Hip-hop often comes under attack for its lyrical content, such as the glorification of drug use, the focus on a largely material life, and the promotion of violence. However, one issue that often stands out from the others is the apparent representation of women as objects and other misogynist practises.

So what examples are provided when it is argued that hip-hop is misogynist, or at least more so than other genres of music? Let’s take it back to Dr. Dre’s classic 1992 album, The Chronic - specifically the final track “Bitches Ain’t Shit”. Arguably the most sexist part of the song would be considered Kurupt’s lines:

Bitches on my nuts like clothes /
But I’m from the pound and we don’t love them hoes /
How could you trust a hoe? [Snoop:] Why? [echoed 3X] /
Cuz a hoe’s a trick /
We don’t love them tricks [Snoop:] Why? [echoed 3X] /
Cuz a trick’s a bitch /
And my dick’s constantly in her mouth /
And turnin’ them trick ass hoes the fuck out

Within these eight lines are contained most of the so called “problems” with hip-hop music. First, the rapper makes constant mention of hoes, bitches, and tricks, all of which are considered misogynist labels for women. Second, the rapper mentions that he will not love (and as a common extension, respect) these women. Third, it can be safely assumed from these lyrics, as well as from evidence taken from many other songs, that the rapper sees these women as worth less than him.

These lyrical causes of criticism are joined by the themes found in many hip-hop music videos, for example in the video for “Area Codes” by Ludacris and Nate Dogg. The central message of the song is that these two rappers have a large quantity of women they can call upon in many different area codes, presumably to receive sexual gratification from (as the chorus goes, “I’ve got hoes in different area codes”). The video basically shows numerous different locations, with plenty of scantily clad women dancing around while the rappers perform the song. These practises lead to cries that hip-hop music videos overly portray women as sexual items and as unrespectable members of society.

On the surface it seems to be obvious that hip-hop is definitely misogynist. Fairly recently the problem was brought further into the spotlight due to Don Imus’ “nappy headed ho” comment and his justification that black woman are labeled similarly by their own men. Unsurprisingly, Oprah took this opportunity to spearhead the misogynist problem. She dedicated two shows to the issue and had numerous guests participate in the discussions. The first show entitled “Now What?” included activist Al Sharpton, artist India Arie, a former CBS executive, and two journalists, while the second show “The Hip-Hop Community Responds” had Russell Simmons, Dr. Ben Chavis of the Hip-Hop Action Network, rapper Common, and record executive Kevin Liles.

Both shows focused largely on the same topics, primarily the excessive use of metaphors used to refer to woman, most of which are considered sexist. Dr. Robin Smith commented that when “you feed someone garbage, eventually it starts to taste good,” Common mentioned that hip-hop, being still so young, needs to be guided the same as children need to be, and Russell Simmons explained how while running Def Jam he would try influence his artists to be more conscious of their lyrics. Diane Weathers, a former editor of the magazine Essence, even went as far as suggesting that Snoop Dogg should have his contract terminated because of his lyrical content and music videos, as well as his involvement in the pornography industry (he has directed two porn videos).

The problem with Oprah’s dialog, and quite often other discussions on the subject of misogyny, is the lack of representation by the artists who are being attacked. Why didn’t Oprah invite Dr. Dre, 50 Cent, or Snoop Dogg to defend themselves and explain their side of the issue? Furthermore, why didn’t she invite the female artists who exploit the situation in order to gain more popularity, such as Lil Kim or Trina? Even more to the point, why weren’t the women who are being “exploited” in the music videos invited?

And what measures have been suggested to solve the problems many argue are facing hip-hop music and culture? Well unfortunately, there are only few and none of them can be considered very good. One of the most vocalized suggestions has been to censor the offending words, as has been expressed by Russell Simmons in his call for an elimination of the words “bitch” and “ho” from the music industry. Thankfully, Simmons is only calling for a voluntary ban as he believes in respecting the creative output of lyricists and poets, but there have been calls for legal bans, such as in New York where it was debated whether the word “bitch” should be outlawed. This solution should be rejected simply on the basis that censorship as forced by the government is never right.

From the information provided thus far it seems appropriate to agree that women are often portrayed very poorly in hip-hop music, yet the debate is far from being so simple. To get the full story on the use of sexist metaphors in hip-hop, one must analyze it from the point of view of those who are responsible for continuing the use of the words.

Generally when rappers mention bitches and hoes they are referring not to all women, but to a specific type of woman. Although definitions are not completely consistent, the underlying agreement is that bitches and hoes are women who lack respect for themselves. Immortal Technique wrote about this common problem found among black women in his song “No Me Importa,” explaining:

Escuchame [Hard working] senorita, if you don’t respect yourself /
Don’t expect respect from anyone else /
Don’t expect un hombre [a man] to support you with wealth /
Go to college and be successful, do it for delft [??] /
Nunca vas a ser [You are never going to be] shit without knowledge yourself /
Mami’s with cultural ineptitude are bad for your health /
That’s the type of mujer [woman] that I put back on the shelf /
And go back to the packed crowd to look for somebody else

Not many rappers express their respect and desire for independent and strong women, as Immortal Technique does here, but that doesn’t mean rappers don’t support the idea. However, the seemingly excessive referrals to bitches and hoes can at least be partially explained by other themes of hip-hop, notably the idea of living the big (successful) life. Along with lots of money and fame, it is common to have popularity with the opposite sex seen as a sign of success. It is often men who promote this ideal, but many women in the entertainment industry have been guilty of bragging of their popularity among the men – it goes both ways, and as a potentially shallow method of judging a person, the problem extends far beyond hip-hop culture.

Getting back to the definition of bitches and hoes, when rappers refer to such women, they are referring to the women who give sexual favours easily, who drop out of school unnecessarily, who are willing to demean themselves for money or even only acceptance, and the women who enthusiastically dance to and sing the lyrics “Superman dat hoe!” without care for the sexism inherent in the action of actually Supermanning a woman (if anyone is curious, ask and I’ll explain what it is).

Now the title bitch don’t apply to all women /
But all women have a little bitch in ‘em

This famous lyric spit by Ice Cube in N.W.A.’s “A Bitch is a Bitch” is a sentiment shared by most rappers. When 50 Cent sang “bitch get off me” he wasn’t referring to the women who respect themselves and live their life accordingly. Nevertheless, some will argue that such a justification is useless because referring to any women as bitches or hoes is in effect an attack on all women.

In the end, the words in question in this debate are simply that – words – and as should be treated as such. When a woman is labeled a bitch they should step back and judge if the comment is at all valid and from there they should act appropriately. It is the responsibility of the women to respect themselves and live their life according to that principle. This applies equally to men – not all men are dicks (in the sense that they are rude, excessively aggressive, and egotistical), but all men are able to be a dick, and it is their responsibility to make sure that they don’t act like one.

This isn’t a defense of disrespect, but a response to the accusation that rappers are unfair to women as a whole and that they promote similar disrespect towards women among their fans. All of society needs to reform its views of women and to single out hip-hop as a misogynistic stronghold is just wrong.

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You can also find this article over at the Newsvine Listen In Site.

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