Week 7 Summary article Stereotypes of music fans: are rap and heavy metal fans a danger to
themselves or others?
•Rock music has long been criticized for contributing to teenage behaviour problems.
•Music tends to define teenage peer groups
•Many continue to believe that rock music perverts youth and undermines the moral fiber of the
country.
•Beginning in the 1980s, concern focused on heavy music. Their main area of concern was the lyrical
content of such music, especially references to violence, drug use, sex, the occult, and suicide. The
group feared that such lyrics would drive teenage listeners to mimic these behaviours and promote
antisocial behaviour among listeners.
•In the 1990s, another form of music, gangsta-rap or violent music, provoked fear and
condemnation. Again, the primary concern was the content of the lyrics, particularly the
glamorization of violence, sex, and drug use.
•Teens that show a preference for heavy metal music tend to abuse substances and receive poor
grades, have difficulties in school or a lack of commitment towards education, and show increased
levels of delinquency.
•Exposure to rap can lead listeners to greater acceptance of violence as well as predictions that they
themselves would engage in violence. Certain types of rap music elicit negative attitudes towards
women, a greater acceptance of violence against women, and an increased acceptance of anti-social
behaviour.
•Academics are more careful about claiming that the music is a direct cause of these problems. Many
researchers argue that rather than the music producing troubled teen, already troubled tens
gravitate towards certain types of music.
•However, there are subtle differences in the concerns raised about heavy metal and gangsta-rap.
•The research shows that criticism of heavy metal focus on what Binder termed a corruption
frame. Concerns center on the negative impact the music will have on the listeners, leading them
into a life of drug and alcohol use, risky sexual behaviour, suicide, and a belief in the occult. The
argument is that this music will corrupt otherwise good kids and lead them astray.
•When criticizing rap music, the focus shifts. The primary criticism raised about rap music falls
within what Binder termed a danger to society frame; the concerns center on how rap will create
fans who are a threat to society as a whole.
•Binder hypothesized that these different reactions are due to two related processes. One is race,
rap is associated with black audiences and heavy metal is associated with white audiences. The
other is group membership, heavy metal is seen as the music our kids listen to, while rap audiences
are seen as outsiders.
•The idea that racial stereotypes drive criticism of rap music has empirical support.
Present study
•The present study was designed to examine the images or stereotypes people hold of fans of heavy
metal and rap music. Examining the stereotypes of fans can provide a better understanding of the
concerns the public has about the influence of such music on listeners.
•H1: Rap fans will be described as harmful to others, threatening, or dangerous to society. This
would fit Binder’s threat to society frame.
•H2: Heavy metal fans will be described as harmful to themselves. Such images would mirror
Binder’s corruption frame.
•H3: Rap fans will be described in ways that distinguish them as out-group members. This will include
references to race as well other dimensions that mark group differences, such as social-economic
status.
themselves or others?
•Rock music has long been criticized for contributing to teenage behaviour problems.
•Music tends to define teenage peer groups
•Many continue to believe that rock music perverts youth and undermines the moral fiber of the
country.
•Beginning in the 1980s, concern focused on heavy music. Their main area of concern was the lyrical
content of such music, especially references to violence, drug use, sex, the occult, and suicide. The
group feared that such lyrics would drive teenage listeners to mimic these behaviours and promote
antisocial behaviour among listeners.
•In the 1990s, another form of music, gangsta-rap or violent music, provoked fear and
condemnation. Again, the primary concern was the content of the lyrics, particularly the
glamorization of violence, sex, and drug use.
•Teens that show a preference for heavy metal music tend to abuse substances and receive poor
grades, have difficulties in school or a lack of commitment towards education, and show increased
levels of delinquency.
•Exposure to rap can lead listeners to greater acceptance of violence as well as predictions that they
themselves would engage in violence. Certain types of rap music elicit negative attitudes towards
women, a greater acceptance of violence against women, and an increased acceptance of anti-social
behaviour.
•Academics are more careful about claiming that the music is a direct cause of these problems. Many
researchers argue that rather than the music producing troubled teen, already troubled tens
gravitate towards certain types of music.
•However, there are subtle differences in the concerns raised about heavy metal and gangsta-rap.
•The research shows that criticism of heavy metal focus on what Binder termed a corruption
frame. Concerns center on the negative impact the music will have on the listeners, leading them
into a life of drug and alcohol use, risky sexual behaviour, suicide, and a belief in the occult. The
argument is that this music will corrupt otherwise good kids and lead them astray.
•When criticizing rap music, the focus shifts. The primary criticism raised about rap music falls
within what Binder termed a danger to society frame; the concerns center on how rap will create
fans who are a threat to society as a whole.
•Binder hypothesized that these different reactions are due to two related processes. One is race,
rap is associated with black audiences and heavy metal is associated with white audiences. The
other is group membership, heavy metal is seen as the music our kids listen to, while rap audiences
are seen as outsiders.
•The idea that racial stereotypes drive criticism of rap music has empirical support.
Present study
•The present study was designed to examine the images or stereotypes people hold of fans of heavy
metal and rap music. Examining the stereotypes of fans can provide a better understanding of the
concerns the public has about the influence of such music on listeners.
•H1: Rap fans will be described as harmful to others, threatening, or dangerous to society. This
would fit Binder’s threat to society frame.
•H2: Heavy metal fans will be described as harmful to themselves. Such images would mirror
Binder’s corruption frame.
•H3: Rap fans will be described in ways that distinguish them as out-group members. This will include
references to race as well other dimensions that mark group differences, such as social-economic
status.
