Committee Chair

Eigenberg, Helen

Committee Member

Bumphus, Vic; Garland, Tammy

Department

Dept. of Criminal Justice and Legal Assistant Studies

College

College of Arts and Sciences

Publisher

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

Place of Publication

Chattanooga (Tenn.)

Abstract

For many African American youth, hip hop has been a part of their cultural identity since the 1970s (George 1998; Rose 1994). From its inception three decades ago, hip hop has grown from an urban (predominantly black and Latino youth) culture into an international youth phenomenon, transcending racial and ethnic lines. Prior research indicates that male artists tend to rule the video world. Furthermore, the portrayal of women in these videos produces an acceptance of violence and sexual objectification toward women. The purpose of this study is to look at the sexual objectification of women in rap videos. This study will examine two questions: (1) Are men and women equally represented as artists who perform rap videos? (2) Are men and women equally likely to be sexually objectified in rap videos? BET's Rap City Top 10 Countdown was recorded from January 2006 through June 2006. Data were gathered on the gender of the main artist and of models/actors to determine whether men and women are equally represented in prominent roles in rap videos and to identify specific types of sexual objectification in these videos. The study found support for prior research, demonstrating that rap videos are dominated by male singers and producers and that sexual objectification of women is more common than of men.

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank the members of my committee: Helen Eigenberg, Vic Bumphus and Tammy Garland. A special thank you to a terrific friend, my Soror, Mary Olds. Thank you for listening to my numerous "venting" episodes. My gratitude also extends to Idris Harper for all the laughs when I needed them. You don't know how much they helped. And finally, THANK YOU to my family, Von (mom), Walter III, Nick and Keidra. I can never express how much I appreciate all of your support. Thank you for never giving up on me and believing in me when I thought this moment would never come true. Mamma thank you for pushing me to stick in here and not allow anyone steal this accomplishment from me. P.S you can have my Bachelors, this one is mine!!

Degree

M. S.; A thesis submitted to the faculty of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Science.

Date

8-2006

Subject

Rap (Music)--History and criticism; Women in mass media

Discipline

Criminology and Criminal Justice

Document Type

Masters theses

DCMI Type

Text

Extent

vi, 38 leaves

Language

English

Call Number

LB2369.2 .B583 2006

Rights

http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

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