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Kendrick Lamar: I Respect You, I Just Wish You Respected Women, Too

When “Humble” dropped, I sat and watched the music video on my bed in my residence hall. There was a lot of imagery I knew was significant, but did not know the meaning of it. I was trying to process the visuals with the lyrics, and this only took me so far. I did, however, find rejoice when Lamar said “Show me somethin’ natural / like ass with some stretch marks.” Paired with commercial, 59th Street Bloomingdale imagery as he delivered this line, I interpreted Lamar as criticizing capitalistic and patriarchal structures which shame women for not achieving an unrealistic body type. As someone who identifies as a feminist, I recognize I am more keen to analyze lyrics regarding women and appearances. Especially since I have taken numerous gender studies courses in my college career, I am well aware of the ideas and discussions feminists have, and this academic ideology paired with my own research may have informed my interpretation. Additionally, as a woman with stretch marks on my ass, I have felt immense shame for not having a “perfect” butt. This line somehow freed me: I felt seen. I took comfort in my normal body instead of feeling ashamed. I do not feel like many people talk about stretch marks on butts, but we secretly know it’s something to be ashamed of. I was happy that Lamar consciously brought this topic into public eye, and condemned the systems that try to make women feel ashamed.

It was interesting to hear others reaction to that line in class. Without critically examining the music video, I understood that others in the class thought Lamar’s lyric sounded like a demand to women on how they should present themselves based on Lamar’s own point of view on how women should look. Many critical thinkers and writers aligned with my classmates perspective. Wear Your Voice Mag, an Intersectional Feminist Publication, published an article that argued this lyric demonstrates the objectifying effects of the male gaze. Refinery29, a news and media website where women are its target audience, also published a piece that expressed that this lyric was another example of a man demanding a woman to look a certain way so he could take pleasure in her appearance, and therefore the lyric was sexist. However, all these pieces fail to think beyond Kendrick talking to individual women. Whereas I interpreted the line preceding the stretch marks -- "I'm so fuckin' sick and tired of the Photoshop" -- as a call to magazines to stop creating unrealistic beauty standards, the writer of the Wear Your Voice Mag piece saw this as a Lamar telling women to stop using Photoshop. Obviously, the writers of these pieces where thinking within a frame of feminist ideology. However, by only thinking in terms of patriarchy, one cannot see that he is critiquing capitalism. Capitalism benefits off of creating unrealistic beauty standards because it drives women to buy make-up or get plastic surgery or botox in hopes of feeling beautiful or less insecure. Instead, these pieces take the position that Lamar's lyrics are sexist and it furthers their proof that American society is incredibly sexist. I find that with these pieces -- and a lot of opinionated pieces in general -- pick a side so to speak, rather than grapple with the complexities that music, art, literature, etc. presents. This is, obviously, operating off another form of ideology that helps confirm one's story that one tells oneself of the world by only analyzing texts from one ideological view point. And while I do also agree that American society is sexist and we all need to critically examine gender relations in music and the repercussions of its sexism, I also think it is important to try and interpret Lamar's lyric from multiple ideologies. Instead of viewing Lamar's lyrics as either or not, we need to look it from an "and" perspective. Because I truly believe "Humble" can be song that is calling out patriarchy while simultaneously being sexist and not recognizing its own sexism. But I err on the side of caution as exclusively defining as either feminist or sexist. Lastly, this conversation -- in class and the ones these writers sparked -- helped me come to the conclusion that viewing a music video and listening the lyrics simultaneously can significantly change the meaning of a lyric in comparison to only listening to the music unaccompanied by its visuals. If you uncouple that line from the video, it is sexist. However, if you let the imagery and the line coexist, Lamar is calling out structures which oppress women.

What is most interesting in all my thoughts about this line prior to entering the class, I had ignored the recurring “Bitch sit down / be humble.” Actually, it wasn’t that I was actively ignoring it, it was more so that the line was not registering with me. Although I heard Professor Ford critique the chorus multiple times in the conversation, it was not until the end of the conversation it’s sexism registered to me. It was not until Professor Ford repeated the line in a firm speaking voice and pointed at an invisible person and said “Bitch sit down, be humble” I understood.

In the realms of rap and hip-hop, the use of the word “bitch” is so regular that I stopped letting the word carry weight. I removed it from its meaning. But when Professor Ford spoke the lyrics, it hit me. It finally registered Lamar’s lyric is reeks of patriarchy: it tells women to not take up space. Sit down and be below Kendrick, while he continues to stands in front of you. If you visualize this, it creates a hierarchy: Kendrick exerts power by standing above the “bitch,” while the “bitch” sits powerless below him. And the lyric furthers its sexism by telling women to self-monitor and emotionally police themselves, to make sure they remain “humble” because if they’re confident women, they’re going to be labelled “bitches.” And as this song demonstrates, the last thing you want is to be called is a bitch. And although some may argue its just a song and it can't hold that much power, it contributes to a social order that has historically viewed women as property that men can assert power over and expect that she complies with his every demand. Kendrick's rhetoric -- and prevalence of this rhetoric in general -- comes into direct contact with the everyday ways women are treated by men. It is the entitlement men feel that women need to always obey them. And then when women disobey -- when they don't "sit down" and "be humble," men will act in violent manners, sometimes taking to Facebook Live to kill themselves or others because their girlfriend didn't do as them wished. The interaction between intangible ideas and the physical effects or actions because of them is another ideology Storey details.

Moreover, our conversation made me remember that words that are associated with women or femininity are usually devalued. There is no “male” equivalent for bitch, since men in our society are supposed to be always be strong. If a man acts in ways that may be perceived as “weak,” he may be called a “sissy” or a “pussy” -- words that are both associated with women and are meant as an insult. By using the word “bitch” and the request he makes after it to “sit down and be humble,” Lamar contributes to conflating womanhood and femininity with weakness and devaluation. Lamar may be talking to other rappers in the game, but he is still throwing women under the bus to insult them. As someone involved in the hip-hop and rap world, Lamar may be desensitized to the word "bitch" and not see how he is degrading women and the repercussions of using this language from his privileged position as a man in society. I'm sure Lamar does not think he is repressing women in this song, yet analyzing the lyrics proves otherwise. Lamar's blinders to the sexism in his song is another type of ideology Storey outlines in his book, where someone from a privileged position cannot see how their words and actions may be contributing to the oppression of someone of a minority status. By directing the word "bitch" to male rappers and speaking to them like they are women (and the messages women get in our patriarchal society), it is obvious women are equated to weakness in Lamar’s lyrics, and this is clearly sexist.

What is so surprising to me is that in analyzing the minutia (the stretch marks lyric) I missed the bigger picture. Or there is a part of my consciousness that does not want to go there. Maybe it is because in the context of hip-hop, the word “bitch” was so normalized that I failed to register the meaning of Lamar using that word. Or, as Professor Ford posed, I didn’t listen to it as if Lamar was talking to me directly. I could have thought of it unconsciously as “oh, he’s not talking to me” and dismiss it unconsciously. Or all these ideas I proposed could have led me to have these blinders on, and it does not have to be attributed to one reason.

A part of what this class has shown me is that when I analyze male hip-hop and rap artists, I do it from an initial point of feminist praise. I do not go in and “see” the sexism in their work. When we watched Anderson .Paak perform “Suede” on NPR’s Tiny Desk, I assumed he was satirizing how men use the word “bitch.” The premise behind “If I call you a bitch / It’s cause you’re my bitch” was so ridiculous to me, I assumed that .Paak was consciously poking fun at the fact that it is a problematic and insulting word. If one really loves and respects their partner, why would one use degrading language? However, Ford's commentary in class consciously showed me that was not necessarily the intent that .Paak had. .Paak could seriously use the word “bitch” to designate his partner’s special status to him. Additionally, “my bitch” is incredibly possessive, as if he owns her. Regardless of his intention, I have missed the surface level interpretation and assigned a more empowering and hopeful meaning. Essentially, this class helped me realize I initially assign a reading to hip-hop and rap songs based on my own hopes. I want others to be also strive for gender equality so I’ve only been creating interpretations of songs to fulfill my own hopes. As Ford said in class about my naivety, “A woman’s relationship to a man depends on her not understanding” otherwise she may lose him or lose interest in him. I like Kendrick Lamar and Anderson .Paak; I respect their hustle as black artists in the game. I can’t help but wonder if it is too threatening to my consciousness to register their sexism; if I did it, I may find myself disappointed and lose respect for them. I know I consciously do not want to dislike these artists, and I can’t help but wonder if by not processing surface level sexism I am protecting myself and the relationship I hold with them. This may unconsciously be easier than complicating my relationship to their music.

Additionally, one of my favorite comments that arose from our “Humble” conversation was holding capitalistic and patriarchal structures accountable. Rappers and hip-hop artists often receive a lot of attention for their sexist lyrics. Although country music also heavily objectifies women, there is a lot of silence in the media about the problematic nature of our “all American” music and their cowboy boots. I think before this class I felt uncomfortable recognizing (if I did) the sexism of Lamar’s lyrics when Blake Shelton’s sexism will always be unnoticed in the media. It felt like unfair double standard where black male artists were deemed as hurting women yet white country artists got a free pass. I was afraid if I held Lamar accountable, I would participate in this double standard which predominantly vilifies black men. However, I now see that it is necessary to hold Lamar accountable for his words impact the way women are treated and how we view women. I can respect Lamar’s hustle and hold him accountable for his sexism. But beyond Kendrick Lamar, we need to question the producers and systems that approve of this degrading and devaluing of women in music, and we also need to hold them accountable. For we know they hold the power to strike down lyrics, and yet they continually see sexism as acceptable.

Sheridan Ford -- thank you for helping me to see, even if I may not have consciously wanted to. It has truly been an eye-opening semester. Heather Hopes (talk) 05:27, 11 May 2017 (UTC)HH