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Another example of women�sdependence on men is in the currently popular �Follow Me� by Uncle Kracker. �I�ll be the one to tuck you in at night� like women are looking for another father figure to take care ofus because we can�t on our own.
In pop music videos, objectification of women is common, even of the female artists themselves. In a Janet Jackson video, she is wearing a patent leather catsuit while singing �Gonna make your body cream.� Madonna willingly does this to herself in virtually every video she makes, namely �Open Your Heart� in which she is the performer in a strip show. In a famous video �Whip It� from the group Devo, a woman is actually whipped and her clothing is removed as a result.
Pop�starget demographic is women. But we know there are some male fans and that many pop stations are family oriented, like local Z101.7 FM claims. That means that this music is reaching everybody. It is instilling the above sexist ideologies in all of our minds including, children�s.
IS THERE HOPE?
What has been done to counteract all of this? On the musical front, female rappers Queen Latifah, Yo-yo, Harmony, and MC Lyte are taking a stand. First, Queen Latifah released asong in 1993 called �U.N.I.T.Y.� that had lyrics such as, �You gotta let �em know, you ain�t a bitch or a hoe� and discusses abuse in relationships. Yo-yo shares her view on rap these days saying, �I came out rapping from a woman�s point of view �cause I saw that no one was speaking up for the ladies. And I don�t give a damn if men label me a feminist. Its about time someone gave men feedback and said, �I�m not your ho or your bitch. I�m a strong, intelligent Black woman!�(Gregory, 1991) Harmony mirrors that sentiment when she speaks out against the objectification of black females to sell their records. �I�m sick to death of that being the dominant image of us,� she says. (Gregory, 1991) Like the others, MC Lyte puts her opinions in her music, as in �Please Understand� in which she raps about violently rejecting a man who tried to take advantage ofher. In addition to these rappers, female R&B group Destiny�s Child is making some mainstream impact with their pro-female anthems such as �Independent Women� and �Survivor�, in which the latter describes the strength a woman can have.
What do other female listeners think? Opinions run the gamut. A good number, including my sister, just don�t take it seriously. They see it as entertainment and think people should lighten up. My friends Mila and Alison agree with me when I say that I won�t dance to those party and bar favorites mentioned earlier. We try to avoid listening to as many sexist songs as we can but we also find that hard if we really like the instrumental music. And unfortunately we are all guilty of owning sexist albums. I will keep the ones I have but I am not buying anymore in the future. I found similar opinions among African American women in my research. (Morgan, 1999)
PSYCHOLOGICAL CONSEQUENCES
There have been a number of psychological studies concentrating on the impact of rap music and its videos. In one study, �results show that younger [subjects] may not be able to describe what the music is about, but the recognition data suggest that they did have a general understanding of the music. Older children were better at describing the message of all types of music except commercial rap.� (Hall, 1998) One more reason to be concerned about kids listening to heavy metal, a sub-genre ofrock, and rap is that in one study �[subjects] who preferred [heavy metal] and rap had a higher incidence of below-average school grades, school behavior problems, sexual activity, drug and alcohol use, and arrests.� (Took, et. al., 1994) Another study focused more on adults. Its results �suggest that for men unfamiliar with [gangsta rap] subculture, brief exposure to sexually violent
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