Hip Hops's Herstory -Tricia Rose

"...commercialized mainstream hip hop further marginalized and under appreciated the complexity of women's participation...leaving more space for men, but also limiting their representation. Women MC's must must fit into a very narrow mold"

The audio commentary by Tricia Rose was brief, but thought provoking. She explained the difference between an MC(vocals) and a lyricist(writer), and that the two are not always the same person behind whats heard. She says that "women need to answer back", meaning women have to address their relationship to their sexuality in mainstream commercialized hip hop. Whether this is through a tough, "gangsta" persona--Eve, being portrayed as a sexual vixen--Lil Kim, Trina, or through a masculine/controlling/dominant persona--Missy Elliot. Rose explains that hip hop like Salt N Peppa and TLC-hip hop that was sexually empowering for women, has fallen through the cracks and is left outside the commercialized hip hop market of today. I remember growing up listening to these musicians and even I can see how much the lyrical content has changed. It seems like it was so gradual that it almost went unnoticed.

Rose also talks about "Hypersexualization". Women are hypersexualized in music videos all of the time. They are always seen as sex objects, and they are always surrounding the very few dominant males, and focusing their every bit of attention on them. Sometimes their faces' are cut out of the scene, leaving behind their scantily clad bodies as focus points. Often times, the men are seen grabbing, staring, slapping, and seemingly harassing these women. However, the women don't seem to mind, so it's all OK. All of the males in music videos are overly dominant; they are showing off their money, guns, cars, muscles and bling, and they show little respect for their female counterparts. These videos send the message that men are in control and women are only there to please them.