Valerie Smith is a Canadian social activist who lobbies against violent pornography, violent rap music, and other allegedly misogynist content in Canadian media. She is best known for trying to prevent Eminem from entering Canada for a concert in October 2000 because of his misogynist lyrics. [1] [2] [3] She has also lobbied to have the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) use existing legislation that she believed should censor Howard Stern. [4] [5] She is the author of the Action Agenda: A Strategic Blueprint for Reducing Exposure to Media Violence in Canada, a report funded and published by the Ontario Office for Victims of Crime, an agency of the Ministry of the Attorney General. Smith operates the Free Radical web site to provide information on violent media and strategies to combat it.
Smith successfully lobbied Bell Mobility to get them to cease selling "Pimptones", skits of "pimps, players, and hos" retailed for $2.50 to replace standard ringtones. [6] After two complaints, Bell Mobility stopped offering the tones. [7]
In 2005, Smith filed a complaint with the Ontario Human Rights Commission against Canadian music retailer HMV, criticizing the company for selling what Smith called "hate rap". [8] [9] Smith alleged that HMV was selling music that contained lyrics that were misogynistic. [10] The Ontario Human Rights Tribunal recommended that Smith's case not be heard at a formal trial as the allegations were found not contrary to the Ontario Human Rights Code. [11]
Later in 2005, Smith attempted to prevent the 50 Cent biopic, Get Rich or Die Tryin' , from receiving tax breaks for filming in Toronto. Smith argued that the film glorified gun violence and that it was unfair to use the money of tax payers, some of whom lived with gang violence, to fund a film that could incite violent behaviour. [12]
In 2000, Smith wrote to the Hate Crimes Unit in Toronto claiming that Eminem "promotes hatred and advocates violence against women in his lyrics". [13] Smith particularly took issue with the song "Kill You". [14] The complaint was subsequently referred to the Attorney General of Ontario, Jim Flaherty, to see if the lyrics directly promoted violence in a way that contradicted Canada's criminal code. [13] The Attorney General's office moved forward with motions to bar Eminem from performing his Toronto concert. [15]
Smith and Flaherty's criticisms did not keep Eminem from performing in October 2000 as the Toronto police did not find that the singer's lyrics met criteria warranting legal action. [16] [14] At the concert, Eminem dedicated his song "The Way I Am" to Smith, saying "I dedicate this next song to that bitch Valerie Smith." though this remark did not bother Smith. [17] After opening the concert with "Kill You", Eminem said to the crowd, "Bet you didn't think I was going to do that one, did you?". [17]
Misogyny is hatred of, contempt for, or prejudice against women or girls. It is a form of sexism that can keep women at a lower social status than men, thus maintaining the social roles of patriarchy. Misogyny has been widely practised for thousands of years. It is reflected in art, literature, human societal structure, historical events, mythology, philosophy, and religion worldwide.
The Marshall Mathers LP is the third studio album by the American rapper Eminem, released on May 23, 2000, by Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope Records. The album was produced mostly by Dr. Dre and Eminem, along with the 45 King, the Bass Brothers, and Mel-Man. Recorded over a two-month period in several studios around Detroit, the album features more introspective lyricism, including Eminem's thoughts on his rise from rags to riches, the criticism of his music, and his estrangement from his family and wife. A transgressive work, it incorporates horrorcore and hardcore hip hop, while also featuring satirical songs. The album includes samples or appearances by Dido, RBX, Sticky Fingaz, Bizarre, Snoop Dogg, Xzibit, Nate Dogg, and D12.
The Slim Shady LP is the second studio album by the American rapper Eminem, and his first on a major record label. It was released on February 23, 1999, by Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope Records. Recorded in Ferndale, Michigan following Eminem's recruitment by Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine, the album features production from Dr. Dre, the Bass Brothers, and Eminem himself.
Barbara Hall is a Canadian lawyer and former politician who served as the 61st mayor of Toronto from 1994 to 1997, the last mayor of Toronto prior to amalgamation. Hall served as the chief commissioner of the Ontario Human Rights Commission from 2005 to 2015.
Ron Raphael Braunstein, better known by his stage name Necro, is an American rapper from Brooklyn, New York City.
Marshall Bruce Mathers III, known professionally as Eminem, is an American rapper. He is credited with popularizing hip hop in Middle America and is often regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time. His global success and acclaimed works are widely regarded as having broken racial barriers for the acceptance of white rappers in popular music. While much of his transgressive work during the late 1990s and early 2000s made him a controversial figure, he came to be a representation of popular angst of the American underclass and has been cited as an influence by and upon many artists working in various genres.
"Kill You" is a song by American rapper Eminem from his third album The Marshall Mathers LP (2000). It was released as a promotional single from the album in 2001, and was featured on the deluxe edition of his 2005 greatest hits album, Curtain Call: The Hits. The song peaked at #2 on the Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles chart.
Procuring, pimping, or pandering is the facilitation or provision of a prostitute or other sex worker in the arrangement of a sex act with a customer. A procurer, colloquially called a pimp or a madam or a brothel keeper, is an agent for prostitutes who collects part of their earnings. The procurer may receive this money in return for advertising services, physical protection, or for providing and possibly monopolizing a location where the prostitute may solicit clients. Like prostitution, the legality of certain actions of a madam or a pimp vary from one region to the next.
"Kim" is a song by American rapper Eminem that appears on his 2000 album The Marshall Mathers LP. The song reflects intense anger and hatred toward his then-wife Kim Mathers and features Eminem imitating her voice, and ends with him murdering her and later putting her body in the trunk of his car.
Hate speech laws in Canada include provisions in the federal Criminal Code, as well as statutory provisions relating to hate publications in three provinces and one territory.
Misogyny in rap music refers to lyrics, videos, or other aspects of rap music that support, glorify, justify, or normalize the objectification, exploitation, or victimization of women. It is an ideology that portrays women as objects for men's ownership, use, or abuse. It diminishes women to expendable beings. It can range from innuendoes to stereotypical characterizations and defamations.
"Love the Way You Lie" is a song by the American rapper Eminem featuring the Barbadian singer Rihanna from Eminem's seventh studio album Recovery (2010). The singer and songwriter Skylar Grey wrote and recorded a demo of the song alongside the producer Alex da Kid when she felt she was in an abusive romantic relationship with the music industry. Eminem wrote the verses and chose Rihanna to sing the chorus, resulting in a collaboration influenced by their past experiences in difficult relationships. Recording sessions were held in Ferndale, Michigan, and Dublin, Ireland. Backed by guitar, piano and violin, the track is a midtempo hip-hop ballad with a pop refrain, sung by Rihanna, and describes two lovers who refuse to separate despite being in a dangerous abusive relationship.
Examples of misogyny exist in many published forms, within multiple cultures and well-observed works. Technological advances in the modern era have contributed proficient means to media and marketing to the resultant mass media in the 21st century. The merging of misogyny and mass media has made numerous examples where studies have concluded correlations between misogynous messages, both obvious and subliminal. Corresponding physical appearance of violence and hateful conduct may be seen relative to exposure.
Islamophobia in Canada refers to a set of discourses, behaviours and structures which express feelings of anxiety, fear, hostility and rejection towards Islam or Muslims in Canada.
Sean Merrick, known professionally over his career by the pseudonyms Jacky Jasper, H-Bomb and HDV, is a Canadian-American rapper, record producer and celebrity gossip blogger.
Incel is a term closely associated with an online subculture of people who define themselves as unable to get a romantic or sexual partner despite desiring one. Originally coined as "invcel" around 1997 by a queer Canadian female student known as Alana, the spelling had shifted to "incel" by 1999, and the term later rose to prominence in the 2010s.
Forbes magazine reported in 2017 that hip hop was the "dominant musical genre" in the U.S. music industry and, for the first time, outsold any other U.S. musical genre. With its cultural foundation in the South Bronx, hip hop has grown in popularity since its beginnings in 1979. Popular dominance of the genre coincided with the international #MeToo movement, which exposed the sexual misconduct of men in positions of power in the field of entertainment. Although women and men from all walks of life worldwide have shared their #MeToo stories, accounts in the music industry were few; the industry evaded public scrutiny, despite its dominance as broadcast and streaming media.
Pride Hamilton is an annual LGBTQ Pride event, staged in Hamilton, Ontario. Unlike some Pride events, the event does not currently stage a parade, but includes a week of LGBTQ-oriented community events culminating with a community festival in the city's Gage Park.
The Canadian Nationalist Party was a far-right, white nationalist political party in Canada. It was registered with Elections Canada from 2019 to 2022.
Micheal John O'Brien is a Canadian commercial pilot, humanitarian leader, journalist, musician, and politician, who was declared a winner on election night, November 21, 1988, and despite recounts that went back and forth, he was sworn into office as elected and made his Maiden Speech in the House of Commons of Canada on December 23, 1988.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link){{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)Smith succeeded in pressuring Bell Mobility to cease offering $2.50 downloads of "Pimptones" – pre-recorded skits of pimps, players and hos at their vernacular finest to be used instead of a standard rings or music.
But Strickland's less pumped when the subject shifts to why I'm really calling, a complaint filed with the Ontario Human Rights Commission against HMV by women's rights activist Valerie Smith over what she calls the peddling of "hate rap."
Ms. Smith has launched a human rights complaint against HMV for distributing "hate rap".