Dyson Group Essay

Ilene Lee
Mar`Queshia Wilkerson
Jessica Farnlacher

In the article “Cover Your Eyes as I Describe a Scene So Violent”, Byron Hurt interviews Michael Eric Dyson about the controversial social issues surrounding the hip hop entertainment industry. Dyson discusses significant aspects of hip hop culture and his perception of masculinity portrayed in the eyes of artists. The ideas of violence, objectification and social priorities unravel into a world where men are focused on seeming dominant and superior over other male counterparts.

The hyper-masculinity surrounding hip hop culture perpetuates the oppression of women by objectifying their bodies. Ideas of masculinity and male dominance are often expressed through graphic lyrics and sexualized portrayals of female roles within society. These key examples of objectification prolong the ongoing oppression males have over women within the dominant culture. Dyson makes an interesting observation by comparing objectification to the historical significance with African-American female oppression; stating that “isolating body parts like that represents a sexualized fetish tied to racial subjugation of black bodies by white supremacists” (99). By using vulgar subjects and context within hip hop music, artists fail to realize their own impact towards the injustice created for women. Male artists gain a sense of control and power by demeaning their female counterparts. Doing so, many are unintentionally promoting the behavior similar to the accounts during the African slave trade. The dominant culture establishes a fictional idea of what women should be like and these expected qualities create even bigger problems with the way men treat women. These false ideas of a women’s identity contributes to the disillusion of masculinity for men. Dyson specifically points out the inescapable social problem “to be a man; you’re socialized into that…gender roles are not innate; they’re assigned based on what society tells us is good and bad” (105). In a society where men do not give respect to women or appreciate and understand their existence, it is hard for women to demand a resolution to their inevitable perpetuation.

In the hip hop culture, guns and violence are seen as symbols of dominance and masculinity. Male figures use guns and violence to gain a superior status within their communities. It's like a chain effect; one man will get shot at for a misconception and lose his masculine status, and in return will shoot back at the people who shot at him to regain his status. Not only is he the one welding the gun, his friends will also back him up with violence and shooting as well. The use of violence and weaponry becomes the alternative release of anger that empties the hot fuel of African Americans who reside ghetto-hip hop communities. Guns and the idea of violence represent the obsession over superiority, and promote hyper masculinity.

The relationship between men and woman has always been hard to distinguish because males are often either ashamed to express their feeling for that woman without their “boys” giving them a problem or being called a name that they do not want to be called, so instead of forgetting what their friends have to say about them spending time with a girl, they confide in the men. For example, men have a saying called M.O.B. (money over bitches) which clearly states money is more important over the woman and many men really stick with this saying. According to Michael Dyson, “placing “homies” above the woman because men make money with me--or take money from them. “The male relation becomes a fetish in hip hop circles: hanging with “my boys,” kicking it with “my crew,” hustling with “my mens and them,” and dying for “my niggas.” There is an unapologetic intensity of devotion that surely evokes at some level homoerotic union” (120). This goes to show that the social priorities of the men favor their male relationships rather than their female companions.


Works Cited

Dyson, Michael Eric. “Track 4. “Cover Your Eyes As I Describe A Scene So Violent” Know What I Mean?. New York: Basic Civitas Books, 2007.