“Oh, baby like it raw”: Hip-hop culture, contemporary representations of African American women, and HIV

Oppression, racism, poverty, dominant ideologies/stereotypes, and cultural beliefs all play a role in poor health outcomes among young African American women. Race, gender, and age intersect to put the subpopulation at increased risk of disease and infection, including sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and HIV. Specific behaviors placing African American women at increased risk for STIs and HIV include drug and alcohol use, early age of sexual onset, unprotected sexual intercourse, and having multiple sex partners. Various psychosocial factors influence young African American women’s adoption of these unhealthy behaviors. The influence of the media is included among these factors. The purpose of this research is to explore the representation and objectification of African American women in Hip-Hop culture (including Hip-Hop and R&B music and videos). This research examined songs identified for the “R&B/Hip-Hop” category of the Billboard weekly top ten charts for the week of February 16, 2013 and their corresponding music videos. Four major interrelated themes emerged from the content analysis of song lyrics: (1) the objectification of women through negative identification and emphasis on body parts, (2) the sexualization of women via the mention of sexual acts and sexuality, (3) negative/violent depictions of interpersonal relationships, and (4) drug and alcohol use. Meanwhile, the videos for these songs were equally or more disparaging. The behavior of impressionable young African American women may be directly influenced by media representations. Messaging and programming should give this subpopulation the tools necessary to combat these controlling images, thereby decreasing the influence on sexual health.