This week’s Feminist Roundup

Pic: Coralie Alison and Tyler the Creator

This fortnight’s feminist roundup features the campaign being conducted by Australian organisation, Collective Shout, to ban the entry of US rapper, Tyler the Creator (Tyler Okonma), into the country later this year for a concert tour.

Tyler the Creator is a 24-year old African American rap artist whose material features lyrics considered violent and blatantly misogynistic. Here’s a classy example of what Mr Okonma considers poetry –

From the song ‘She’

Gorgeous, baby you’re gorgeous
I just wanna drag your lifeless body to the forest
And fornicate with it but that’s because I’m in love with
You… cunt

From the song ‘Tron Cat’

Rape a pregnant bitch and tell my friends I had a threesome
Filled with terror, chop her legs off and tell her to run some errands
They asked me what it was I told them fuckers it was ketchup
Nutty like my chex mix, she bleeding from her rectum
Starve her ’til I carve her then I shove her in the Rover
Where I cut her like a barber with a Parkinson’s disorder
Store her in a portable freezer with me to Portland
I’m awesome, and I fuck dolphins/i>

From the song ‘French’

I’m openin’ a church to sell coke and Led Zeppelin
And fuck Mary in her ass.. ha-ha.. yo
I’m fuckin’ Goldilocks up in the forest
In the three bear house eatin’ their muthafuckin’ porridge
I tell her it’s my house, give her a tour
In my basement, and keep that bitch locked up in my storage
Rape her and record it, then edit it with more shit

Much of the campaign in support of a ban on Tyler the Creator has been conducted on Twitter. Last week Mr Okonma posted a cynical ‘thank you’ to Collective Shout Director of Operations, Coralie Alison, claiming the Australian government had denied him entry to the country. In fact, his visa application is yet to be decided – his claim was false.

But it was enough to initiate a barrage of vile abuse, directed at Ms Alison by the rapper’s fans. Examples of the postings can be seen at –

http://www.collectiveshout.org/solidarity_coralie_tyler_the_creator?recruiter_id=30246

and –

http://www.collectiveshout.org/i_stand_with_coralie

and below –

The offending tweets – offending being a gross understatement – were reported to Twitter, and Ms Alison has received countless messages of support for her stand.

But what does such crass, ugly misogyny – publicly expressed – mean for the future of both men and women? Women have worked long and hard for some sort of equality in society, but a young man with mother issues and a bizarre animosity towards females is given carte blanche to peddle his ghastly message, and international stage upon which to parade it.

His young fans, both male and female, take that message on board – women are less than nothing and can be raped, murdered, and insulted in the most abhorrent terms. In fact, whatever indignity you can visit on them is okay.

No matter how much Mr Okonma downplays the impact of his message, it’s pernicious garbage, and something that no responsible media should allow to see the light of day.

It’s freedom of speech gone completely insane.