Representations of Women in American Rap: A Systemic-Functional and Critical Discourse analysis
Dayana Paro | 2013
Rap music is a musical genre that has become part of American popular culture since it constitutes a reflection of the culture from which it is performed. Themes like race, power, money, politics, drugs and sex are often approached in the lyrics, besides the peculiar way in which women are characterized. The objective of this study, thus, is to investigate textual and contextual representations of women in American rap music by analyzing a selection of five (5) songs from Billboard’s YearEnd Top Rap Songs that encompass the period from 2008 to 2012, based on Systemic Functional Grammar, Critical Discourse Analysis and Gender Studies. Developed from the analysis, three categories related to the representations of women in American rap music arose: a) Women´s body objectification; b) Mentioning to sexual practices; and c) Women´s submission towards male fame and money. These categories are discussed and related to the detailed verbal analysis which provides textual evidence for the findings. Besides some discursive changes, it was noticed that the selected lyrics contribute to the reinforcement of the existing misogynist and sexist gendered discourse in rap music.