Nigger and Bitch I don’t like the words…

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Tiffany Mosienko 15:32 on 14/03/2015 Permalink Reply

Nigger and Bitch

I don’t like the words nigger and bitch. Music that uses these lyrics is a turn-off for me. Despite their use in contemporary popular culture, its impossible for me to disassociate the negative connotations. Lately at Medici University, a lot of these lyrics are being played in heavy rotation at Katyperryopolis and elsewhere around campus. In previous posts here at MU Talk, community standards have been discussed http://mediciuniversity.co.uk/talk/there-has-been-a-kerfuffle-in-the-force/#comment-231. The University does and should contain the whole universe, good and bad, but I’m against accepting the bad and not speaking out about it. In the framework of an educational institution, I think it’s important to discuss topics like this. I’m no ethnomusicologist, but I do know a bit about racism, sexism and intolerance.

Its pretty easy to make the case against “the use of derogatory or demeaning language or images in reference to another Resident’s race, ethnicity, gender, religion, or sexual orientation” as that language is embedded in the big six community standards of Second Life. Further, the verbiage “communicating or behaving in a manner which is offensively coarse, intimidating or threatening, . . . likely to cause annoyance or alarm, is harassment” also applies here. The Medici University Community Standards draft proposal http://mediciuniversity.co.uk/talk/there-has-been-a-kerfuffle-in-the-force/#comment-267 has not been widely discussed. But the implications of its importance are once again clear.

I am not proposing specifically banning anyone or anything or committing to censorship. But in the context of our virtual community, I am proposing we think a bit about what we are doing, what we are saying and how we are editorializing (pointedly, as DJs, artists and bloggers). For some, Second Life (and by extension Medici University in Second Life) is a utopian model community. For others, it is the opposite, a dystopia – everything bad about the universe, pixellated, exaggerated, hidden behind anonymous avatars, and void of responsibility. For our virtual community to evolve into something worth pursuing, the clash of cultures and clash of contexts needs to be thought out, analyzed and discussed.

Some will say that nigger and bitch are accepted words by the mainstream “culture industry”, heard around the world in English-language music videos and on the radio, reflective of their respective subcultures. However those contexts and subcultures clash in Medici University in Second Life. One cannot assume these lyrics will not offend. Yes I turn that music off in real life when I come across it. And yes, I will request the DJ play other songs and other types of music when I encounter it. We ought to pause and reflect on whether we can do better in our virtuality than to simply mirror that “reality”.

See my blog at andrewoleksiuk.blogspot.com and my studio inworld at Medici University in Second Life at LEA23, Camilla 15.

Tiffany Mosienko, Neeva, Izzy, and 2 others are discussing. Toggle Comments
- rmarie 16:10 on 14/03/2015 Permalink | Reply
  
  There was some interesting commentary by an African American professor about the frat guys who were taped doing racist chants, and her perspective on how those guys and the community might have learned from it, by discussing it together. I’m zooming this weekend, but in light of your comments I thought it could be interesting to share. All the best Tiffany! Thank you always for your forthrightness. http://www.patheos.com/blogs/mariadixonhall/2015/03/a-teachable-moment-how-ou-failed-transformation-101/
  - Tiffany Mosienko 17:30 on 15/03/2015 Permalink | Reply
    
    That is a really interesting set of viewpoints in light of the expulsion of those students at Oklahoma. Thanks for sharing.
- Izzy 16:14 on 14/03/2015 Permalink | Reply
  
  Thanks Tiffany. I’m a poor choice of “rebuttal speaker” to your post, since I agree with you. I always have, and still do, find the misogyny, homophobia, and general misanthropy found in many, but certainly not all, hip hop lyrics disturbing, degrading, offensive, and not promoting the kind of world I want to live in. As for the specific KPO! shows you reference, I have chosen not to attend them. My presumption, perhaps partly correct and partly incorrect, is that those who do choose to attend are ok with those lyrics.
  
  Even though I personally find the material offensive and troubling, simply dismissing it as “hate speech” or anything of that ilk, is, I fear, also narrow-minded.
  
  Again, I’m a very poor person to make this argument since it’s not my own perspective and I don’t really understand it. But after so many years of hip hop, I think we have to recognize the voice, representation, and empowerment this music, “troubling lyrics” included, holds for so many. It may be oppressive to some, but it is empowering to others. I’m sorry my own ignorance of hip hop culture doesn’t allow me to make a better articulated argument here. Still, I do think this music is important.. Perhaps not to me. Perhaps not to you. Perhaps not to Medici University. But to the larger culture? Yes, it very much seems to be. We can’t “ban” or “moderate” this expression without disenfranchising peeps who, in many cases, have been among the most disenfranchised in our culture.
  
  It has become clear to me that the reason Utopia can never exist is that there is no such thing as a “general” or “universal” Utopia, there are only specific Utopias. My Utopia is very likely going to be your Dystopia and visa versa. And so we are left in our Utopialess universe, perhaps a bit like sinners cast out of heaven, destined to live out our days in the dystopia of the real. RL or VR, I think the best we can do is to have as much tolerance and inclusivity as we can.
- AlexandreLois1 18:51 on 14/03/2015 Permalink | Reply
  
  What’s so bad about the word Negro ??? I don’t understand. In Russia, everything is called black , “Negro”.
  - Tiffany Mosienko 17:04 on 15/03/2015 Permalink | Reply
    
    Negro has an anthropological meaning, and refers typically to people of African decent. Its literal meaning, translated from French or Latin is black, as you’ve pointed out. In American English, nigger is most commonly and historically a racist insult. In polite American English conversation, it is referred to as “the n-word”: for example, when talking about the word’s historical meaning in literature and/or in racism. It is almost never used in casual conversation. More recently the use of the word nigger in rap and hip hop music among African-Americans re-politicizes the word, with the effect of creating race-based class empowerment while serving as a reminder of historic racial and class inequality. In this meaning it is typically meant to offend as it empowers, as most insults do.
- Neeva 21:06 on 14/03/2015 Permalink | Reply
  
  Sorry if this posts double, I guest my first one didn’t go through.
  
  This bitch don’t mind the word if it’s not used maliciously. I claim my bitch energy: to not always be nice, to be independent minded, to be a powerful, sometimes dominant force with goals of my own. To bark and bite, to own my sexuality and desire.
  
  Language changes over time. Words of disrespect can be reclaimed and turned into words of pride. I suspect there is an undercurrent of that happening with some uses of bitch and even nigga in music. Britney Spears, ” you gotta work, bitch” for example. Sure, not all uses are respectful, the haters still gonna hate, but there is more nuisance with these terms then some might think.
  
  Finally, I just want to shout out to our awesome and hard-working DJs. They are volunteers and doing a great job for us. I think it is unrealistic for them to screen for every occurance of any possibly offensive term in commercial music they play. They are working hard enough already getting out requests and doing the great work that they do. So no shame and no blame for our DJs. Just love and praise for for my best bitch Myra and my honorary boy bitch NSANE
  
  That said, I’m totally on board with Tiffany’s underlying idea that the world could use more civility and respect of others in language and deed.
  - Izzy 23:05 on 14/03/2015 Permalink | Reply
    
    An interesting point that Neeva almost makes is that for a community that likes to listen to music and dance, we sure do have very few DJ’s holding up… haha… well… holding up Katy’s giant head! 😛
    
    Seriously though, if more peeps with diverse cultural backgrounds and musical tastes would like to DJ, that enriches our experience, expands our diversity, and it gives us more opportunity to dance!
  - Neeva 01:10 on 15/03/2015 Permalink | Reply
    
    Autocorrect worked its random magic on my post substituting the word nuisance when I meant to write “nuance”. I guess there is lots of nuisance in the bitch and other words, since they are frequently used in not nice ways. Of course there is certainly a lot of nuisance in auto-correct software too.
  - Tiffany Mosienko 16:34 on 16/03/2015 Permalink | Reply
    
    Thank you for your thoughtful comments, Neeva. I agree that actions are more important than words. The contexts are also important as you have pointed out. I certainly do not want to alienate or chastise the DJs. Community-making is a broad subject and not done easily with more than a handful of perspectives.
- Tiffany Mosienko 23:09 on 15/03/2015 Permalink | Reply
  
  Learning never ends. I ran into these two articles today, quite independently from one other, though I understand this is part of a national discussion going on right now in America (errr, the latest in a series of discussions . . .)
  
  http://www.alternet.org/culture/why-white-people-freak-out-when-theyre-called-out-about-race
  
  http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/03/15/the-privilege-of-checking-white-privilege.html
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