Coker 1 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 Camerons 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 Camerons 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 Muoz-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 medias 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 Jamel Santa

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Cruze Belle, Assistant Professor in the Communication Department at Boston College, and his colleague, Roberto AvantMier, 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 Camerons 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 (MuozLaboy, et al. 615). Hip hop clubs are a competitive arena where men and women vie for each others 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 (Muoz-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. (Muoz-Laboy, et al. 621). Interestingly, this mirrors a common courting strategy of young heterosexual men in America, further exposing hip hops 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 Camerons idea of a joint production, where contributors to a discourse cooperate to construct a group property rather than

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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 (MuozLaboy 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 AvantMier, 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 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

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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 Camerons 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 boys club. Essentially, Cameron would argue that Kanye West and JayZ 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-Miers 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 Kims 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 hip hop. However, Azealia Banks undoubtedly approaches her performative hypersexuality differently constructing her identity

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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 Camerons 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 Balladry, 1987 and 2007." Women & Language 32.2 (2009): 42-49. Academic Search Complete. Web. 4 Mar. 2012. Cameron, Deborah. Performing Gender Identity: Young Mens Talk and the The Discourse Of Hip Hop Love Through Rap

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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. RocA-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. Muoz-Laboy, Miguel, Hannah Weinstein and Richard Parker, "The Hip-Hop Club Scene: Gender, Grinding and Sex." Culture, Health & Sexuality 9.6 (2007): 615628. Academic Search Complete. Web. 4 Mar. 2012.

Appendix A Transcript of Ni**as In Paris

(Kanye West) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. That shit crazy (x6) She said Ye can we get married at the mall? I said look you need to crawl before you ball Come and meet me in the bathroom stall And show me why you deserve to have it all That shit crazy Ain't it Jay? What she order, fish filet Your whip so cold, this old thing 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 B Transcript of 212 1. 2. I was in the 212 On the uptown A, nigga you know whats up or dont you?

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3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

Word to who made ya Im a rude bitch, nigga, what are you made up of? Im-a eat ya food up, boo I could bust your 8, Im-a do one too, fuck ya gon' do? I want you to make bucks, Im-a look right nigga, bet ya do want to fuck 8. Fuck him like ya do want to cum 9. You're gay to get discovered in my two-one-deuce 10. Cock-a-licking in the water by the blue bayou 11. Caught the warm goo in your doo-rag too, son? 12. Nigga youre a Kool-Aid dude 13. Plus your bitch might lick it, wonder who let you come to onetwo 14. With ya doo-doo crew son fuck are you into, huh? 15. Niggas better oooh-run-run 16. You could get shot, homie, if ya do want to 17. Put ya guns up, tell your crew dont front 18. Im a hoodlum nigga, you know you were too once 19. Bitch Im 'bout to blew up too 20. Im the one today, Im the new shit, boo, young Rapunzel 21. Who are you, bitch, new lunch? 22. Im-a ruin you, cunt (4x)