By Matthew Comini

The roles of women have changed markedly in the last 30-40 years. The trend however, is back toward objectification of women in general and Black women in specific; especially through music.

Rap music absolutely objectifies black women as sex objects. What else is there to say? Hell, all women for that matter, and nearly all music not just rap. Being bitches, ho’s, and baby momma’s are apparently all that modern women are capable of being in the world that popular music culture presents. But, I feel compelled to say, women today do a fair amount of damage to their own images without the help of pop music.

Tramp stamps, girls gone wild, and the ever important low rider jeans that show more crack on the streets than the average corner dealer does, do more damage to the image of women than pretty much anything a man can do because those are choices a woman makes for herself. I couldn’t tell you how many times I’ve seen women wearing Phat or Pink or some cute sexy saying across their rear ends. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to equate Pink to pussy. Sorry, that was crude, but it makes my point.

Believe me, I’m not an advocate of women in burkhas and veils, but, ladies, don’t wear words across your backside if you don’t want me to think about what’s under them. You drew the attention. Fair enough to the ladies though: guys need not behave like pigs at the sight of a woman attired in such a way as to present her feminine features in such a manner. There is a little thing called self restraint, gentlemen.

In the last thirty years the roles of women have changed quite a bit. I’m no fogey but I’ve been around the block once or twice and what I’ve seen in the course of my life is a bit startling. Gone was the June Cleaver type mom when I grew up, but a reflection of her could still be seen in my mom and many of my friend’s mothers. Sometime around the eighties the mirror ole’ June was looking into must have shattered. My guess is that it was partially because MTV displayed women readily as sex objects in music videos and also because the economy was pretty much shot.

Reaganomics put a crunch on pocketbooks so lots of moms who would have otherwise stayed at home went out and got jobs. Nothing wrong with women in the workforce, I’m just sayin’, relax! The combination of these two events changed the role of women in society. Madonna and her skanky outfits all up in the public eye, and moms out turning a buck to make ends meet. These were heavy stresses on women. What to be was the problem: risky or business, or Risky Business? (Hellooo Rebecca De Mornay!)

As if women didn’t have enough pressure. They were already expected to do the lion’s, or should I say lioness’s, share of child rearing and home making. Now they had to be sexy, professional, bring home the bacon, be mom’s and wives, and…..well, everything else they do. I don’t know. I’m a guy. All I’m saying is that Whitney said it best when she sang, “I’m Every Woman”. Madonna the virgin? Wow, ummm not so much, but thanks for crawling around on the bed like that, honey.

Without a doubt there has been a shift in pop culture with regards to black women, but don’t leave out the white girls. Whitney turned into a train wreck, however she can’t hold a candle to the likes of female rappers such as lil’ Kim. “My, neck, my back, my….”, need I say more, Khia? Take a look at every pedophile’s one time wet dreams, little Britney and Christina. Yikes!!

Please, Arethra, hit them ho’s up with some self R-E-S-P-E-C-T. Gloria, tell them you don’t need to play the role to survive.

I can’t speak in depth on the lives of Arethra Franklin and Gloria Gaynor, but I do know the message in their music, the decline of such empowering music in today’s pop culture, and that what survives now would have disrespected most women back in the day.

What day exactly that it may have been I don’t know, but I doubt that it was Trampstamp-babymomma-hangyourfatasscrackout-day. It was probably more like a Saturday or something, you know, a little work, a little fun, not quite all pious as Sunday morning, not all party like Friday night, and not all business like a Monday, just a good mix of them all and better things. I often wonder if today’s young women will even make it through a week to ever find such a day of their own but, boys, don’t go thinking you’re all that and a side-o-fries. You’ve got more issues than, hell I don’t know, something with a bunch of issues.