Dancehall Culture

“Dancehall music has been heavily criticized by academics in relation to how it objectivized and sexualizes both women and men through music. However, dance hall is a popular music genre that resonates with young people.” We consider the aforementioned assertion, and speak to the validity or invalidity of its claim by assessing the importance and current impacts of dancehall in the Caribbean. The Impact of Dancehall and the role it plays within Caribbean culture and society, has become a thought provoking stimulus for much debate. Throughout the region, attitudes toward dancehall culture are viewed as highly controversial; given the merits and demerits of what the industry represents. Many studies focus on correlations between dancehall

With her music being heavily inspired by the famous Jamaican artist Tenor Saw, Marion Hall, fashioned the stage name, Lady Saw; Widely known as the Queen of Dancehall. Lady Saw was born and raised in Galina, a parish of St. Mary In Jamaica. She became the first female deejay to win a Grammy Award and become certified as a triple platinum artist. During the 1990’s, she exploded on the Jamaican music scene, and became known for singing and performing in a raunchy and shockingly slack way, unmatched by any other female artist before her time. Though her music is extensively known for its explicit, sexual lyrics, it did not fail to come without a message. The songs which she performed, addressed many issues, from Infidelity to Infertility, which are things most women can relate to. In the dancehall world, she’s a legend, based on the continuous acts of blunt vulgarity and titillating acts performed as an artist. Such acts mitigate the real message behind her music, which is to empower women by breaking the social stereotype. Evidence of this can be heard in her song called “freedom of speech. In this song, she addresses the double standard that society places on women. This double standard state, that “boys and men are rewarded and praised for heterosexual sexual contacts, whereas girls and women are derogated and stigmatized for similar behaviors” Kreager, (2009). Lady Saw perceived

However, to simply state that it objectivizes and sexualizes both genders, without acknowledging that it is a creative, redemptive, and empowering form of Caribbean expression, would be biased. Furthermore, “it underscores how dancehall culture and music challenge hegemonic scripts predicated on stereotypes of Black women’s sexuality. Despite Contradictions inherent in the music and performance of music artist Lady Saw, dancehall culture evokes women as active agents who are able to articulate their sexual desires” (UWI, 2017). According to a journal article on Gender and Feminism, written by Karen Flynn an Associate Professor of The University of Illinois, it was suggested that to an extent, dancehall culture does seem to support patriarchal ideals. Evidence of this became visible in the promotion of male sexual aggression and lyrics that denigrate women. On the other hand, despite being marginalized in the dancehall world, women have transcended cultural barriers and stereotypes by claiming a space in ways that are empowering (UWI, 2017). For example, Lady saw, who by far is dubbed, the most successful and most controversial of all female dancehall DJ’s (TAFARI-AMA,