A woman does little, chatters a lot
Apr. 13th, 2007 03:59 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sabotabbyI have little desire to post about Imus or the Duke-Lacrosse-OMG-STFU-about-it-internets-case (but go read Jill's post on Feministe), but I do feel the need to talk about a very important aspect of the former case. There seems to be a trend of Imus apologists jumping out of the woodwork to blame his comments on the fact that some hip hop songs talk about bitches and hos and how unfair it is that black people get to call each other [N-bomb] and white people aren't allowed to use That Word.
Now, I didn't know who Don Imus was before this whole story broke, but judging by some other things he's said, I don't think he really listens to rap. (Thanks to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
kaelynn for that link.)
Still, we can't exactly let music off the hook for this incident, as everyone knows that Iron Maiden makes 14-year-old boys commit suicide and Marilyn Manson makes goths go on shooting sprees, and, of course, hip hop makes radio personalities spew racist and sexist comments. So for your edification, I have collected some song lyrics that promote violence against women and the thug life.
Ooops! My bad. That's "Banks of the Ohio," a traditional song, first recorded by Bill and Charlie Monroe in 1936.
Oops again! That's the Johnny Cash version of "Cocaine Blues." It glorifies drug use, too. Don't blame the Man in Black too much, though; it's a re-working of an American folk song called "Little Sadie," first transcribed in 1922.
Cash, again, with "Delia's Gone." I was listening to that last night.
I'll have you know that I'm not singling out country as a genre. I'm a big fan of opera too, and it's even more heavily loaded with misogyny ("So a woman beguiled you? A woman does little, chatters a lot." That's Mozart, from The Magic Flute.). But neither country nor opera is seldom if ever cited when a public figure makes a racist or sexist comment. Neither of those musical styles are ever listed as a symptom of cultural decay.
So, why hip hop?* How is this musical genre different from all other musical genres?
Come on, people. The answer's not that hard.
* This thread is notable for two reasons. First:starchaser57 is back, and as unhinged as ever. Second, check out tenacious_c attempting to limit what constitutes misogyny to something he apparently read on Dictionary.com.
Now, I didn't know who Don Imus was before this whole story broke, but judging by some other things he's said, I don't think he really listens to rap. (Thanks to
kaelynn for that link.)Still, we can't exactly let music off the hook for this incident, as everyone knows that Iron Maiden makes 14-year-old boys commit suicide and Marilyn Manson makes goths go on shooting sprees, and, of course, hip hop makes radio personalities spew racist and sexist comments. So for your edification, I have collected some song lyrics that promote violence against women and the thug life.
I took her by her pretty white hand,
I led her down the banks of sand,
I plunged her in
Where she would drown,
An' watched her as she floated down.
Ooops! My bad. That's "Banks of the Ohio," a traditional song, first recorded by Bill and Charlie Monroe in 1936.
Early one mornin' while makin' the rounds
I took a shot of cocaine and I shot my woman down
I went right home and I went to bed
I stuck that lovin' .44 beneath my head
Oops again! That's the Johnny Cash version of "Cocaine Blues." It glorifies drug use, too. Don't blame the Man in Black too much, though; it's a re-working of an American folk song called "Little Sadie," first transcribed in 1922.
First time I shot her, I shot her in the side
Hard to watch her suffer
But with the second shot she died
Delia's gone, one more round Delia's gone
Cash, again, with "Delia's Gone." I was listening to that last night.
I'll have you know that I'm not singling out country as a genre. I'm a big fan of opera too, and it's even more heavily loaded with misogyny ("So a woman beguiled you? A woman does little, chatters a lot." That's Mozart, from The Magic Flute.). But neither country nor opera is seldom if ever cited when a public figure makes a racist or sexist comment. Neither of those musical styles are ever listed as a symptom of cultural decay.
So, why hip hop?* How is this musical genre different from all other musical genres?
Come on, people. The answer's not that hard.
* This thread is notable for two reasons. First:
starchaser57 is back, and as unhinged as ever. Second, check out tenacious_c attempting to limit what constitutes misogyny to something he apparently read on Dictionary.com.
