Am I feelin’ myself? A focus group study of African American college students’ attitudes toward gender ideals in commercial rap music videos and their relevance for self-images

Abstract Black American commercial rap videos have been criticized for portraying stereotypical gender ideals concerning gender-appropriate behaviors, appearances and attractivity, and heterosexual relationships. We explored to what extent African American college students reject (REJ) and value (VAL) gender ideals in these videos. Additionally, we examined the connections between the perception of these ideals and students’ actual and ought self-images (i.e., attributes they believe they possess and those they perceive others in their social environment expect them to have). We focused on the self-image domains: gender-appropriate behavior, physical appearance, and mate desirability. Social Comparison Theory and Social Discrepancy Theory provided sensitizing concepts for reflexive thematic analyses of focus group discussions on music videos with eight college women and seven college men. Among women the themes were: Black women behave like sexual freaks (REJ); attractive women are exotic-looking (REJ) and naturally thick (VAL); and desirable women mates are beautiful, confident and toned-down (VAL). The themes among men were: Men are playas (REJ) and prioritize making it financially big (VAL); attractive men look fashionable and rich (VAL); and desirable men mates are emotionally distant (REJ) and provide for their partners (VAL). Same-gender comparisons of these ideals with the actual self resulted in both positive and negative self-images and emotions. The comparison of these ideals with the ought self-image resulted in negative emotions. These results demonstrate that portrayed ideals in music videos are relevant to the formation and evaluation of the self during emerging adulthood. Implications for future research and intervention programs are discussed.