Ambivalent Sexism and Misogynistic Rap Music: Does Exposure to Eminem Increase Sexism?¹

Abstract

We evaluate the oft‐repeated but typically untested claim that rap music encourages sexism. We randomly assigned participants to 1 of 3 conditions: no music, misogynistic rap music, and nonmisogynistic rap music. The first study (treated as a pilot; N = 232) weakly demonstrated the differential impact of exposure on male and female participants, but our measures of sexism were unreliable. We then conducted a second study (N = 175) employing well‐validated (and more subtle) measures taken from the Ambivalent Sexism Inventory (ASI). While we replicated the weak differential impact of participants' sex, we also find that sexism increased after listening to nonmisogynistic rap music, especially among males. Implications for the debate about labeling and censoring rap music are discussed.

‘First things first, I'm the realest’: Linguistic appropriation, white privilege, and the hip‐hop persona of Iggy Azalea

“… It is important not to ignore that Eminem's lyrics are profoundly misogynistic, homophobic, and violent (Cobb and Boettcher ; Stephens ). While we cannot address this here, we must call attention to the fact that his music is problematic in these ways. …”

Influence of Sexually Degrading Music on Men's Perceptions of Women's Dating‐Relevant Cues

“…Relative to songs without degrading content, manipulated exposure to songs with sexually degrading or misogynous content increases adversarial sexual beliefs but shows no effect on other negative attitudes toward women (e.g. Cobb & Boettcher, 2007;Sprankle & End, 2009). St.…”

Untitled

“…Rap is not considered only a genre of music, but also as comprising an intricate system of concepts, beliefs, values and ideologies (Taylor & Taylor, 2005), which could be passed on to listeners. A body of research documents the influence of music on adolescents' views on gender and sexuality (Aubrey, Hopper, & Mbure, 2011;Beentjes & Konig, 2013;Cobb & Boettcher, 2007). More frequent viewing of music videos by adolescents is associated with adopting more stereotypical and traditional gender roles (Ward, Hansbrough & Walker, 2005).…”

“…Nevertheless, the graphic and sexually explicit derogatory presentations of women through rap lyrics of Eminem's and other artists' songs have been strongly criticised numerous times for justifying the victimisation, objectification and exploitation of women (Weitzer & Kubrin, 2009). Women are more inclined than men to reject demeaning, misogynistic rap lyrics, which reinforce negative attitudes about women (Cobb & Boettcher, 2007).…”