Wow, I wasn't aware that Ms. Judd was so well-versed in hip hop culture. Whatever. She's entitled to her opinion, but the abuse of women goes far deeper than that. Hip hop is just everyone's bete noir of the moment. It has no more or less subjugation of women than other cultural phenomenons, including pop music, the beauty/fashion industry, NASCAR culture, Girls Gone Wild, whatever. People love to have something/someone to blame. The truth is, I'm just as guilty of ogling a beautiful woman as anyone else. We all share some part in this play.
The subjugation of women has its roots in the primitive state of man, the greater relative size and strength of males in most species and the monopoly of the use of violence or coercion. It is present among the wealthy as much as among the poor. Among the poor it is driven by superstition, tradition, lack of education, etc. The rich, however, are just as guilty of objectifying "their" women (sex toys, trophy wives, etc), it just gets glossed over because it appears to be non-violent, but a velvet cage is still a cage. And often, because of socialization, women 'choose' (read: accept) these roles for themselves because it's been instilled in them from an early age. This 2nd class status is what pushes the sexualization of women and girls because sexuality has historically been the only way for a woman to exercise power in society (i.e. sexual manipulation of a socially powerful male through whom she would act in the public domain).
The above situation is wholly unjust, but hip-hop had ZERO to do with its creation. It is only the occasionally ugly manifestation of that historical trend. As a product of the surrounding culture (not just black but also US, Western and human) it must reflect the thinking of its creators.
