10.02.07
Teen Discusses Impact of Mainstream Music on Her Peer Group
Mother’s Day Radio (MDR) launched on Mother’s Day weekend of this year with a call to the radio stations for 24 hours of rest from lyrics that degrade women and 24 hours of music that respectfully represents women. On May 12, 2007, three radio stations, including Los Angeles, California’s KJLH 102.3 fm, V100.3 fm, and Erie, Pennsylvania’s WERG 90.5 fm, participated in a Day of Rest and Uplift. Dozens of other radio stations across the country were bombarded with letters, phone calls and emails from MDR community members taking a stand for justice in media practices.
A powerful contributor to this phenomenal work is MDR’s multi-city Youth Coalition. Through MDR’s service learning opportunities, youth have participated in petition, call-in and email campaigns to impact media reform.
Mother’s Day Radio has added a Youth Advisory Council to give teenagers a more powerful voice in directing the social action component of this work. The Youth Advisory Council is the voice of the youth who are concerned about the impact that misogyny and sexism in Hip-Hop has on their identity and on their developmental well-being. These youth have been taking direct action to make marked change in mainstream media.
MDR Director, Shaunelle Curry, had an opportunity to interview 17 year old Youth Advisory Council member, Ayanna Thompson-Robinson of the Teen Outreach Program. The Teen Outreach Program (TOP) is one of MDR’s active youth coalition organizations. Ayanna shared her insight on the impact of mainstream media on her peers and her enthusiasm to bring about media reform.
Ayanna on what inspires her
Dancing inspires me. Dancing is something that is like a healer; it helps me when I have problems, it inspires me to do more for myself so I can keep doing it.
Ayanna on TOP
TOP is the Teen Outreach Program located in the near South side of St. Louis, Missouri. We talk about things that teens go through. It is a get-away so we are not in the streets doing something bad. I’ve gained a lot of close friends through the program–people I can depend on, and who I know will help me when I need some help. I’ve learned a lot of lessons. It makes me aware of what I need to do and what I don’t need to do while I’m growing up and getting ready to leave for college.
Ayanna on music
I like neo-soul, but I listen to rap and R&B and some of the latest stuff. I like Alicia keys, India Arie, Chris Brown, Bow Wow, punk rock, Maroon 5, and a lot of stuff like that.
Ayanna on the impact of music on her peer group
I think music influences us a lot because of the way some of us act and the way we talk. You can tell what kind of music you listen to by the way you speak. That’s your slang, the way you speak to your friends. If a dude talks to a girl, he might say, “Ay-bay-bay” instead of saying, “Hello, how are you doing?” He’s not coming correct. It mainly brainwashes you. You want to be like the artists instead of being yourself. That’s what the media portrays. If you’re not like somebody who’s famous and lives a life of glamour, then you’re not an “It girl” or you’re not what’s poppin.
Half the people think they should be an “It girl” or like popular because it makes you seem like you have money. It’s important to them—if I dress like this or wear this name brand because this person in the video, on tv or in a magazine or famous wears it, then it makes me look like I have money. If you don’t look like you have money, then other people are more likely to put you down.
Ayanna on some of the challenges teens face
There’s two groups in my age group with different challenges. If you think you have money to do this and this and this, you have to try to maintain that look to make it look like you’re keeping up with what’s going on with the fashion and the new songs. Some may end up stealing to get certain clothes or take money from Mom to look like they have money in their pockets.
The kids who are maturing in a way that you can’t just keep up with what is on t.v., you learn from parents you have to work for money. They are grinding to get the money on their own, to try to earn it. The challenge is to stay alive and live in the way you want to live and not get mixed up into any nonsense.
In my opinion, Rap is what we look to as a way of life. Hip-Hop is the stuff our parents listened to. Rap and gangsta music is the reason why we want all the money, wanting to dress the way we dress, or speak the way we speak. The reason the crime is so big. Since 50 Cent got shot and he shot at somebody, maybe I should do this and later I’ll get money from doing this. Dudes say, “I’m a thug.” The way they talk about themselves, you can tell they live the things they see on t.v., the things they see 50 Cent or somebody doing. Because 50 has money, people think that if ‘I do what he is doing, then I’ll have money’ or will look like I have money.
Ayanna on music impacting female identity and decisions
Young ladies feel that they should wear little small clothing and they have to wear high heels and this name brand and that name brand just to make boys like them or want to spend money on them. They feel like they have to look the part of what people look like on the video to make them feel like they can get what they need.
Girls at my school feel they have to give their bodies away instead of saving it, because they feel that’s the thing to do. In the videos and movies, girls are doing a certain thing. They think, “If I do it like she’s doing it, then I’ll end up with the same results that she has—having money and a rich boyfriend.”
Girls stop thinking after awhile. They’re trying to be like celebrities, doing what the girls on the videos do, but the results end up bad. They end up pregnant or with AIDS or they lose their life because they’re with a boy who is a thug.
One of my friend’s friends was shot in the face last Tuesday just standing on her porch. A 15 year old girl got stabbed by a 13 year old because of firecrackers. It’s the mentality of “this is mine and you can’t have it,” or I need to kill somebody because I want to be in this group. Or for a girl, I need to have sex with certain boys to be in a specific group. She needs to get the attention that she wants, to get what she needs—to get some money.
Ayanna on Music Lyrics
They (the entertainment industry) aim for children to listen to music, but the music is brainwashing. I was just talking to my friend about this yesterday. Our parents talk about our music; in our parent’s day if they talked about sex in music, it was in a code. You had to try to figure it out. Now, it is more straight to the point. It is saying, “Do what I tell you to do.” The lyrics on certain songs are demanding. It went from code, to instructing you what to do, to now I’m demanding you to do it, I’m making you do it.
Ayanna on decisions she must make as a dancer
Since I am a dancer, I listen to the words of the music because of the choreography of the music. But to me it doesn’t faze me; it goes through one ear and out of the other because of my mother’s teachings and TOP. If you think while you listen to the words, it’s not demanding if you’re taught you shouldn’t do what other people are doing. Be the leader for yourself.
If the person choreographs a dance that is too sexual, I pull myself away from it, or my dance instructor or my mom will. When I choreograph dances I don’t make it so sexual. You can make your moves more feminine and not so sexual. If it’s Ciara, that’s more dancing, but if it’s Lil Kim, it’s more gyrating, like you want to sell yourself. Dudes think it’s cute, but it’s not cute.
In my research for my craft, if I know the artist is known for degrading women, I won’t take the gig. I’ll probably walk. For me, that’s not dancing, that’s selling your body.
In the videos they’re taming down a little bit because there are a lot of younger artists coming out now like Ciara, Chris Brown, Omarion–they dance. There’s choreography. Little Mama, a new artist out now, has more dance choreography than gyrating.
The music industry needs to change. The older people like 50 cent and Ludacris need to be challenged. The younger people are not bringing as sexual, “straight to the point,” lyrics.
Ayanna on the need for media reform
The radio stations should not allow songs with certain words, or if a song is too sexual, it can’t be played on the radio. It’s like a free for all right now. I think it should be more strict. That will help the rappers and singers dim down their lyrics with the cursing and derogatory lyrics toward women and men.
It’s the radio in a way, but it’s also the whole rappers and stuff, their music, the lyrics that they put on the internet for people to download. It should be, ‘if you’re not at a certain age, you can’t purchase this song,’ instead of it being so easy for teens to buy the regular version.
Ayanna on rappers saying they are not role models
Not to be harsh or anything, but I think that’s stupid because they really are role models. Whether it is for good or for bad, whether they want to be or don’t want to be, when they are in the spotlight and people look up to them, they are role models.
Ayanna on her role with Mother’s Day Radio
With TOP I was a leader with suggestions for getting people to be a part of MDR outside of TOP. We typed up letters for radio stations and the record companies, to give them our opinion of why they should be a part of Mother’s Day Radio. I had people sign the petition and go to the computer and sign the petition also.
Ayanna on what inspires her about MDR and motivates her to take social action in media reform
Seeing how the radio affects the people I hang out with motivates me. I think it should stop. I think, if I see the effects, I should do something about it. I think it will make our community be a much better place. I think it will help crime dim down. I think one of the reasons crime is so high is because people see it being rapped about and they see it in movies and media; they think it’s the way they should live.
Ayanna on what she looks forward to in Mother’s Day Radio this year
I look forward to doing some of my ideas for it, such as Teen summit, getting more teens involved in it. I look forward to seeing the results if we can get the radio stations in St. Louis to cooperate with us this time. I look forward to getting the radio stations to see that the music is not always “female friendly” as they were quoted as saying.
TOP can throw a Teen summit here in St. Louis to get teens involved. A lot of people were interested, but they didn’t know how much it affects them. Going to schools to talk with other teens will impact the teens more because they’re hearing it from us. We can do some of the same lessons that our facilitators did with us.
One of my favorite lessons was when we got lyrics to some songs like “Laffy Taffy” and “Candy Shop” and Beyonce’s “Check up on it” and we put our names in it in certain spots. It kind of hurts when you sing it and hear your own name in it. With my name being put into it, it really hurt. You don’t normally think about it. But if a dude is singing it, what if his mother’s name was put in it, or his little sister’s name is put into it. It’s like, I’m bouncing to it, but he’s saying that I’m nothing.
The beats are really good; it’s just the lyrics that make the songs really horrible.
Ayanna on what she looks forward to in being an MDR Youth Advisory Council Member
I look forward to getting to meet the other teens involved with Mother’s Day Radio. I’m looking forward to saying that I was a part of something that is changing the world. People should really be a part of this movement because it’s something that the world needs.
Ayanna on “keeping it real” with her identity
I am a dancer. I am a leader. I am a sister. I am the future. I am a blessing. I am a gift. I am a role model. I am a key to life. I am inspiration to my people. I am the daughter of my mother.
I am not a hoar. I am not a female dog. I am not common. I am not average. I am not easy. I am not something you can buy on a shelf. I am not what you want me to be; I am who I CHOOSE to be.
To become involved in Mother’s Day Radio social action initiatives, or to engage your youth organization in MDR service learning opportunities, please email service@mothersdayradio.com.
