Am I a bad feminist/hypocrite because I like Jay-Z and Eminem?

[Kitteh]

This is an issue I've personally thought about. These guys obviously have some serious issues with women. On some level it feels hypocritical for someone with my views to listen to "Love the Way You Lie" or "99 Problems"...yet I actually like both these songs as music while despising their message and undertones. Thoughts?

[H. Ross Peron]

No. I like Herms Niel's marches ("Erika" for example) and even some of Frank Rennicke's non-xenophobic ballads but that doesn't make me a Nazi. I also like "the Internationale" and Pete Seeger but I'm not a Red either.

[bedstuy]

No.  Listening to a song does not mean you endorse its content. 

But, if you really don't like the lyrics or the message so much, listen to different music.  I would suggest KRS-ONE, Rakim and A Tribe Called Quest, if you want to a replacement in that same genre. 

[Vosem]

I subscribe to 'kampflieder de' on YouTube. It's fine to listen to music with diametrically opposite views to yours.

[Link]

These guys obviously have some serious issues with women.

Really?  Jay Z seems to be a pretty good husband/father.  Eminem despite having all kinds of tail tossed at him went back to his high school sweet heart a couple of times.  Didn't Eminem adopt two girls?

I don't think either of those guys grew up under ideal circumstances and I think all rappers as they grow older either die or chill out.

There are some rappers that go way too far and I stop listening to them.  But that is because they actually do something I can't overlook.  Not just make up some braggadocios rap to sell records.

[Goldwater]

No, you can listen to music by people with different political views from you. Otherwise there would be very few artists I could listen to.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

There's really no reason to like a rapper if you don't like their lyrics.  It's not like there's actual music involved besides sampling.

[SUSAN CRUSHBONE]

No, but you have absolutely awful taste in music.

[rejectamenta]

Nah. Adhering to such ideological rigidity is a futile exercise bound to develop cracks somewhere down the line.

We all like music for subjective and often arbitrary reasons in the first place, and I think it would be absurd for anyone to demand that you stop listening to this or stop watching that if you want to call yourself a real devotee to a cause.

[This user has not been convicted of 34 felonies]

Option 3. You understand the difference between right and wrong. That is all that matters in regards to feminism.

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

If listening to certain songs was indicative of beliefs, I'd be one of those damned hippies right now. Also, in my opinion, worrying whether you make the "feminist cut" is ridiculous. Susan B. Anthoby isn't going to pop out of the clouds & denounce you in front of all your friends.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

No, but you have absolutely awful taste in music.

[Sbane]

The "bitch" in 99 problems isn't a human.

[Lief 🗽]

http://www.socialjusticeleague.net/2011/09/how-to-be-a-fan-of-problematic-things/

[Maxwell]

No because its stupid to call someone a hypocrite because of their taste in music.

[Antonio the Sixth]

Well to be fair, I do like the Rolling Stones, who have some pretty awful undertones too. Though to be fair, they're from 40 years ago.

[Oldiesfreak1854]

No, I just don't care much for your taste in music.

[Cryptic]

Option 3. You understand the difference between right and wrong. That is all that matters in regards to feminism.

 

This

[nolesfan2011]

This is a great question *hat tip*.  Since I really don't listen to rap music enough to do serious commentary on those artists (I know who they are but still..) I'll just put in a way I understand better, specifically like 80's rock music and stuff.

To start, I will just say I really don't mix someones political views with their ability as an entertainer/musician, for example, I can say Ted Nugent is a political nut and a brilliant guitarist at the same time, without shame, and say I don't listen to the Dixie Chicks, even if they are progressive, without guilt.

Where I draw the line is more like personal wrongdoing stuff, like Chris Brown for example I just wouldn't listen to because I don't endorse his behavior, and his shamelessness about it.

As for the specific sexism/misogyny in music, I think that sometimes that sexism can actually be more like a biting parody of societal norms rather than a promotion of those type of views and behaviors (you have to read between the lines lyric wise).  

For example, my favorite band, Guns n Roses, which has its set of controversial songs, has the song "it's so easy" with the lyrics:

"It all fits so right
When I fade into the night
See me hit you
You fall down...

Turn around b**ch I got a use for you
Besides you ain't got nothin' better to do
And I'm bored"

which at face value would seem to endorse violence against women, except in reality the song was about how "easy" it is to basically be a misogynistic and even abusive male (in the rock world etc.) and just not have anyone really complain, including women who maybe don't have enough self-respect/self-worth or whatever, and of course as a feminist and just a sane person you and I would both know that VAW is a serious, rampant issue that is accepted by far too many people.

There are a bunch of other songs like that too, and though I'm not diametrically opposed to say songs or whatever that just talk about attractive women, because I mean it is just a thing people talk and think about, same with songs that maybe talk about women cheating or something I mean it is something people talk about, not a horrible subject on its own and sometimes people just want to relax and not have so much controversy.

Even bands that are extremely hetero-male in their lyrics, ie the 80s hair bands like a Motley Crue or something, also have songs that are downright loving and compassionate, showing the softer side of the male spirit that isn't usually publicized.  The band Poison has both "I want action" and "every rose has its thorn" in its playlist.. so it is what it is.

An even bigger example of the biting parody aspect is a band called Steel Panther, which is this really sleazy, crass, 80s hair band parody kind of band that just sings really offensive R rated songs about like women and other R rated stuff, the irony is that much of what they actually say as part of the "parody" joke, is kind of true for a lot of people and how they think.

Take the song "that's what girls are for", which is literally the most misogynistic, anti-feminist, song possible, that basically describes a "Mad-Men" style view of the genders where women are in the kitchen and men run the show. Yet it is so blunt that it really does nothing more than mock people that still hold those views (like Erick Erickson just today).

As another poster mentioned, it is also about discerning how the people are in reality too, for example from what we can tell Jay-Z and Eminem are reasonable in their relationships with women, Jay-Z seems to be in a positive marriage and Eminem doesn't seem like a bad parent.

[courts]

you could have replaced 'feminist' with 'christian' and this thread would have basically read the same way.

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

BRTD-esque polls are BRTD-esque. 

[Antonio the Sixth]

you could have replaced 'feminist' with 'christian' and this thread would have basically read the same way.

I don't think DRJ is a Christian though.

[courts]

you could have replaced 'feminist' with 'christian' and this thread would have basically read the same way.

I don't think DRJ is a Christian though.

it's not really an original insight to point out that leftist ideologues share a lot in common with christians.

[Antonio the Sixth]

you could have replaced 'feminist' with 'christian' and this thread would have basically read the same way.

I don't think DRJ is a Christian though.

it's not really an original insight to point out that leftist ideologues share a lot in common with christians.

In that they have principles and like to reflect on whether or not they are actually living up to them? Maybe. So what?

[courts]

you could have replaced 'feminist' with 'christian' and this thread would have basically read the same way.

I don't think DRJ is a Christian though.

it's not really an original insight to point out that leftist ideologues share a lot in common with christians.

In that they have principles and like to reflect on whether or not they are actually living up to them? Maybe. So what?

a lot of the underlying tendencies and premises (egalitarianism, humanism, etc.) are the same for a reason. and i'm fond of drj in case you haven't noticed. just noticing a certain irony here.