MMPIRE
Research Group
The Media's Negative Portrayal
of African Americans: Women in
Hip-Hop Videos
"The MMpire"
Jackson State University
The African-American community has been the target of misconception for quite some time. They have suffered the woes of negative perception and criminal profiling from the media and other sources. However, I want to focus specifically on black women. Black women are also degraded by the media in more ways than one. But, the question is, why are they willing to be degraded? In this paper, I will discuss the perception of black women in music videos and if they really have a choice.
While some may think that black women should have their own free will of being plastered in a sexual way on TV, others feel that it’s simply degrading. According to thegaurdian.com, bodies of black women are often shown as animalistic and the videos suggest that they are sexually available for men at all times.
MMPIRE RESEARCH GROUP
Laporshan Conerly
Aspen Wilson
Sydney Forbes
Aniecia Brewster
The physical features of black women were exploited earlier in history. According to Valerie Johnson, the promotion of black women as body parts with a particular emphasis on the buttocks has a painful place in our history. In 1810, Saarjite Baartman (also known as Sarah), a Khosian woman, was taken from South Africa to Europe to be publicly displayed because of her steatopygia, or enlarged buttocks. Known as “The Hottentot Venus,” she was exhibited naked in a cage for more than five years. After Saarjite’s death, her genitals were removed and dissected as European scientists sought to understand the “primitive sexual appetite” of African women (Rap Rehab 2014). It’s not a great influence or impact on the generation that will be forced to believe that it’s “ok” to exploit their bodies.
“For years young women have been telling us that they are not happy with the representation of women in popular culture, including music videos. We are happy to finally see a briefing which reflects their experiences and the harmful impact of racism and sexism in music videos,” said Lia Latchford of Imkaan Young Women’s Team. “We believe in women’s right to self-expression and freedom of movement. Our concern is how the music industry uses music videos as yet another vehicle to colonise and commodify black women’s bodies. We urge the music industry to consider what young women and the evidence are telling them” (thegaurdian 2015).
