny that he did not want to take that image home. That image (complete with
doghouse, beware the dog sign, with a naked black female head in a doghouse, naked butt
sticking out) was reproduced, "uncritically," in the November 29, 1993 issue of "Time"
magazine. The positive music review of this album, written by Christopher John Farley, is titled
"Gangsta Rap, Doggystyle" makes no mention of sexism and misogyny, makes no reference to
the cover. I wonder if a naked white female body had been inside the doghouse, presumably
waiting to be fucked from behind, if "Time" would have reproduced an image of the cover along
with their review. When I see the pornographic cartoon that graces the cover of "Doggystyle," I
do not think simply about the sexism and misogyny of young black men, I think about the sexist
and misogynist politics of the powerful white adult men and women (and folks of color) who
helped produce and market this album.
In her book "Misogynies" Joan Smith shares her sense that while most folks are willing to
acknowledge unfair treatment of women, discrimination on the basis of gender, they are usually
reluctant to admit that hatred of women is encouraged because it helps maintain the structure
of male dominance. Smith suggests: "Misogyny wears many guises, reveals itself in different
forms which are dictated by class, wealth, education, race, religion and other factors, but its
chief characteristic is its pervasiveness." This point reverberated in my mind when I saw Jane
Campion's widely acclaimed film "The Piano" which I saw in the midst of mass media focus on
sexism and misogyny in "gangsta rap." I had been told by many friends in the art world that
this was "an incredible film, a truly compelling love story etc." Their responses were echoed by
numerous positive reviews. No one speaking about this film mentions misogyny and sexism or
white supremacist capitalist patriarchy.
The 19th century world of the white invasion of New Zealand is utterly romanticized in this film
(complete with docile happy darkies--Maori natives--who appear to have not a care in the
world). And when the film suggests they care about white colonizers digging up the graves of
their dead ancestors, it is the sympathetic poor white male who comes to the rescue. Just as
the conquest of natives and lands is glamorized in this film, so is the conquest of femininity,
personified by white womanhood, by the pale speechless corpse-like Scotswoman, Ada, who
journeys into this dark wilderness because her father has arranged for her to marry the white
colonizer Stewart. Although mute, Ada expresses her artistic ability, the intensity of her vision
and feelings through piano playing. This passion attracts Baines, the illiterate white settler who
wears the facial tattoos of the Maori--an act of appropriation that makes him (like the traditional
figure of Tarzan) appear both dangerous and romantic. He is Norman Mailer's "white negro,"
seducing Ada by promising to return the piano that Steward has exchanged with him for land.
The film leads us to believe that Ada's passionate piano playing has been a substitution for
repressed eroticism. When she learns to let herself go sexually, she ceases to need the piano.
We watch the passionate climax of Baines seduction as she willingly seeks him sexually. And we
watch her husband Stewart in the role of voyeur, standing with dog outside the cabin where
they fuck, voyeuristically consuming their pleasure. Rather than being turned off by her love for
Baines, it appears to excite Stewart's passion; he longs to possess her all the more. Unable to
win her back from Baines, he expresses his rage, rooted in misogyny and sexism, by physically
attacking her and chopping off her finger with an ax. This act of male violence takes place with
Ada's daughter, Flora, as a witness. Though traumatized by the violence she witnesses, she is
still about to follow the white male patriarch's orders and take the bloody finger to Baines,
along with the message that each time he sees Ada she will suffer physical mutilation.
Violence against land, natives, and women in this film, unlike that of gangsta rap, is portrayed
uncritically, as though it is "natural," the inevitable climax of conflicting passions. The outcome
of this violence is positive. Ultimately, the film suggests Stewart's rage was only an expression
of irrational sexual jealousy, that he comes to his senses and is able to see "reason." In keeping
with male exchange of women, he gives Ada and Flora to Baines. They leave the wilderness. On
the voyage home Ada demands that her piano be thrown overboard because it is "soiled,"
tainted with horrible memories. Surrendering it she lets go of her longing to display passion
through artistic expression. A nuclear family now, Baines, Ada, and Flora resettle and live
happily-ever-after. Suddenly, patriarchal order is restored. Ada becomes a modest wife, wearing
a veil over her mouth so that no one will see her lips struggling to speak words. Flora has no
memory of trauma and is a happy child turning somersaults. Baines is in charge, even making
Ada a new finger.
"The Piano "seduces and excites audiences with its uncritical portrayal of sexism and misogyny.
Reviewers and audiences alike seem to assume that Campion's gender, as well as her breaking
of traditional boundaries that inhibit the advancement of women in film, indicate that her work
expresses a feminist standpoint. And, indeed, she does employ feminist "tropes," even as her
work betrays feminist visions of female actualization, celebrates and eroticizes male domination.
In Smith's discussion of misogyny she emphasizes that woman-hating is not solely the province
of men: "We are all exposed to the prevailing ideology of our culture, and some women learn
early on that they can prosper by aping the misogyny of men; these are the women who win
provisional favor by denigrating other women, by playing on male prejudices, and by acting the
`man's woman'." Since this is not a documentary film that needs to remain faithful to the ethos
of its historical setting, why is it that Campion does not resolve Ada's conflicts by providing us
with an imaginary landscape where a woman can express passionate artistic commitment and
find fulfillment in a passionate relationship? This would be no more far-fetched than her
cinematic portrayal of Ada's miraculous transformation from muteness into speech. Ultimately,
Campion's "The Piano" advances the sexist assumption that heterosexual women will give up
artistic practice to find "true love." That "positive" surrender is encouraged by the "romantic"
portrayal of sexism and misogyny.
While I do not think that young black male rappers have been rushing in droves to see "The
Piano", there is a bond between those folks involved with high culture who celebrate and
condone the sexist ideas and values upheld in this film and those who celebrate and condone
"gangsta rap." Certainly Kennedy's description of the United States as a "cowboy, gangster,
philistine" culture would also accurately describe the culture evoked in "The Piano". Popular
movies that are seen by young black males, for example "Indecent Proposal, MadDog and
Glory, True Romance", and "One False Move", all eroticize male domination expressed via the
exchange of women, as well as the subjugation of other men, through brutal violence.
Contrary to a racist white imagination which assumes that most young black males, especially
those who are poor, live in a self- created cultural vacuum, uninfluenced by mainstream, cultural
values, it is the application of those values, largely learned through passive uncritical
consumption of mass media, that is revealed in "gangsta rap." Brent Staples is willing to
challenge the notion that "urban primitivism is romantic" when it suggests that black males
become "real men" by displaying the will to do violence, yet he remains resolutely silent about
that world of privileged white culture that has historically romanticized primitivism, and
eroticized male violence. Contemporary films like "Reservoir Dogs" and "The Bad Lieutenant"
celebrate urban primitivism and many less well done films ("Trespass, Rising Sun") create and/
or exploit the cultural demand for depictions of hardcore blacks who are willing to kill for sport.
To take "gangsta rap" to task for its sexism and misogyny while critically accepting and
perpetuating those expressions of that ideology which reflect bourgeois standards (no rawness,
no vulgarity) is not to call for a transformation of the culture of patriarchy. Ironically, many black
male ministers, themselves sexist and misogynist, are leading the attacks against gangsta rap.
Like the mainstream world that supports white supremacist capitalist patriarchy, they are most
concerned with calling attention to the vulgar obscene portrayals of women to advance the
cause of censorship. For them, rethinking and challenging sexism, both in the dominant culture
and in black life, is not the issue.
Mainstream white culture is not concerned about black male sexism and misogyny, particularly
when it is unleashed against black women and children. It is concerned when young white
consumers utilize black popular culture to disrupt bourgeois values. Whether it be the young
white boy who expresses his rage at his mother by aping black male vernacular speech (a true
story) or the masses of young white males (and middle class men of color) seeking to throw off
the constraints of bourgeois bondage who actively assert in their domestic households via acts
of aggression their rejection of the call to be "civilized." These are the audiences who feel such
a desperate need for gangsta rap. It is much easier to attack gangsta rap than to confront the
culture that produces that need.
Gangsta rap is part of the anti-feminist backlash that is the rage right now. When young black
males labor in the plantations of misogyny and sexism to produce gangsta rap, their right to
speak this violence and be materially rewarded is extended to them by white supremacist
capitalist patriarchy. Far from being an expression of their "manhood," it is an expression of
their own subjugation and humiliation by more powerful, less visible forces of patriarchal
gangsterism. They give voice to the brutal raw anger and rage against women that it is taboo
for "civilized" adult men to speak. No wonder then that they have the task of tutoring the
young, teaching them to eroticize and enjoy the brutal expressions of that rage (teaching them
language and acts) before they learn to cloak it in middle-class decorum or Robert Bly style
reclaimings of lost manhood. The tragedy for young black males is that they are so easily
dunned by a vision of manhood that can only lead to their destruction.
Feminist critiques of the sexism and misogyny in gangsta rap, and in all aspects of popular
culture, must continue to be bold and fierce. Black females must not be duped into supporting
shit that hurts us under the guise of standing beside our men. If black men are betraying us
through acts of male violence, we save ourselves and the race by resisting. Yet, our feminist
critiques of black male sexism fail as meaningful political intervention if they seek to demonize
black males, and do not recognize that our revolutionary work is to transform white supremacist
capitalist patriarchy in the multiple areas of our lives where it is made manifest, whether in
gangsta rap, the black church, or the Clinton administration.
END ZMAGAZINE FEBRUARY 1994
