Channel Button

There are 28 articles on this title. You are reading the article ranked and rated #19 by Helium's members.

Society & Lifestyle   >

African-American Issues

Hip-hop's negative effect on racial stereotypes

It is a rather ironic thing, within hip-hop culture it is believed that they are helping to elevate the status of African-Americans, but this is not the case. Much of hip hop culture would in fact seem to tie into 19th century views of Africans and perpetuate racial stereotypes. Perhaps the most horrific aspect of this is the perpetuation of the 19th century thought that Africans are intellectually inferior to other races. Hip hop perpetuates this by lack of education, the reason Africans developed their own vernacular in this country is because as slaves they were not educated enough to have decent English skills. This is something that hip-hop culture has chosen to perpetuate. Also the thug image so popular in hip-hop is one that perpetuates the image of the African as a body without a brain. This is something Hip-hop strives to maintain; it elevates the uneducated thug facing jail time up over the educated African-American who is contributing positively to society. This odd preference is seen time and time again in Hip-hop movies and in rap. It ties in directly to the views of NeoNazis and the KKK that the black man is nothing more than the muscle for the Jews. To continue on that note there is also a tendency to hypersexualize Africans in Hip-hop culture, which is not a good thing. In the 19th century African women were hypersexualized due to the largeness of their posteriors, along with them white prostitutes and other degenerates of society were similarly hypersexualized. Is Hip-hop's use of parading scantily clad African women about because of their fine "booty" that much different than the 19th century practice of making African women parade naked, so that white men could scrutinize her exaggerated secondary sexual traits?

Learn more about this author, Sarah Piper.
Contact this writer Click here to send this author comments or questions.


Below are the top articles rated and ranked by Helium members on:

Hip-hop's negative effect on racial stereotypes

  • 1 of 28

    by Morgan Johnson

    It seems like the average Black person just can't win. For over a hundred years the common Black image was defined by... read more

  • 2 of 28

    by Beth Oliver

    Hip-hop music can be used to portray artists, their communities and their music in a profound way. Unfortunately hip ... read more

  • 3 of 28

    by Dwayne Innis

    The wonderful world of Hip Hop is a series of dichotomies. On the one hand there are very positive images that dot ... read more

  • by Marcus Brooks

    Remember the days of De La Soul, Soul to Soul, Digitable Planets, A Tribe Called Quest and Arrested Development? Pos... read more

  • 5 of 28

    by Christopher Kendalls

    There was a time in hip-hop when it was okay to be deep and have profound thoughts, or to express yourself artistical... read more

View All Articles on:
Hip-hop's negative effect on racial stereotypes

Add your voice

Know something about Hip-hop's negative effect on racial stereotypes?
We want to hear your view. Write_penWrite now!

What do you know about?
  • Tell us! Get published today.
  • Reach millions.
  • Many ways to earn.
Join Helium Today

Already a member? Log in.

Helium Debate

Cast your vote!

Was Martin Luther King, Jr. or Malcolm X a better leader for civil rights for blacks?

Click for your side. Must be logged in.

150919

Featured Partner

Private Sector Solutions Network

Private Sector Solutions Network is a group of leaders working together to improve the world by developing and implem...more

What is Helium? | User Guide | Community | Link to Helium | Privacy | User agreement | DMCA

Helium, Inc.
200 Brickstone Square Andover, MA 01810 USA