Proposal #2

Proposal

Title:  Hip-Hop Culture and Gender Roles
Author: I am an 18 year old first year student at Cabrillo College, and I am an avid hip hop listener and unofficial “expert.”
Date: Written during the fall of 2012, a time when more and more rappers are taking over our radio and internet streams with their unproven talents and misogynistic raps.
Topic: The industry of hip-hop and the negative gender roles it inflicts on society.

Exigence: The current state of rap and hip hop today, and how it has been affecting everyone without them actually realizing it.
Intended Audience: All hip-hop fans and listeners.
Purpose: To inform fans of hip-hop of the hatred and objectification of women, as well as the disconnection of the black community (mainly between the males), and use this as the first step towards healing the pain that it expresses.
Claim(s): The misogyny of rap is a symptom of crisis and division between genders of all races.

Ethos: As a self-proclaimed hip-hop expert and a member of the generation of people who account for the highest percentage of the genre’s listeners, I can easily say that I see and hear lyrics from the music day after day. I have been listening to the music for over five years now, and the countless rap songs I've heard that incorporate lyrics promoting gender inequality is extremely substantial. I've also researched the topic by reading short essays, articles, and books from authors who have the credentials to write on the topic, including hip hop magazine editors and music writers.

Pathos: Hip-Hop has also influenced the way men believe they must act in order to exert power and dominance over females as well as other men. This unfortunately sets a strange standard for our generation in terms of how they fell they must treat their significant other. Women also believe that their so called “reputation” increases with every sexual encounter they they have with rappers and anyone of that level in pop culture, lowering their standards significantly. Video vixens are also a problem to address, saying that ‘it would be more productive to address the failing self-esteem of the 150 or so half-naked young women who [are] willing, unpaid participants[.]” Unfortunately it has come to this point where women of society have dropped to an all-time low, craving attention from rappers, the media, and the general public, and being more than willing to display their naked bodies free of charge.

Logos:  Various data, facts, and statistics from credible sources, including figures such as the number of black two-parent households having decreased from 74 percent to 48 percent since 1960 (U.S. Census Bureau). Also, the leading cause of death among black men ages of fifteen to twenty-four is homicide, and that the majority of them will die at the hands of other black men. Numerous rap lyrics from several prominent hip hop artists also show how the rapper’s own words, both purposely and inadvertently, portray the overlooked aspect of gender discrimination.