#there's more sexism in rap & pop with the language used to talk about women

[ericdeggans]

As Bill O’Reilly Leaves Fox News, I Wonder: Why Wasn’t the Prejudice and Race Baiting Enough?

The first time I saw Bill O’Reilly in the flesh, he was saying something boneheaded about race.

He didn’t see it that way, of course. He was facing a roomful of TV critics in 2002, talking up a primetime special on how elements of pop culture were corrupting American children.

“I’ve got Marilyn Manson, I’ve got Insane Clown Posse, I’ve got all these, you know, all these black rappers, and I just go right after them,” he said then, putting special emphasis on the phrase “black rappers.” “I mean, it is a shootout!”

Um, hold on. Black rappers?

When I asked him why he focused on the race of the generic rappers he referenced – since white guys Insane Clown Posse also rap and one of the biggest names in hip hop at the time was another white rapper, Eminem – he insisted it wasn’t a race thing.

But it was obvious then, as it has been obvious for many years, that O’Reilly has a troubling, bruising history of talking about race in the worst terms. He’s insulted black guests, made comments that encourage stereotyping and shrugged off the notions of white privilege and institutional racism on the most-watched show in cable news.

And now that he has been fired from the Fox News Channel amid allegations of sexual harassment and an advertiser exodus, I just have one question:

Why wasn’t the prejudice and race-baiting enough?

Admittedly, O’Reilly and I have something of a history. As I detailed in my book, Race-Baiter, I wrote a tough column about his primetime special – wondering why he grilled rap impresario Russell Simmons about low literacy rates for black children without mentioning that his Def Poetry Jam series for HBO had released a book.

Or why he was asking a black music star about the impact of his art on black children in a way that he would never ask classic rock artists like The Rolling Stones or The Who about how they may have affected white kids. After my column was published, he complained so much that my email filled up with harsh criticism from his supporters.

Once, in 2008, he sent a producer and cameraman to a symposium in Minneapolis where I was speaking to interview me after the session, ambush-style. The guy kept asking me why I hadn’t appeared on The Factor, but the truth was, O’Reilly never asked me. (And he never would.)

Later, a producer on his show called to find out what political party I was registered under and whether I had given any money to political causes. I was happy to reveal that I was a registered Democrat who was a journalist. So I didn’t have any money to donate to anyone.

Eventually, O’Reilly called me “one of the biggest race baiters in the country” as part of a Talking Points Memo segment on unfair accusations of racism. So we spent a lot of time going back and forth over my contention that he often uses coded language about race to invoke the specter of out-of-control black people to play to his audience’s fears.

I understand how disagreements over these issues can be different than sexual harassment, which is illegal (though racial discrimination in the workplace is illegal, too). And I’m glad to see attention paid to the numerous women who say they have been harassed by O’Reilly, Fox News founder Roger Ailes and others who worked at the newschannel.

But what really doomed O’Reilly was a combination of legal threats, public protest, damage to Fox’s corporate brand and advertiser exodus. In other words, several elements in public life came together to deliver a bruising message: That a man with that many sexual harassment settlements and allegations in his history shouldn’t be allowed to continue in his job.

So the real question is why didn’t advertisers, business, institutions outside of Fox News react when he was saying and doing terrible things connected to race?

O’Reilly’s fate reminds me of what happened to pundit Glenn Beck, whose Fox News show became the target of an advertiser boycott when he said he thought President Barack Obama was a “racist” who had a “deep seated hatred of white people or the white culture.” (He has since called that comment stupid.) 

Beck left Fox in 2011; when he said during a later public appearance that he left to “save his soul,” a Fox spokesperson countered by noting “advertisers fled his show” in an email to journalist Mike Allen.  

I’m afraid O’Reilly’s ouster sends a different message about tolerating racism. O’Reilly has talked about how many people stuck in New Orleans during the flooding after Hurricane Katrina were left there because they lived a “gangsta life.” He expressed surprise that non-white patrons at the black-owned Harlem restaurant Sylvia’s weren’t cursing and acting crazy. He once turned to pundit Marc Lamont Hill -- a clean-cut, accomplished professor who has appeared on CNN, Vh1, BET and HuffPost Live – and said “you kinda look like” a cocaine dealer.

The Daily Show aired a wonderful segment Wednesday night highlighting O’Reilly’s awful missteps when it comes to race. 

This dynamic follows something I’ve noted regarding departed Fox News star Megyn Kelly, who has long been a forceful advocate about systemic sexism but hasn’t drawn similar lines regarding race.

Back in 2010, Kelly spent lots of time covering the relatively small New Black Panther Party, implying that Barack Obama was going easy on prosecuting members of the group who had been cited for standing around a polling place – one carrying a nightstick -- during an election. She was widely ridiculed for insisting during a segment that Santa Claus and Jesus were white men.

And she’s derided the idea of systemic prejudice against people of color in policing, scoffing at the possibility that law enforcement’s history of mistreating people of color back in the days of Jim Crow could survive into modern times and fuel the anger behind more recent protects over police shootings. Kelly has said such ideas foster a “culture of victimization” in a way I doubt she would ever refer to complaints about the modern legacy from decades of sexism in the workplace.

As O’Reilly leaves, anchors Eric Bolling and Jesse Watters will be elevated – Bolling gets a 5 p.m. show and Watters will join the panel show The Five, which moves to 9 p.m. But both men have their own history of troubling racial comments – from Bolling, who once joked that U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters should “step away from the crack pipe” to Watters, who drew criticism for creating a TV segment where he made fun of Asian people in Chinatown using terrible stereotypes. The Daily Beast has a good rundown on this issue here.

It’s always a little discouraging, as a person of color, to see the media world tolerate examples of this kind of race-based prejudice while drawing a hard line elsewhere.

I’m reminded of a routine by Richard Pryor back in the early ‘80s where he joked about how white people would offer empty platitudes about addiction in black neighborhoods, only to raise the alarm about an “epidemic” of drug use when the problems reached where they live.

“Maybe the next time you see black people in trouble, you’ll help,” he said, laughing.

Watching the avalanche of stories today about O’Reilly’s departure from Fox News, I wonder if modern media -- and the wider world -- will learn the same lesson?    

[lostboysoflondon]

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[musikmusing]

WHERE MY LADIES AT: GIRL SCHOOL FESTIVAL’S UNFORGETTABLE 3 DAYS

(By Regan Wojick for Amadeus Magazine)

Have you ever looked at a music festival lineup and thought ,“Where my ladies at?” Have no fear, Girl School is here.

The Girl School Festival is an event that showcases and celebrates the artistic talents of all identifying female artists of every race, religion, sexuality and background. Girl School is a unique festival for many reasons… let’s not state the obvious. The collective directly gives back to their supporters and the community in which they thrive in: Los Angeles. Fittingly, benefits from the showcase go to the Rock ‘N’ Roll Camp for Girls Los Angeles, which is a social justice organization aiming to “inspire girls to be their best selves.” The vendors at the Girl School even directly catered to their mostly female attendees (ie: organic tampons). Yes, the festival focused on the talents of female artists, but everyone was welcomed into the intimate Bootleg Theater that sits on Beverly Boulevard with open arms.

LA resident and musician, Anna Bullbrook, got the idea for Girl School when she felt a hunger for women’s presence in the music scene. Around the world there are tons of women that are producers, DJs, sound engineers, solo acts, leads of bands, and much more; we have always been present, but not always given the opportunity to be heard. Most upsetting, women are constantly being overlooked at music festivals, and when they do play festivals, women are rarely slated as the headlining acts. So, this gaping music industry void ignited a fire within Anna to bring together and expose more female artists. With the help of her peer, Jasmine Lywen-Dill, as well as a group of fellow female friends, Girl School began to gain traction.

Bullbrook has often talked about the importance of “women’s excellence” and what the means to us as a community. With Garbage’s Shirley Manson kicking off the 3-day event, those words seemed entirely appropriate. Friday night began with talks of a revolution – maybe not that serious, but it felt like we were getting there. Without a doubt, the inspiring and passionate Shirley Manson interview was a favorite moment for the majority of the attendees. The charming, vehement punk icon spoke with a dark sense of humor about her endeavors as a woman in the music industry and she did not spare any details. Not that anyone expected her to, of course. When she took one of the questions from Girl School’s Eve Barlow, she answered it, and elaborated, a lot. Manson did not preach about what to do and what not to do as a woman, but rather she spoke with the crowd like we were her friends asking for advice on how to navigate through life at such a controversial time, to which she could only respond with, “women’s sexuality is the most powerful currency in the world.”

The Q&A segment touched on a number of important things like dealing with feelings she had as an “outsider” within Garbage, how sexism can be can be just as hurtful coming from other women, and how politics are impacting women in modern day life. Manson has had her fair share of amazing ups and terrible downs as a woman in the public eye, yet has continued to stay consistent, uncompromising, and all around badass. The energy of Manson’s speech continued through the entirety of the invigorating 3-day festival with workshops set in the afternoon and musicians hitting the stage at night. Every night brought us an eclectic group of powerfully artistic women from a range of genres and subcultures.

The lineup was as diverse as any music festival could be and there certainly was not a genre left out. Kona opened the weekend on a smooth note with her sexy, bass heavy, bedroom tunes. Each artist overwhelmed the crowd with a different feeling, whether that be sexy, emotional, nostalgic, angered, or happy. Francisca Valenzuela, a passionate singer from Chile, created an emotional vibe of solidarity between the women in attendance as she sang about worldly issues in her native language. The set was intimate and heartfelt with just her piano and two backup vocalists. It made me, and others I’m sure, appreciate the event and the diversity of Los Angeles even more. VOX, one of the many LA natives, has been one to watch for some time now. The solo-singer-songwriter, clad in white ended her set with a chilling acapella rendition of “Cry Me a River,” and left her voice echoing throughout the theater.

It’s 2017 and women in music are still looked at in a particular light, not only in the music industry, but in everyday damn life. Women often are pigeonholed into pop music; they’re  judged, more often than not, by physical appearance rather than their substance and talent on stage. Unfortunately, people are apprehensive when it comes to all girl bands; there’s always a forewarning along the lines of “they’re a girl band… but they’re actually really good!” As if being terrible was the norm for girl groups. To these people: get a grip, you’re missing out.

Girl School was not only a movement of empowerment, it was an opportunity to discover some of music’s best new artists. The Wild Reeds are an encapsulation of women empowerment. The three women, all lead singers, played a set full of breathless harmonies and raging folk instrumentals, utilizing the harmonica and accordion to enhance their country/folk sound that they do so well. The Regrettes wowed the crowd with their simple, yet fresh garage-pop tunes. The extremely young (ages 16, 18, 18, and 19) band sang about the joys and tragedies of being a teen girl, from zits to straight up dealing with assholes. While the Regrettes, aesthetically, had a more vintage vibe reminiscent of 60’s doo-wop, Starcrawler took us back to the late, and loud, 70s. Starcrawler had the most interesting set of the weekend. The group was thought-provoking and honestly, people weren’t entirely sure what was real or just an act.  When the lead singer began to bleed out of her mouth I was pretty sure it was all for play; At least I think it was. Either way, the band easily gained a swarm of new fans. Similar to Starcrawler, rapper BOYFRIEND, brought the house down with her over the top production, heavy beats, and her never-ending dirty rap lines. As far as crowds go, BOYFRIEND, may have had one of the biggest turn outs.

Although Girl School only happens once a year, here’s to hoping that other festivals take note: women rock.

(http://amadeusmag.com/blog/ladies-girl-school-festivals-unforgettable-3-days/)