Excerpt from “Eminem, Misogyny, and the Sounds of Silence,” written by Jackson Katz of The Huffington Post, June 5, 2009.
“No thoughtful person would argue that music lyrics themselves cause men to be violent; that is the sort of simplistic argument which defenders of Eminem and other misogynous rappers and rockers raise and then ridicule whenever anyone mentions the possible ‘real world’ effects of artistic portrayals. But just as it is reductive and problematic to draw a causal link between lyrics and actual behavior, it is similarly nonsensical to deny that the production and reception of art always has a social dimension. Popular art succeeds, at least commercially, precisely because it resonates with a certain audience - for whatever reason - in a given cultural and historical context.”
Even if the lyrics of Eminem and others, often labeled “misogynistic” and “violent”, do not directly cause listeners to follow the actions of the song, popularity of music and writing such as this is popular because of its resonation with certain audiences…If people were against the things rappers like Eminem write about, would they buy and listen to his music?
