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Dialogues@RU is published
annually
by the
Writing Program at
Rutgers, The State
University of New Jersey
Volume 4
Fall 2005
By Melissa Connerly
Response
Melissa Connerly
I suggest that hip-hop has a gender problem, and that within this problem, a negative image of African American women has been created by the male artists in the community. I believe that the only way these images can be reconstructed is through the hip-hop community itself. If the males of the hip-hop community do not find it necessary to display African American women in a more positive manner, then neither will the rest of the society. Thus, African American women will be left in a position where they are unable to win, because the odds are stacked too high against them. I argue that the only way to begin to change the negative stereotypes and images African American women have carried for so long is to embrace them, and women such as Lil' Kim and Queen Latifah have done so, as they were also forced into their respective roles.
Ryan Gogol challenges my claim, asserting that these women have choices, and that those who choose to resist the negative images of the African American woman will be more successful in reconceptualizing the images to more positive ones. I agree with Gogol to the extent that both Lil' Kim and Queen Latifah had choices in what they wanted their respective role to be, but in the context of changing the image of African American women and the context of their lives I feel as though they did not.
Lil' Kim chose to be a rapper, in an industry which is dominated by its male artists. One must fully understand that being an artist, whether it is rap or any other genre of music, is difficult. Lil' Kim found herself in a forced-choice situation where she was fully aware that many artists, whether male or female, might never have a full career, and that the chance of a female artist to prosper continues to be less than that of a male. In order to see that Lil' Kim was forced into her role, it has to be understood that if she did not become what she is, then we would not know Lil' Kim as a rapper. Her image was essentially created for her, and she used it to her advantage only to pursue her dream of being a rap artist. Gogol writes that Queen Latifah resists the decision to engage in the stereotypical behavior that Lil' Kim chooses, but he overlooks the fact that Queen Latifah is no longer a rap artist. Her career has in no way reached the status of Lil' Kim's. Rather, Queen Latifah turned to a totally different medium, and still ended up embracing the negative images of African American women. I do not think that Queen Latifah refuses her role; if so, then she would have not decided to play in the movies Bringin' Down the House or Taxi . In both movies she takes on the role of a servile African American woman in a modern context. The humor in these movies leads the audience to believe that she thinks it is acceptable, even funny, to be "ghetto fab" when it is not. However, Queen Latifah uses her roles to her advantage to obtain better ones. She has paved the way in a white-dominated industry for African American females to play roles other than those of the "ghetto fab" female or even the "Mammy." Along similar lines, Lil Kim's embrace of these images tones them down. She turns them into a luxurious lifestyle, and spreads the message that it is not wrong for a female to explore the same options as men. In her way, she is destroying the concept that men and women are different, and that men are allowed certain exceptions in regards to their behavior whereas women are not.
I agree with Gogol that both Queen Latifah and Lil' Kim had "commercialized incentive[s] to take on [their] respective roles" but I feel as though they took them further than that and essentially helped reconstruct the image of the African American women. Although I prefer Queen Latifah's methods to those of Lil' Kim, it still does not change what she has done to help in this reconstruction. While I agree that "both male and female artists can and do resist such pressures," those that do often do not have successful careers. With successful careers such as those Lil' Kim has in the rap industry and Queen Latifah in movies, it is easier to get your point across because you are seen and heard.