Chapter 1: Introduction
UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI Date:___________________ I, _________________________________________________________, hereby submit this work as part of the requirements for the degree of: in: It is entitled: This work and its defense approved by: Chair: _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ They Said What About Women?!: An Ethnographic Content Analysis of Mainstream Rap and R&B Lyrics, 2002-2005 A Thesis submitted to the Division of Research and Advanced Studies of the University of Cincinnati In partial fulfillment for the degree of Master’s of Arts In the Department of Communication Of the College of Arts and Sciences 2007 by Brian Alan Singson B.A. University of Cincinnati, 2004 Committee Chair: Dr. Nancy Jennings 2 ABSTRACT Women have been marginalized in our society for years. Even as they have begun making strides towards equality, they are still being marginalized in one of our society’s most popular and highly influential facets, hip hop culture, but more specifically rap music. This study examines the use of stereotypes within the content of misogynous rap lyrics and then compared and contrasted with their use in misogynous R&B lyrics. This study found that the stereotypes most commonly used by rap artists include the Freak, the Gold Digger, and the Stripper, while only the Freak stereotype was used often by R&B artists. Further research is necessary to determine if the use of these misogynistic stereotypes might be one of the reasons that there are fewer women rappers than there are men rappers. 3 4 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost I’d like to give an extra special thanks to my beautiful, loving, awesome, amazing, funny, smart, precious wife for supplying me with the love, support, and motivation through this process as well as all of life’s trials.
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