For her first essay, sociologist Zénaïde Berg explores the relationship that female rap fans have with this genre of music, often perceived as sexist or deeply masculine.
Rap music often makes sensitive ears, and even more so feminist ears, sizzle because of the shocking, vulgar and often openly sexist remarks made in the lyrics of the songs. However, after interviewing nearly twenty Montreal rap fans about their relationship with this musical style, sociologist Zénaïde Berg came to the conclusion that feminism can very well coexist with rap, which she explains in her first essay Queens of the City. Essay on Feminism and the Love of Rap (Somme Toute Editions, 2024).
The author, who describes herself as a feminist, could have been the subject of her study herself. “I started listening to rap music when I was very young. It’s part of me, of my identity. It’s been very important in my life,” explains the author, who is currently studying for a doctorate in sociology at the Université de Montréal. “I wanted to understand what rap music could represent for women who associate themselves with this musical genre, and how they live with the paradoxes that it implies.”
Nineteen rap fans confided in Zénaïde Berg to enrich her thoughts. Regardless of the social or ethnic background of the people interviewed, the common points regarding their understanding of rap were plentiful.
The women consulted say they often listen to this music alone, at home or on headphones, particularly to feel a sense of confidence or control when approaching stressful events, such as job interviews. They also emphasize that they do not generally enjoy talking about rap with male fans. mansplaining (having things explained to you in a condescending way by a man without being asked) or gaslighting (questioning our perceptions) awaits them at every turn of conversation, and brutality often reigns in performance halls, where they do not feel in a safe space.
The environment seems at first glance rather impervious to female incursions because of its tendency to internalize the misogynistic discourses of the songs. “The concept of boys clubas defined by Martine Delvaux [professeure de littérature et essayiste québécoise]seems to apply to the world of rap and the interactions that unite amateurs and amateurs. The behavior of men and their attitude when they talk about rap with women creates a hostile climate where it is not possible to exchange in a benevolent and egalitarian manner.
Better understanding of men
There are of course some exceptions to the rule, especially in the work of female rappers. This is the case, for example, in the lyrics of Backxwash, who won the Polaris Prize in 2020, or Nicki Minaj, who has managed to reach a very wide audience — but these are still isolated cases. Female rap fans therefore do not listen to their favorite musical genre primarily for its lyrics, which are mostly written by members of the great ” boys club rap” — although these texts can have a slightly educational side.
“Being exposed to rap made me understand how men were socialized,” explains Zénaïde Berg. “These are representations that really exist in the social world and they allowed me to understand the violence that I experience as a woman. There is something very honest in rap lyrics. It is a tool to recognize violence, and then deconstruct it.”
The researcher also likes this “honesty” of the genre: according to her, all artistic environments are inhabited by the defects of patriarchy, but in a more insidious way. This would be the case for classical dance or French song, which reproduce the problematic gender models in male-female relationships, but less directly.
“Ultimately, this idea that rap is a more sexist music than others is associated with the fact that it is a culture that comes from black communities – and these communities are often presented as misogynistic.” Labeling rap as more sexist than other genres of music, or art, would therefore be partly a result of systemic racism and a blindness to the pitfalls of other cultural environments.
Liberating music
Beyond its rhythm, which is conducive to developing the self-confidence of female fans, one of the characteristics of rap is its emancipatory dimension, which women appropriate when listening to it, which makes it an art all the more conducive to feminism. “Rap, because it has always given a voice to those who do not have one, invites us to think of a life outside the frameworks in which we are tried to put ourselves. Art allows us to escape from reality, to think of other possibilities and to reappropriate pejorative terms,” lists Zénaïde Berg, who concedes that there is still a long way to go to make rap an egalitarian environment.
The author’s objective as a researcher and essayist – to spark dialogue and discussion on the subject – is fully achieved and sets a first milestone for the socio-historical understanding of rap in Quebec, which has been little studied to date by educational institutions.