On Black Women and Lyrical Content...

Yesterday, as with many days, I began an interesting conversation in the dining hall of my predominantly white institution of higher education. The conversation involved only Black students (and by Black, I mean any person who, when walking down Main Street when this university was founded, would have been quickly shackled, silenced, and sent to the fields), and circled around the topic of lyrics in rap music. The conversation sounded something like this:

Black Guy 1: How do you, as Black women, listen to rap music?
Black Guy 2: I know, I don't understand how you all do it...
Black Woman 1: Easy...they're not talking about me.
(Laughter)
BG1: But I think they might be.
BW2: Really, I just ignore the lyrics in the verses and most of the chorus and go with the catchy beat.
BW3 (Myself): Personally, I think Black women are caught up in mixed messages by rappers. One second Tupac is talking about how bad life is for us with "Brenda's Got a Baby" ---
BG1: Then you have "I Get Around".
BW3: Exactly...

So what's the point? Why do we continuously subject ourselves to lyrics that oftentimes demean and slander us as women, placing us, in my opinion, into three categories: the whore, the gold-digger, the wife/mother. We are left with few options, and little chance of forging a new identity within the constraints of pop culture. Nowadays, some men tell us that the lines are not so defined, that you don't care about her past indiscretions because you love her, or that it's a free world and we can all do what we want, but the second the two of you are in an argument, out come the insults:

slut
whore
b*tch
ho
slutty ho b*tch
b*tchy slut whore

...you get the picture.

So here's my theory: Black women, you have a tough decision to make. You can choose to distinguish yourself firmly on either side of the line, pro-freedom of expression or anti-rap lyrics degrading women, or you can do what I like to call the auditory bachata...swaying side to side in a rhythmic dance preparing for the next verbal assault or lyric uplifting.

Black men, you have a responsibility to be honest, yes, but to also be respectful. You can continue to barrage of vulgarities flung so freely in our direction, or you can make an effort to taper that type of talk so that your mother/sister/wife/daughter doesn't become another casualty.