Megan Thee Stallion supporters evoke misogynoir in the hip-hop industry – what it is and where else it exists

For more than two years, it felt like hip-hop superstar and three-time Grammy Award winner Megan Thee Stallion was on trial. she wasn’t. A jury recently found rapper Tory Lanez guilty of shooting Megan in both legs multiple times while leaving Kylie’s Jenner pool party in Los Angeles in 2020. . of a firearm due to gross negligence. He faces up to his 22 years in prison and possible deportation.

So far, more than 30,000 people have signed Change.org’s petition to appeal the Lanez decision. A unique cocktail of misogyny and racism specific to black women, misogynoir largely explains why in the courts of public opinion, the victim of a shooting was scrutinized far more severely than the man who shot her. It also helps illustrate the status and experience of black women across the professional industry, including hip-hop.

A few weeks after the incident, Megan revealed on Instagram Live That Lanes was her shooter. She described in considerable detail what happened the night of the shooting and repeatedly asked Lanez to stop lying to her, the viral video garnering a lot of attention. Many fans, domestic violence survivors, and others sympathized with Megan and called for Lanez to be held accountable. I accused him of being attached.

Megan then posted a photo of her injured leg on Instagram. Apparently, for some people, including men in her industry, her photographic evidence was still not enough.

Rappers Drake and 21 Savage released last month loss of her, a joint music album. In their song “Circo Loco,” Drake states, “This bitch lies to get shots, but she’s still a stallion.” Many outraged listeners saw the lyrics as an overt and disgusting mockery of Megan. in a tweetShe also asked when it became cool for women to joke about being shot. Additionally, she highlighted how rappers use the platform to protest other things.

In many songs, music videos, and media interviews over the course of her career, Megan has proudly voiced her sex positivity. Doubters took advantage of this to unduly discredit her claims about the shooting. Her sexuality was completely irrelevant in Lanez’s case. The discrepancies between what she reported to police and hospital staff on the night of the assault and what she later reported in a CBS Morning interview with Gayle King also fueled the skepticism. Her August 2020 Instagram Live. In the post, Megan explained that Lanez initially didn’t tell the truth about shooting her because she was afraid they would both be arrested for having a firearm in the car they were driving.

Moya Bailey, an associate professor in the Department of Communications at Northwestern University, first coined the term misoginoir. It captures the unique intersectionality of racism, sexism, and misogyny that black women experience. In her 2021 book, Misogynoir Transformed: Black Women’s Digital ResistanceBailey provided many examples of how black women are misunderstood as hypersexualized, unattractive, unhealthy, and deviant.

Experts in women, gender, and sexuality studies attribute much of the skepticism and online abuse Megan experienced to misogynoir. Among them is her Treva B. Lindsey, professor at Ohio State University and author of the book. America, Goddam: Violence, Black Women, and the Struggle for Justice“Since she was shot, Meg has been feuding with misogynoir within the media, within the criminal justice system, and by far too many of her peers in the rap industry,” notes Lindsay.

Professor Mark Lamont Hill of Temple University, Steve Charles Chair of Media Cities and Solutions, agrees with Lindsay. “Throughout this ordeal, Meg has experienced an amazing level of misogynoir within the hip-hop community,” he observes. “From social media posts to rap lyrics, the hip-hop artist has responded to her shootings with brutal levels of ridicule, contempt, denial and victim-blaming.” He says he’s not surprised by the way Megan has been abused, because he’s consistently displayed a certain hatred of black women and girls.

Other scholars have documented the hatred Hill mentions, but in a very particular way. I have focused on the sexualization of black female dancers in hop performances. To a lesser extent, attention has been paid to the severely biased coverage of black female hip-hop her artists on the radio and in various media, and the gender gap in artists played by music DJs and amplified by promoters. There is even less focus on the underrepresentation of black women leaders and executives in the business side of hip-hop.

The way many men in her industry have reacted to Megan’s shooting reveals another side of misogynoir in hip-hop. Certainly no Black woman deserves to go through misogynoir, regardless of her position in the industry. But the point here is that Megan has achieved her mainstream exposure over the past five years with more success than most other female, male, and genderqueer hip-hop artists. That’s it. Nonetheless, the lesser-known Canadian rapper who shot her, who is a man, enjoys a surprisingly strong profit of suspicion from her industry peers. occurs.

Misogi noir doesn’t start or end with hip-hop. Rather, its refusal to see black women and girls as worthy of love, care, protection, security and dignity is a microcosm of the broader white supremacist society,” argues Hill. Black women and girls are hated by nearly every sector of society, but this hatred is reinforced within hip-hop culture because it is a male-dominated space at every level. There is a world that rewards hip-hop artists with money, attention and awards for hating women and girls.”

According to my research at organizations in various industries (including but not limited to entertainment companies), black women professionals experience misogynoir in different ways. In female employee resource groups (ERGs), this occurs through the erasure of black members’ ideas and cultural interests, disregard for intersectionality in career acceleration, and minimization of racialized workplace concerns. Many black women have told members of my research team and me over the years that women’s ERGs almost always default to the needs and concerns of white women.

In many workplaces, black women are disproportionately represented in secretarial, food service, administrative, and call center customer service roles. They don’t seem to be good enough for mid-level, senior, and executive leadership roles. And those few who reach the top are often silenced and denied the same power, authority and resources as men.

Additionally, business leaders reported less urgency for reports of sexism, sexual harassment, and racism by black women than for white women. As was the case with Megan Thee Stallion, unfortunately many leaders and colleagues are suspicious of black female colleagues who bring up examples of occupational abuse. Some men have no black women on the teams they lead, while others stifle the careers of black women in myriad ways. They are often rewarded for their success in

Because misogynoir is so enduring and pervasive in the professional industry, a one-off Black History Month or Women’s History Month panel on the topic could raise awareness about it and black women who have experienced it in the workplace. The outcome of the Lanez trial will do nothing to address the hip-hop industry’s deep-seated misogynoir problem.

Lindsey hopes, but unfortunately doesn’t think the misogynoir for Megan will end anytime soon. “Even if the Tories are convicted, she will face the wrath of abuse from advocates who refuse to see black female survivors as worthy of care and protection,” she predicts. “The road ahead is not easy in an industry rife with misogynoir, but we hope this verdict will give Meg some comfort and move her already illustrious career forward.”

To eradicate misogynoir in hip-hop or any other industry, we must first acknowledge its existence. It requires believing in black women. Continuous, not one-time, investigation into its root cause and the factors that sustain it is also a necessary step. Restorative justice and financial investment in reparations for historical and contemporary harm to black women professionals are also essential. What does this look like? Leaders must ask black women in the industry. leaders must act swiftly, seriously, strategically, sustainably, and transparently on ideas generously contributed by black women professionals.