The Effect of Hip-Hop on Female AAE Speakers Essay

â€Å"He dont smack that ass and pull your hair like that† is a rather vulgar and demeaning statement, yet it is freely sung in Blurred Lines by Robin Thicke, a song that was in the top ten on the Billboard list of the most popular RB/Hip-Hop songs in 2013. Because hip-hop is a very large part of the African American culture, and many speakers of African American English (AAE) are portrayed through these songs, women are often highly influenced by the objectification of their bodies in hip-hop songs. Since the emergence of the hip-hop genre in popular culture in the 1960s and 70s, women’s bodies have been sexually objectified through this music. Although the impact of the sexualization of women’s bodies in hip-hop songs is still very†¦show more content†¦It is clear that hip-hop music and music videos objectify women; however, there have been feminist movements that have begun reducing this sexualization. Clearly, hip-hop music has not been particularly helpful with a feminist movement, especially because the songs that are most popular are mostly performed by men. It is also important to note that not all of these men are AAE speakers and many of them are crossing over. On the Billboard charts for 2013, of the top twenty RB/Hip-hop songs, only four were performed by women, and only one of those performed by a woman was in the top ten. The concept of â€Å"Hip-hop feminism† as described by Whitney Peoples is a movement that involves â€Å"reconciliation and reclamation† (26) by young African American women in the United States of the male hip-hop culture that they grew up with. The overall goals of hip-hop feminism are to empower black women and to create systemic change to allow for social justice, and Whitney claims that these goals are evident through history, but each group of black women finds different ways to reach these objectives. There are various ways for black women to find power and navigate the misogyny found in hip-hop music. The most influential way to do so is for African American women to create their own