Sex, sex, sexxxxxxxxxxx. As long as people have been making music there has been music made about getting some. Then there was hip hop, and we all know how male hip-hop stars have been criticised for their objectification of women in their lyrics and music videos. How many of us have seen a video of some grossly unattractive rap star being surrounded by a plathora of "bitches and hos" who seem unnaturally magnetised by the man's repulsive body.
So what do we make of the overtly sexual female rappers? Lil' Kim, Foxy and Trina are rarely seen without their big boobies nearly popping out of their skimpy low cut bikini tops. Are they merely fulfilling the expectations of a misogynistic industry? Let's look at Trina,
Sex can ofcourse be empowering! Missy's "One Minute Man" was a fantastcially hormone-charged number about wanting more men who underperform. And Trina herself is clearly empowered by her sexuality. She promises to "put the pussy on you" as a call to arms for women to assert their own desires and pleasures rather than just doing it for the men. Respect! And her objectification of men in her other vids (such as "Single Again"), I like this a lot.
But who can argue that she, and others like her, aren't typecast by the the three letter word? Do female rappers have to flaunt it to make it to the mainstream?
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