The Negative Portrayal of Women in Hip-Hop/Rap Videos, and How the Viewer is Affected

Way back in my senior year of high school, we had a senior project to complete, called the Senior Independent Project (SIP). We had to pick a topic related to our career major (mine was graphic design and video) and write a five to ten page paper about it. My topic was The Negative Portrayal of Women in Hip-Hop/Rap Videos, and How the Viewer is Affected. I tried my best to put that damn paper out of my mind, but alas, I was reminded of it when I re-read my previous journal entry on Maureen Dowd’s article.

My paper basically included studies about how both men and women are affected by these negative portrayals. Below is an excerpt from my paper on gender stereotyping and how it relates to my topic:


Gender stereotyping is “one type of subjective perception [mental views] of what a male or female should be or how one should act” (Chng). Much of the time, women are portrayed as sex objects; seen as objects to satisfy the desires of the male artists and viewers. Females are often portrayed as “naïve, virginal, submissive creatures” in need of male protection, adoration, and direction (Chng). This project is concerned with the effects of the portrayal of women in these videos on the female and male viewer in terms of self-esteem issues, sexual roles, and success in life.


This relates to the Psychology of Sex and Gender because it has to do with gender stereotyping. The stereotype that women are sex objects, and in need of male protection, etc., are extremely abundant in these music videos.