Women And Language, Vol 32, No 2 (2009)

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Lovin' Mama and Hatin' on Baby Mama: A Comparison of Misogynistic and Stereotypical Representations in Songs about Rappers Mothers' and Baby Mamas

Tia C.M. Tyree

Abstract


Black women are the primary focus of misogynistic rap lyrics, and they are the targets of a sustained historical misogynistic American ideology. A
textual analysis of rap lyrics was conducted to investigate if Black male rappers reinforce negative Black female stereotypes and use misogynistic lyrics in rap songs about their mothers and baby mamas. The study's conclusion questions why Black men have an adoration for their
mothers absent in their characterizations of baby mamas, calls for a need to halt the existing "good woman/bad woman" dichotomy, and pushes for a positive, nonmisogynistic view of all Black women.

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