I.

Introduction

Literature is the art that establish the thoughts and ideas of every man in a very artistic way,

through written words, such us, poems, stories and songs. Today songs are one of the most

influential forms of literature because of multimedia. Most of the people and especially the youth

is embracing songs with violent and discriminating theme. According to Plato’s

Republic, Socrates said that ‘’musical training is a more potent instrument than any other,

because rhythm and harmony find their way into the inward places of the soul, on which they

mightily fasten.’ In this case the songs with harsh lyrics may badly influence the attitude,

emotions and behaviors of people who appreciate these kind of music.

In light to this, the purpose of this study is to conduct an analysis of the chosen three songs of

Eminem namely; I love the way you lie’’, ‘’Kim’’, kill you’’, ‘’The Real Slim Shady’’

Eminem is a superstar rapper. The popularization of his songs are alarming, since they contain

gender inequality and violent theme.

On the other hand the analysis will be done through Discourse analysis which is a way to

analyze how language is used in a specific context; the language used can be seen in a

conversation, in speech, in any type of genre, such as the lyrics of a song. The Discourse analysis

of the songs will be done through the critics of Feminism and Psychoanalytic Theory.

Thus, the purpose of analyzing the lyrics is to demonstrate that the language used can described

what kind of idea, those songs will give and mightily influence to the society. On the other side

the analysis will also tackle about “Eminem’’ or the author of the song to at least understand

what are the aspects that may be the reason of writing misogynistic songs.

As a result, this study will generate educational information about how we should deal with the

songs having violent theme and how we should view this songs through understanding the case

of the writer or the singer.

This research study is primarily based on the findings of Edward G. Armstrong on his research

entitled “GANGSTA MISOGYNY: A CONTENT ANALYSIS OF THE PORTRAYALS OF

VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN IN RAP MUSIC, 1987-199”. This article presents the results of

a content analysis of gangsta rap music's violent and misogynist lyrics. The gangsta rap music

domain is specified and the work of thirteen artists as presented in 490 songs is examined. A

main finding is that 22% of gangsta rap music songs contain violent and misogynist lyrics. A

deconstructive interpretation suggests that gangsta rap music is necessarily understood within a

context of patriarchal hegemony. In terms of violent and misogynist lyrics, gangsta rap music

(1987-1993) scores a 22 percent while Eminem (2000) reaches 78 percent. Concerning the

percent of the violent and misogynist lyrics dealing with women's murder: gangsta rap music

(1987-1993) yields 31 percent and Eminem (2000) 82 percent. For Leonard Pitts (1999) of the

Miami Herald, gangsta rap music helped promote urban decline by romanticizing value-free

visions, which included a celebration of women pimping in a scabrous and explicit way. For

Stanley Crouch (2000) of New York's Daily News, gangsta rap music, beginning with N.W.A's

1989 arrival, caused a decline in American values and promoted the way thugs and sluts live by

"any means necessary." What these writers could not have known was that gangsta rap music in

the year 2000 would make prior lyrical presentations seem tame. None the less Eminem until

now is continuously releasing his misogynistic rap and influence many people. Due this matter

this research was formulated to add information about this previews research in terms of the

discourse analysis or the linguistic features of Eminem songs.

Eminem Songs;
I lovethe way you lie’’, ‘’Kim’’ ,
kill you’’, ‘’The Real Slim
Shady’’

Theories

Feminism Psychoanalytical

The flow of this research starts with the analysis of the Eminem Songs by the use of theories.

In theory of feminism, the song should be view on the feminist perspective. Next, the songs will

be view on a psychoanalytic perspective. After that is the interpretation of data then analysis

and finally a conclusion.

Woman rights have passed through the test of time. Woman goes through losing their rights, receptor of

violence and subject of discrimination. Until they have reached this point wherein they are able to

exercise our freedom and obtain gender equality somehow. However, one of the greatest twin rivalry of

women, “misogyny’’ has always been a threat. It is one of the factors why women never escape violence

and discrimination totally. Misogyny is the hatred or dislike of women or girls. Misogyny can be

manifested in numerous way including sexual discrimination, violence against women and sexual

objection Several rap music albums portray women as sexual objectification and violence. These

misogynistic themes first emerged in rap/hip-hop songs in the late 1980’s and are especially

apparent today with women being portrayed as sex objects and victims of sexual violence

(Adams& Fuller, 2006; Russo &Pirlott, 2006). Young adults between the ages of 16 and 30 are

the most likely age group to consume rap/hip-hop music, and in turn, may become desensitized

to the derogatory lyrics condoning relationship violence and sexual aggression (Smith, 2005).

Exposure to violent portrayals in the media can lead to subsequent viewer aggression through

disinhibition. Long-term exposure to media violence is related to aggression in a person’s life.

Media violence is related to subsequent violence in society. Exposure to violence in the media

can lead to desensitization. People exposed to many violent portryals over time will come to be

more accepting of violence (Rossenberry & Vicker, 2009, p. 169). According to surveys, the more

misogynistic an artist is, the more best-selling their albums will be. With this, the researchers have come

to a study that will shed knowledge and give more information about misogyny. Meanwhile, this study

aims to analyze misogyny through the song “kill you” by Eminem. Specifically, this addresses how

misogyny is promoted through the song. It also aims to know how it affects the image of women in the

society and what is the psychological effect of misogyny not only to women but also to men.
Meanwhile, the over all of this research aims to analyse the real meaning of Eminem’s songs.

Specifically, it addresses the following questions;

1. What is the common theme of the songs?

2. How does misogyny reflected in the songs?

Issue of Domestic Violence

Domestic violence is a pressing issue often deemed acceptable by the media, and thus,

challenges men and women’s perceptions of how they should treat their partners in their

relationships. Over the past two decades, the United Nations Commission on the Status of

Women “reported a tremendous increase in the representation of violence against women,

particularly sexual violence, in the media” (Stankiewicz & Rosselli, 2008, p. 581). Studies

suggest that increased exposure to misogynistic messages has desensitized audiences to the issue

of intimate partner violence and fosters greater tolerance of male aggression (Barongan & Hall,

1996). The mass media portrays domestic violence both visually and aurally by normalizing the

use of force in relationships, which correlates to the fact that “more than one in three women in

the United States have been sexually coerced by a partner” (Nettleton, 2011, p. 140). Therefore,

it is not surprising that “men commit at least 90% of documented acts of physical intimate

As a proof the National Violence Against Women Survey, conducted by Tjaden and Thoennes

(2000), estimates that one in five women in the United States is physically assaulted in her

lifetime and one in 13 is raped by an intimate partner (Russo & Pirlott, 2006).

According to a 2007 study by Laurel Crown and Linda Roberts, “one-half of college women in

their senior year reported one or more unwanted sexual interactions during their college careers”

(Wood, 2012, p. 287). The perpetration of violent behavior can be explained using the cognitive

learning theory, asserting, “individuals receive messages through society and media that shape

relationship ideologies” (Bretthauer, Zimmerman, & Banning, 2006, p. 30). In relation to these

presented studies, this research specifically analyzed how issue of domestic violence is being

displayed in the songs of Eminem.

Armstrong (2001) conducted a content analysis of 490 rap songs from 1987 to 1993, in which

22% contained lyrics featuring violence against women including assault, rape and murder. His

study classified rap songs into different categories in which rappers either pride themselves on

sex acts appearing to harm women, justify other acts of violence, warn women who challenge

male domination that they will be assaulted, and/or seem to invite male violence against women

(Armstrong, 2001). Weitzer and Kubrin (2009) conducted a follow-up study analyzing the

portrayal of women in 403 rap songs through a content analysis, in which themes of derogatory

naming and shaming of women; sexual objectification of women; distrust of women;

legitimation of violence against women; and celebration of prostitution and pimping appeared at

the greatest frequency. Sexual objectification was found to occur in 67% of the misogynistic

lyrics in their songs sampled (Weitzer & Kubrin, 2009). This study further examined the

frequency of explicit music content found in the past decade’s worth of popular rap/hip-hop

music. Furthermore, stereotyped gender roles emerged from lyrics containing sexual imagery

that promote the “acceptance of women as sexual objects and men as pursuers of sexual

conquest,” (Martino, Collins, Elliott, Strachman, Kanouse, & Berry, 2006, p. 438). Therefore this

study will use the lyrics of Eminem songs as an instrument in analyzing “misogyny” since

Eminem songs are in rap and hip-hop genre.