Do the Ladies Run This Mutha? The Relationship between Political Rap and Black Feminist Attitudes

Abstract

ABSTRACTMusic has been thought of as an art form that expresses ideas and sentiments of the artist. This article examines the relationship between political and non-political rap and Black feminist attitudes. This study includes data from original experiments conducted at Benedict College; a historically Black college in Columbia, SC, where Black males and females were exposed to various genres of music and their support of Black feminist attitudes were measured. Blacks exposed to political rap display increased support of Black feminist attitudes compared to those exposed to non-political rap and the control group, subjects who were not exposed to any form of music. Our research finds that those exposed to non-political rap have less affinity for Black feminist attitudes than those in any other group. This research is important to political science because it furthers our knowledge about public opinion and political attitudes. Specifically, this article demonstrates that non-traditional media forms also have an impact on political attitudes. Specifically, exposure to political rap has a significantly positive impact on the agreement with Black feminist attitudes when compared to exposure to non-political rap. Therefore, not all subgenres of rap music are consistently harmful to Black feminist attitudes and attitudes toward women.