Exploring Performative Gender in Hip Hop (Final)
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Transcript of Exploring Performative Gender in Hip Hop (Final)
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Jonathan Coker | Dr. Rudloff | Text and Discourse Analysis| 9 May 2012
Exploring Performative Gender in Hip Hop Culture
Hip Hop has always been a battle of the sexes. Ever since
Naughty by Nature asked the world if they were “Down with
O.P.P.” and TLC denounced “Scrubs,” rap culture has tried to
explicitly define gender roles. However, I have discovered these
roles to have blurred over time. In Deborah Cameron’s
“Performing Gender Identity,” she claims, “Gender has
constantly to be reaffirmed and publicly displayed by repeatedly
performing particular acts in accordance with the cultural norms
(themselves historically and socially constructed, and
consequently variable) which define ‘masculinity’ and
‘femininity’”(454). I further investigated this claim, applying its
meaning to the realm of “Rap Culture,” and how men and women
perform gender in the hip hop culture. My research supports
Cameron’s claim that gender is constantly reasserted by societal
norms. Yet, in hip hop culture, performative gender is not only
based on societal identity, but also interpersonal relationships
found on the dance floor, and the game of control played by both
males and females.
Hip hop culture is a key social medium through which youth
construct their gender. According to Miguel Muñoz-Laboy,
Assistant Professor in Department of Sociomedical Sciences at
Columbia University, and his colleagues, Hannah Weinstein and
Richard Parker, hip hop culture functions as both a “model of”
and a “model for” cultural identity (627). Essentially, hip hop
artists produce culture-defining music not only for the youth
culture, but also about the youth culture. Yet, this audience has
changed drastically since it was first introduced to the media.
Hip hop exploded into mainstream culture in the 80s, fused with
different genres in the 90s, and became inseparable from Top 40
music in the 2000s, growing to become a significant facet of
contemporary youth culture. Because the media’s influence has
become so inescapable, the youth subconsciously turn to icons of
popular culture rather than their parents when attempting to
understand sexuality and gender roles. Therefore, because hip
hop culture has become so ubiquitous, it greatly affects the way
young men and women construct their identity. According to
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Jamel Santa Cruze Belle, Assistant Professor in the
Communication Department at Boston College, and his
colleague, Roberto Avant-Mier, “Rap music and videos are
significant environmental factors that play an important role in
the way young people express and define themselves” (43). This
sentiment correlates with Cameron’s initial view on performative
gender and gender speech. Cameron argues that gender speech
is a “repeated stylization of the body,” or a consistency in
mannerisms (444). Therefore, because the men and women of
hip hop culture define themselves based distinct cultural norms,
they are performing gender.
Rap culture places great emphasis on the club scene or the
dance floor, where young people candidly express their gender.
On the dance floor, males demonstrate their assertive
masculinity and females challenge hyper-masculine dominance
(Muñoz-Laboy, et al. 615). Hip hop clubs are a competitive arena
where men and women vie for each other’s attention in very
different ways. While young men are pressured to “grind” (a
suggestive type of dancing which mimics sexual intercourse) and
get as close to women as possible, females are pressured to
perform their feminine sexuality by dancing promiscuously
(Muñoz-Laboy, et al. 620). This example of performative gender
on the dance floor must follow a gender code of conduct to
function appropriately. Young men assert their dominance by
treating females with disinterest,(insinuating that women need
men more than men need women) while females set the dancing
boundaries. This distinct relationship creates a “level of
understanding” between male and females, as roles and rules are
established nonverbally. (Muñoz-Laboy, et al. 621). Interestingly,
this mirrors a common courting strategy of young heterosexual
men in America, further exposing hip hop’s influence on the
youth culture. In the hip hop dance scene, dancing is symbolic of
sex, which is usually of more concern for males rather than
females (Belle and Avant-Mier, 48). Because women set the
boundaries while dancing, they can either chose to end the
engagement and dance with friends or become the aggressor,
seeking male attention. In this way, women can become closer to
their peers while collectively understanding the actual flexibility
of normative gender roles. This correlates with Cameron’s idea
of a “joint production,” where contributors to a discourse
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cooperate to construct a “group property rather than the
property of a single speaker” (450). Conversely, Cameron
highlights the necessity for competition (males vying for female
attention) in order for discourse to function. Thus, the dance
floor becomes a battleground of gendered speech and
performativity based on the social norms of rap culture.
Rap culture is portrayed as a game of control, and the victor
of this competition is who performs best as the aggressor. In hip
hop, women are commonly depicted as sexual objects, and grow
to accept this stigma, portraying themselves accordingly (Muñoz-
Laboy et al. 626). However, in recent times, women are prone to
turn this objectification onto males, asserting control of their
bodies and social situations. This modernized idea of a female as
aggressor equates to performative gender, a concept that is
further highlighted by sexual attitudes and stereotypes.
According to Monique Kloosterman, assistant professor in the
Department of Interdisciplinary Social Science at Utrecht
University, and her colleagues, Tom F. M. ter Bogt, Rutger C. M.
E. Engels and Sanne Bogers, “An exposure to formulaic content
of youth media shapes sexual attitudes...which leads to a chronic
adoption of these schemas” ( 845). Thus, young women in the
hip hop culture struggle between the hegemonic gender
ideologies of female passiveness and a newfound need for
assertion (Belle and Avant-Mier, 48). Females in hop hop are
either portrayed as man-eating aggressors, or, more prolifically,
as servants of men. Even when females become subjects of
discourse in lyrics, they are still represented with misogyny,
becoming doers for men (48). Regardless of the progression
women have made in the hip hop world, they still lack visible
agency in rap culture for they are represented as idealistic
caricatures.
In “Ni**as In Paris,” a single by popular rappers Kanye West
and Jay-Z from their 2011 collaborative album entitled “Watch
the Throne,” both rappers depict the concept of control over
females in hip hop while performing the stereotypical idea of
masculinity in hip hop. A faceless female asks West if they “can
get married at the mall” to which he replies “look, you need to
crawl before you ball,” displaying his dominance (Appendix A,
lines 2-3). West continues declaring his control over the female
by insisting she meet him in the bathroom stall to prove her
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worth (Appendix A, lines 4-5). This validates the depiction of the
cool, tough, and potentially violent male in hip hop and his
plaything female counterpart who lacks agency (Kloosterman et
al. 854). Elsewhere, Jay-Z and West begin to compete for
authenticity, a significant facet of performative gender as well as
maintaining masculinity in hip hop. When Jay-Z argues “I got that
hot bitch in my home,” West rebuttals, “You know how many hot
bitches I own” (Appendix A, lines 11-12). This not only supports
Cameron’s importance of competition in discourse, but also her
concept of male gossip as a means to encourage inclusiveness
(456), a significant facet of hip hop culture, which is a
traditionally boy’s club. Essentially, Cameron would argue that
Kanye West and Jay-Z are simply constructing their masculinity
and performing their gender in “Ni**s In Paris” by constantly
reaffirming their connection to the hip hop ethos.
Conversely, contemporary female rappers are performing
their genders in unsuspecting ways, challenging ideals of
normative female roles in hip hop. One such rapper is Azealia
Banks, a Harlem-born rapper who garnered critical acclaim after
the release of her first single, “212,” in late 2011. Like her male
counterparts, Banks presents herself in a cool, tough, and
potentially violent manner. She frequently threatens to “ruin” the
men who dare to challenge her, also calling them “cunts,” a
slang word for the female genitalia which diminishes her
opponents’ manhood and thwarts their expectations (Appendix B,
l. 22). Banks further challenges gender roles by explicitly
expressing her sexuality, instead of being a voiceless vehicle for
male objectification. This concept of a woman asserting her
dominance over a male correlates with Belle and Avant-Mier’s
earlier notion of a change in female identity.
This change in female identity in hip hop is justified, for as
the exposure of a male-dominated culture spreads, it is only
natural for woman to challenge and even mimic the culturally
lauded hegemony. Female hypersexuality in rap began with Lil’
Kim’s debut album Hard Core in 1996. Before Lil’ Kim arrived on
the rap scene, women in the hip hop culture dressed and rapped
like men, ultimately establishing their performative gender as
male. Lil’ Kim used provocative discourse and revealing outfits to
construct an overtly sexual and distinctly female gender,
becoming an ironic caricature while critiquing the misogyny in
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hip hop. However, Azealia Banks undoubtedly approaches her
performative hypersexuality differently constructing her identity
in a completely novel way. Unlike the initial influx of female
rappers, Banks does not acknowledge the masculine hegemony
in the rap culture. Instead, she approaches performative identity
with utter indifference towards male domination, as if women
have been ruling the rap world since its conception.
Hip hop culture has become a blueprint for the youth to
reference when constructing gender identity. Once definite and
straightforward, perceptions of gender in the rap culture are
becoming blurred as both females and males vie for dominance
in traditionally masculine ways. Essentially, my analysis of rap
culture further supports Cameron’s initial claim that gender is
repeated constantly in reverence to societal norms in order to
define masculinity and femininity.
Works Cited
Banks, Azealia. "212." 212-Single. Lazy Jay, 2011. MP3.
Bell, Jamel Santa Cruze, and Roberto Avant-Mier. "What's Love Got To Do With It?
Analyzing The Discourse Of Hip Hop Love Through Rap Balladry, 1987
and 2007." Women & Language 32.2 (2009): 42-49. Academic Search Complete. Web. 4 Mar. 2012.
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Cameron, Deborah. “Performing Gender Identity: Young Men’s Talk and the
Construction of Heterosexual Masculinity.” Language and Masculinity. Ed. Sally
Johnson & Ulrike Meinhof. Oxford: Blackwell. (1997). Print.
Jay-Z, and Kanye West. "Ni**as In Paris." Watch The Throne. Roc-A-Fella Records,
2011. MP3.
Kloosterman, Monique, Tom F. M. ter Bogt, Rutger C. M. E. Engels and Sanne
Bogers “Shake It Baby, Shake It: Media Preferences, Sexual Attitudes and
Gender Stereotypes Among Adolescents.” Sex Roles 63. 11/12 (2010): 844-859. Academic Search Complete. Web. 4 Mar. 2012.
Muñoz-Laboy, Miguel, Hannah Weinstein and Richard Parker, "The Hip-Hop Club
Scene: Gender, Grinding and Sex." Culture, Health & Sexuality 9.6 (2007): 615-
628. Academic Search Complete. Web. 4 Mar. 2012.
Appendix A
Transcript of “Ni**as In Paris”
(Kanye West)
1. That shit crazy (x6) 2. She said Ye can we get married at the mall? 3. I said look you need to crawl before you ball 4. Come and meet me in the bathroom stall 5. And show me why you deserve to have it all 6. That shit crazy 7. Ain't it Jay? 8. What she order, fish filet 9. Your whip so cold, this old thing 10. Act like you'll ever be around muhfuckas like this again
(Jay-Z) 11. I got that hot bitch in my home
(Kanye West)
12. You know how many hot bitches I own 13. Don't let me in my zone (x4)
Appendix BTranscript of “212”
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1. I was in the 2122. On the uptown A, nigga you know what’s up or don’t you?3. Word to who made ya4. I’m a rude bitch, nigga, what are you made up of?5. I’m-a eat ya food up, boo6. I could bust your 8, I’m-a do one too, fuck ya gon' do?7. I want you to make bucks, I’m-a look right nigga, bet ya do
want to fuck…8. Fuck him like ya do want to cum9. You're gay to get discovered in my two-one-deuce10. Cock-a-licking in the water by the blue bayou11. Caught the warm goo in your doo-rag too, son?12. Nigga you’re a Kool-Aid dude13. Plus your bitch might lick it, wonder who let you come to
one-two14. With ya doo-doo crew son… fuck are you into, huh?15. Niggas better oooh-run-run16. You could get shot, homie, if ya do want to17. Put ya guns up, tell your crew don’t front18. I’m a hoodlum nigga, you know you were too once19. Bitch I’m 'bout to blew up too20. I’m the one today, I’m the new shit, boo, young Rapunzel21. Who are you, bitch, new lunch?22. I’m-a ruin you, cunt (4x)