Popular Culture Review 30.1
“ have the reputation of paying more attention to theory than to practical questions .” Owing to this narrow approach furthered by more established feminist organizations , those issues relating to females living in disadvantaged communities are nearly non-existent in the national discourse . Moreover , young women of color are also made invisible by the official policy of State secularism that does not acknowledge gender as a defining national statistic in France . Because these two paradigms marginalize females from visible minority groups , hip-hop is an effective manner in which to bring their issues to the masses .
Although hip-hop culture in France and elsewhere has been dominated by males since its embryonic stage , French women of color have left their own distinct marks on the genre . In terms of content , female rappers tend to focus their attention more on education , immigration , social issues , gender inequality , and quality of life themes in their songs . Moreover , women artists usually give little to no lyrical emphasis on street violence and the type of male posturing / positioning that one often associates with hip-hop music ( Rose , “ The Hip-Hop Wars ”). However , despite this softer thematic approach than the images promoted amongst male rappers , the record industry in France has not always been kind to females . For example , as is often the case in mainstream American hip-hop , rap lyrics in general often portray women ambiguously , usually in oppressive , sexist , or negative ways .
This often-misogynistic portrait motivates the representations put forth by female artists and separates their thematic approaches from males as they shape the genre of hip-hop to fit their unique needs in hip-hop music in the United States and in France . Thus , the goal of many women rappers is to inform listeners about humanistic themes that affect females ,
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