#MalesSexualizeOurGirlhood: The Music Industry is a Pimp

Shawn Carter was a man, Inga was a girl...

African American women and girls in Rap & Hip-Hop face some of the most overt forms of sexual violation in the music industry. African American girls in the music industry are simultaneously girlified and adultified because of the intersection of their sex and race (misogynoir). While the industry molded R&B/Soul artists like Brandy into “the girl next door” male supremacist sexual fantasy, Inga (Foxy Brown) was molded into “the bad girl” or more aptly, “the bad b#*$h” male supremacist sexual fantasy. I listened to both girls in the 90's on, but Foxy was the one I related to most; she seemed hardened like I was. Brandy’s persona was too innocent to reflect my life as a girl. Foxy had clearly seen some shit, just like I did. The ethos of rap was “I’ve seen some shit” and in general I found myself drawn to music that conjured up that feeling of intensity, rage, and sadness (just like my Metallica Reload CD, or my Lata Mangeshkar Dard Bhare Geet Tape).

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As an Indian American girl living in the “racial middle,” I absorbed European American and African American culture, along with my Indian culture. I gravitated to African American girls in pop culture because they were my closest representation in American culture. Indian women and girls hadn’t yet made it to the American screen. We were different shades of brown and came with different geographical roots and histories, but we overlapped in certain ways. Just like these girls, my femaleness could not be separated from my skin color, and I was reminded of that every day from males of all colors. Sometimes I was met with racist disgust other times with racist fetishization. But the one commonality between all the males was their attempt to pit me against girls of other colors through their twisted comparisons. Males like Jay-Z would lump us into categories...”red dot or feather”, “fried chicken, curry chicken”, “why you treat me like animal?,”…dehumanizing us at every turn. In his personal life, he dehumanized countless African American women and girls...Inga, Beyonce, and so many more. He punished them for their talent, their potential, their femaleness. Just another pimp stealing the lifeforce of girls.

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Jay-Z wields Black Male Supremacy, but since American society orients the “hierarchy of oppression” based on color not sex, he’s able to cover his male supremacist crimes much more easily. But those of us paying attention know who he is and what he’s done. We’re not fooled by any lies that African American men, Indian American men, or any other male can’t access male supremacy; just like the males of all colors who aided Jay-Z, and joined him in depravity. Whatever access their color (or other intersecting demographics) bars them from, males make up for it through their sex.

But the Inga’s and Beyonce’s of the world didn’t have this option. No matter what they do, they can’t escape their femaleness. And that’s exactly what the males around them target. The music industry is wielded by the hands of male supremacist pimps, all competing against each other for relevance. They try to separate themselves through races, genres, and other groupings, but they’re all the same. They exploit the women and girls from their communities. They look to turn-out promising young girls. Brittany’s dad and Beyonce’s dad could trade war stories about commodifying their female children.

Stop supporting music that harms women and girls. Stop making excuses because “the beat’s so good.” I did it for years, too. I loved Jay-Z’s flow and beats. But his words were grooming me, separating me from sisterhood and solidarity, objectifying me and every female person I know. I hope more feminist hip-hop and rap artists can reclaim good beats with lyrics that empower women and girls. I hope women from all demographics can come together and see how male supremacy keeps trying to pit us against each other to dupe us.

One of the many steps in my female separatist practice is recreating my musical playlists to only include female artists who empower and inspire. I feel deeply for the women who are coerced into male supremacist ideologies and make music pushed by the pimps. But I won’t support their music with my time and money anymore. I’ve seen the shift in my attitude now that I cut out misogynistic male musicians like Jay-Z, Grateful Dead, The Doors, Snoop Dogg, etc, as well as female artists whose beats I love like Brittany Spears, Cardi B, Foxy Brown, and countless others. The path of these male and female artists can’t be compared because of their differing power and positionality under male supremacy. And I can no longer participate in supporting any part of the male supremacist system. I will always support these women in the ways I can by shedding light on their stories.

I do miss songs that I grew up with or jamming to the latest trending beats, but I can no longer live in cognitive dissonance about the male supremacists pulling the strings of the music industry. Start exploring your own music collection - rap, rock, hip-hop, funk, metal, disco, soul, r&b, classical, jazz, grunge, classical...you name the genre. What do you hear? What do you see? What male supremacist messages are you absorbing? Is your favorite female artist actually empowered, or being told by her male-owned record label to convince you that she is? Can any woman or girl ever access empowerment within the music industry?

Please share your stories of how #MalesSexualizeOurGirlhood. Write, draw, talk, share in whatever style works for you. Include the year, country, and age you were when the experience took place. Share on Instagram, Substack, TikTok and make sure to tag us! Or share it directly with female.liberation so we can post it on our page.