The real reason Dads dislike rap. No it isn't because he is "old" or "does not understand the music".
Many songs on the radio use slang , and sexual remarks, to degrade women. Some songs, which are PERFORMED BY WOMEN, imply they are giving themselves to men.
My father disapproves of my music choice, and it was not until recently I realized why. I was in the car driving on the highway, when a new rap song came on. After jamming out to the song, I really thought about the music. The song discusses how he wants to "turn the girl on" and how he hopes she is "high". This was the first moment I realized what my dad was talking about all these years. How could I listen to and support music that was completely degrading myself and the women around me. These songs that I "in a sense" promote completely contradict everything I stand for in women's rights.
Today's music has taught the youth of America to not only "whip and nae-nae" but to degrade
women and if they are women, that it is okay to be "cat-called" and think they are only good for sexual favors with a male counterpart. In many songs, girls are referred to as sexual objects, a prize of some sort that men can just use and then throw away. It teaches young ladies that it is okay to give themselves up because the radio they listen to, songs they download, and the You-Tube videos they watch all imply that sex is okay to do whenever with whom ever.
Not only are the lyrics to these songs concerning, but the girls in the music videos for them all
look the same - like clones. They are all very skinny, perfect skin, nice clothes, and money. This aspect of the music does not necessarily enforce the sexual acts but it tends to depict "what men find attractive in girls". As a young girl or even a teenage girl watching these videos, the idea of being a "perfect" individual is subliminally set into their brain. When this happens, many will begin to forget their fathers saying "you're beautiful" and think the complete opposite. This can not only make them stressed out about looks, but could potentially lead to young women developing eating disorders.
That’s the main issue Dads have with the music their teenage daughters are listening to. While some girls tend to stay away from that genre of music, there are equal amounts that blare it on the max volume setting in the car. Dad's spend most of their daughter's childhood attempting to bring up their confidence, self esteem, and core values. When they hear this music, for many dads, it makes them sick, for even more it makes them concerned that their daughters will go and act like the "sex icons" in the music videos, that they will stop loving themselves, that they will forget everything they worked years to instill in them.
When we are singing the songs on the radio in the car on the way to work, school, ect. we really should take a minute to think about the messages songs are actually promoting. Are we, as women, really going to support being used as "sex objects"? Are we, women, okay with that? After everything we, women, have worked with, are we okay with taking a major step back? Would the women who fought for our rights be proud of us today as a collective? I personally find it unacceptable, and hope that my peers can also be enlightened to see what we are really supporting by listening to this music.
Personally, my father has continuously reminded me that he thought I was beautiful. While the music I listen to may not be his favorite, and while sometimes I don’t think I can leave the house without makeup I know he will always remind me that.I can only thank my father for providing me with the love and support that I need to not idolize the women in the videos, and not to give myself away like the music promotes. So thank your dad for hating the music you may love. Thank him for not supporting it. Thank him for asking you to turn it off. Thank him for giving you the tools you need to rise above the subliminal messages provided by those songs you sing every time they come on.
