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IT’S NOT HARD TOO SEE that Hip Hop is incredibly influential on pop culture today. However, it is a genre of music that has seen artists such as Eminem use inflammatory language against QVs. We decided to ask our readers if they felt Hip Hop was homophobic, and the results were surprisingly mixed. While 34% of our readers found Hip Hop culture to be definitely homophobic, 39% felt it wasn’t homophobic at all. Another 24% felt it was somewhere in between, and the remaining 3% didn’t know. Below are some of the responses that we received—and both sides had some interesting arguments to support their opinions. “Yes.
But it’s a man thing. If at any time a rapper started rapping about
QV rights they’d get bashed, lose their fan base, and so on. It’s
homophobic, but I can see why. We all know that there are many female
rappers who are QV, but there’s no way they’d come out. It’s
all a game—it’s fame.” “Very
much so! Using derogatory slang such as ‘faggot’ is offensive
to me. I don’t hate on an artist who uses those words, but I don’t
agree with it.” “I
think Hip Hop is homophobic. Eminem is always hating on ‘fags’
and Ludacris says, ‘All you faggot muther f**kers get the f**k
off the way,’ in his song, ‘Move Bitch.’ I don’t
think there have been any positive actions made to involve homosexuality
in Hip Hop, or that there ever will be. It’s kinda sad because
it’s my favorite kind of music.” “I
feel that Hip Hop Culture is homophobic because it is based on the strong
and powerful ‘Urban Macho Men’ commonly thought of as thugs
or ganstas. This image does not welcome homosexuality because a homosexual
is seen as inferior and weak. There have been a very, very small number
of openly QV rappers (Caushun, for example) but they are ignored and
not given the same publicity or recognition as mainstream rappers. Someday,
people in Hip Hop Culture will realize that not all homosexuals fit
into the ‘fairy’ category and can hold their own.” “Unfortunately,
I strongly feel the homophobia in the lyrics of Hip Hop artists. I feel
like the hardcore image that is perpetuated with being a rapper or Hip
Hop artist doesn’t encompass being QV friendly. Fans are very
critical and I feel that a lot of artists are afraid they’ll lose
fans if they don’t fit into the preconceived idea of what a Hip
Hop artist is.” “No,
rappers rap about what they know, and since the majority of them are
straight, they cannot rap about homosexual issues because they do not
know much about it. That’s why we need more QV rappers like Deadlee.”
“I
don’t feel it’s the culture that’s homophobic because
Hip Hop culture exists within our own QV community. Straight people,
although they comprise the largest portion of the Hip Hop artists, do
not have sole rights to Hip Hop. I haven’t heard any Hip Hop artists
talk down about QVs. If they did, it would be a personal thing, not
a Hip Hop thing. Hip Hop is a way of life—everyone is free to live
it.” “Not
necessarily. I just caught a Latino poet (Emanuel Xavier) on Russell
Simmons’ Def Poetry. Watching something like that was promising.” “No,
Hip Hop is not homophobic, rather, it even proves to be homoerotic.
The sexually alluring styles of many Hip Hop artists is intended to
capture the attention of any audience—male or female. In music
videos, album covers and inserts, Hip Hop magazines, billboards, at
concerts, we are all exposed to and invited into the realm of boundless
sexuality.” “I
don’t think the culture itself is homophobic, but I do believe
that some of the artists and their lyrics are. To say that the entire
culture is homophobic would be wrong, because it doesn’t necessarily
address homosexual issues. It’s a culture of music, not of beliefs.”
MORE
RESPONSES ARE IN THE PRINT VERSION PLUS CLICK
HERE
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Is
Hip Hop Homophobic?
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